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NZ Herald
7 hours ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Kaipara Māori ward councillor Pera Paniora: District should get its say
Immediately after the Government signalled its August legislation change, Jepson said he wanted his council's Māori ward gone before the coming elections. KDC's single-term Te Moananui o Kaipara Māori ward will disappear at the local elections as a result of the council's August decision, without any poll. There will also be no vote in October on the presence of an electoral area of this type into the future. That's in contrast to Far North District Council, Whangārei District Council and Northland Regional Council, which in August decided to keep their Māori wards. But with that decision, communities will be asked what they think of the wards' continuing existence in polling at the October elections. Paniora said it was unfair KDC could abolish its Māori ward without having to poll its people, but councils with Māori wards were required to poll to keep them. Polling has traditionally resulted in Māori ward plans failing. Paniora said 2025 polling about the future of Māori wards should be only for those voters on the Māori roll, as was the case for those voting for Māori ward councillors. She is the only Māori ward councillor in New Zealand to lose her position at the end of this current term because the ward is being abolished. Paniora will stand again in the Wairoa general ward for the council elections. She said doing so offered two-for-one, where she would continue to represent Māori as part of doing so for the wider community. About 40% of the west Kaipara ward's population is Māori. Paniora said Māori ward councillors in Northland and around New Zealand should make sure their communities know the value of these electoral areas. And she said people should make sure to get out and vote. Paniora also encouraged more Māori to stand in Māori wards, as councillors in these wards were kaitiaki (guardians) of the positions. She said that even if incoming Kaipara councillors decided to reinstate a Māori ward, it would be 2031 before that could happen. Paniora wanted the ward continued in Kaipara, because democracy required councils to represent the demographics of all their people. However, she said she wouldn't have stood in the ward, even if it had remained. Paniora said it was valuable for those who won a seat via a Māori ward to do their time in that arena, but then move into general wards, to allow others the opportunity to stand in the Māori ward. She said her time in what would be KDC's one-term Māori ward had been challenging. Paniora said she was young, Māori and a woman, in contrast to others on the council who were older, Pākehā and male. Since the 2022 local elections, KDC has canned karakia (ritual chants, prayers) to open and close council meetings and ended its Māori relationship agreements and associated funding with local iwi. Paniora was elected to Te Maruata, Local Government New Zealand's (LGNZ) Māori elected politicians' group in 2022, but this position ended when KDC pulled out of LGNZ. She recently won a Te Maruata award for her contribution to Māori. Paniora said it was ironic that the ward she named was disappearing. ■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Borneo Post
4 days ago
- General
- Borneo Post
Over 2,000kg of rubbish collected from clean-up drive in Song District
The volunteers place bagfuls of rubbish at the collection zone during the work party in Song. KAPIT (July 26): A clean-up drive jointly carried out by Kapit District Council (KDC) and Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) on Thursday recorded 2,080kg of rubbish collected across a riverbank section of Sungai Katibas near here. The volunteers included the local residents, representatives of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as personnel of the KDC and Song District Office, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba), Civil Defence Force (APM), and People's Volunteers Corps (Rela). The clean-up activity covered the riverbank area along Jalan Mission, between SMK Song to Song Express Terminal. 'I cannot stress more about the importance of maintaining a clean environment that will protect our nature and heritage, and help us achieve balance in development. 'I call upon all of you to practise the good habit of disposing of rubbish inside the proper bins, and to never throw them into the river. 'Maintaining cleanliness is a collective responsibility of all quarters,' said Lidam. He also pointed out that the government had agreed to gazette Sungai Katibas as an 'Empurau Belt', and Song District as a 'Dabai Belt' stretching from Katibas to Ngemah. 'The Ka'tibas River is famous for the highly-prized indigenous freshwater fishes such as 'semah', 'tengadak' and 'empurau', which can fetch prices as high as RM1,000. 'Thus, maintaining a clean environment for our rivers is very important, as progress should not sacrifice nature,' added the assemblyman. Song District officer Harry Bruce Edwin, SRB Kapit officer Carol Bungan Leo, Song Information officer Joseph Lingga, Song Education officer Etam Linggi, as well as local community leaders Temenggong Jarmit Untam and Pemanca Lim Eng Hock were among some 250 volunteers taking part in the work party. Kapit District Council lead rubbish Sarawak Rivers Board
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Northland's biggest water services changes kick off in Whangārei
Whangārei's strength in provision of drinking water via plants such as this one at Whau Valley stands out regionally, where Kaipara and Far North face challenges for similar servicing. Photo: LDR / SUPPLIED Whangārei could end up subsidising Kaipara and Far North water users in a move described as historic for Northland. Whangārei District Council voted on July 24 to set up a Northland-wide council controlled organisation (CCO) as part of the Government's Local Water Done Well change requirements. Photo: The decision was a major milestone starting the ball rolling on massive changes to how drinking water and wastewater services are structured and delivered in the region. Council-owned assets - and debt- which provide drinking water and wastewater to about 100,000 WDC, Kaipara District Council (KDC) and Far North District Council (FNDC) consumers would be shifted into the CCO starting from July 2027. WDC councillors voted unanimously for the proposed regional CCO - based on major work by the three councils in recent weeks. That's in spite of the council being in a relatively strong water services position, in contrast to Kaipara and the Far North. A memorandum of understanding created by the three councils must still get the formal okay from KDC which will vote on it at its meeting in Mangawhai on Wednesday, and FNDC at its council meeting the following day. Whangārei Mayor and Northland water services working group chair Vince Cocurullo said the move toward a regional CCO for drinking water and wastewater was historic. "This is huge," Cocurullo said. He said initial principles were proposed for the regional CCO, including ring-fencing each council's drinking and wastewater financials . There would initially be no cross-subsidisation of water charges across the three council areas. The CCO would review those two things within three years from start-up. The mahi that led up to Friday's decision involved the three district councils working closely together. The inter-council working group of local politicians has met several times over the last month. Crown-appointed advisor David Hawkins was also part of the group. Hawkins, a former Papakura Mayor, was involved in putting Auckland's Watercare together. The group looked at what was best for Northland, rather than solely a district-by-district basis. WDC councillor and working group member Ken Couper said the regional proposal was a "cool mix" and "the elegant solution". Northland councils must submit a regional water services delivery plan to the government by September 3 under its Local Water Done Well goals. The plan would include seeking Government funding for critical Northland water services projects. But yesterday's decision allows for FNDC not to play ball in the region-wide CCO. The resulting scenario would then be a two-council - WDC and KDC - CCO. WDC council meeting agenda papers said this alternate two-council plan would help address Kaipara's water delivery challenges without adversely impacting Whangārei. The papers said under Local Water Done Well, WDC could continue to deliver water services through an in-house business unit. There were greater challenges for Kaipara particularly around growth, and in the Far North around compliance, delivery and affordability. The papers said a regional CCO was the most effective way of delivering safe, affordable and sustainable waters services for Northland. It balanced regional collaboration with local accountability and provided a platform for long-term resilience and improvement. Whangārei's cash reserves provided "early funding flexibility". The spike in capital spending would initially be driven by FNDC. KDC would follow and WDC after that. Cocurullo said the regional CCO proposal provided councils with off-ramps. He said the CCO acknowledged that Whangarei's water services position was stronger than that of the KDC and FNDC. WDC Infrastructure chair Cr Simon Reid said the move was a crucial step forward for the North. "Potable water and wastewater are the two most critical areas we need to focus on," Reid said. The new regional CCO proposal would allow for more borrowing than councils are able to do. It could borrow up to a 500 percent debt ceiling, contrasting with individual councils' 280 percent. Outside of Whangārei, Northland's water services delivery challenges include ageing infrastructure and compliance issues, particularly in the Far North, the need for significant investment to support population growth and renewing existing infrastructure and the high cost of capital spending needed in smaller communities. The new proposal would see a shareholder council set up with two representatives from each council with at least one of those being an elected councillor. Stormwater provision will stay with individual councils and not be part of the regional CCO under the proposal - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Business Times
20-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Will NTT DC Reit recover from its weak debut?
[SINGAPORE] It was a good week for investors in the Singapore market, except perhaps for those who took a chance on the initial public offering (IPO) of NTT DC Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit). The much-hyped data centre trust, which began trading last Monday (Jul 14), ended the week at US$0.95 – or 5 per cent below its IPO price of US$1. With its focus on a hot asset class, and GIC among its cornerstone investors, NTT DC Reit drew a lot of attention when it launched its IPO. Based on the nearly 599.9 million units available, the offering was approximately 4.6 times subscribed. An additional 51.5 million units were over-alloted. NTT DC Reit also came to market at a seemingly opportune moment. For one thing, the Straits Times Index (STI) has been on a tear since the Liberation Day sell-off in April, and has closed above the 4,000 mark on every trading day since Jul 2. On Friday, the local-market benchmark closed at 4,189.50, up nearly 2.5 per cent for the week. There has also been ample appetite in the market recently for Reits that own data centres. In fact, among the seven Reits that are components of the STI, the best performer last week was Keppel DC Reit (KDC) – which rose 4.1 per cent. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up This bump might have been partly due to Maybank initiating coverage on KDC, with a 12-month target price of S$2.40. In a report dated Jul 17, the research house said that KDC – which holds 24 data centres across 10 countries, worth some S$5 billion – is set to benefit from big trends such as digitalisation, cloud migration and the adoption of artificial intelligence. Maybank is forecasting KDC's distribution per unit (DPU) to grow 4.9 per cent a year to 2027, driven by rent escalation and acquisitions. KDC closed Friday at S$2.28, which reflects a 2024 DPU yield of 4.1 per cent. By comparison, NTT DC Reit holds six data centres with an appraised value of nearly US$1.6 billion. At its IPO price, it is forecast to deliver an annualised distribution yield of 7.5 per cent for the nine months to Mar 31, 2026; and a distribution yield of 7.8 per cent for the full year to Mar 31, 2027. So, why did NTT DC Reit have such a lacklustre debut? Where are all the investors who tried to get their hands on its units during the offering? Why is the market not excited about its high projected distribution yield? Rising risks for S-Reits One concern I keep hearing is that NTT DC Reit's projected yield may not be sustainable – because it is based on a 100 per cent payout of its distributable income, and the Reit's capital expenditure requirements may rise in the future. Another concern is that NTT DC Reit faces tenant concentration risks, with its top 10 tenants accounting for 62.6 per cent of its monthly base rent. Worse, its largest tenant – described in its prospectus as a Fortune 100 US automotive company – accounts for 31.5 per cent of its total monthly base rent. Many market watchers assume that NTT DC Reit's largest tenant is Tesla. However, NTT DC Reit's agreements with its customers contain confidentiality provisions that prevent disclosure of their identities. Its prospectus said: 'For many of these customers, it is critical that the geographical locations of the data centres in which (their) equipment, information and data are stored are kept confidential in order to minimise the risk of physical threats and intrusions into the relevant data centre.' The way I see it, the assumption that NTT DC Reit is heavily exposed to Tesla could haunt it in the months ahead – sending a chill down the spines of investors whenever the electric vehicle maker, or its chief executive Elon Musk, makes headlines for the wrong reasons. Responding to questions about this risk, the manager of NTT DC Reit said its largest tenant uses its data centres for mission-critical workloads, and has leases extending to 2033 with no termination clause. The manager added that the tenant is absent from the assets that NTT DC Reit may acquire from the sponsor group over time. '(Therefore), their concentration will only decrease as the Reit continues to make incremental acquisitions.' Another factor that might have contributed to NTT DC Reit's weak debut is the uncertainty about the direction of long-term global interest rates. Ten-year US Treasury bonds currently yield about 4.42 per cent; in 2019, the yield was significantly less than 3 per cent. This is affecting all the Singapore-listed Reits (S-Reits), of course. The iEdge S-Reit Index chalked up a total return of 54.4 per cent during the five-year period up to end-2019, which trounced the STI's total return of 14.9 per cent. The tables turned, however, as interest rates soared following the pandemic; and as companies such as Keppel, Sembcorp Industries and Singtel unlocked value and refocused their businesses. Over the five-year period up to last Friday, the iEdge S-Reit Index returned just 4.6 per cent, while the STI returned 99.3 per cent. The iEdge S-Reit Index has lagged since the beginning of this year as well, with a total return of 5.2 per cent versus STI's total return of 13.4 per cent. While income-oriented investments remain hugely popular with local investors, the most exciting new listings over the next couple of years may well not be in the S-Reit field. Hot data-centre trusts To be clear, I'm not suggesting that NTT DC Reit will not recover from its rocky debut. While higher interest rates since the pandemic have weighed on S-Reits recently, two of the three best-performing components of the iEdge S-Reit Index over the past decade are focused on data centres – namely, KDC (with a total return of 254.4 per cent) and Mapletree Industrial Trust (total return of 133.6 per cent). It is entirely possible, in my view, that NTT DC Reit will eventually find its feet and perform strongly. Of course, much depends on it achieving or surpassing the forecasts and projections in its prospectus, and acquiring an additional asset or two from its sponsor group on terms accretive to its DPU. There is certainly a lot riding on the success of NTT DC Reit. This is, after all, the most significant new listing in the Republic since the Monetary Authority of Singapore formed the Equities Market Review Group last year. The measures announced by the review group so far revolve around spurring demand in the local market, and making it easier for companies to list in Singapore. Perhaps the review group should also look into whether enough is being done to ensure that companies that do list are able to effectively engage with investors, and inclined to quickly address their concerns. Drawing more new listings to the Singapore market will matter only if they are exciting to local investors, and enhance the vibrancy of the market ecosystem.
Borneo Post
16-07-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Controversial removal of Song Waterfront's iconic dabai tree resolved, new planting at more prominent spot
Photo shows the beloved dabai tree at Song Waterfront which was cut down. Andy Lawrence KAPIT (July 16): The controversial chopping down of the iconic dabai tree at Song Waterfront on Monday has been resolved amicably. Kapit District Council (KDC) chairman Andy Lawrence said a new dabai tree will be planted at a more suitable and prominent location. While pruning and clearing roadside trees, KDC's contractor had cut down the iconic dabai tree in front of the Tai Pek Kong Deity Kang Lin Ten Temple due to safety concerns. Andy said it was unfortunate that the decision overlooked the dabai tree's significance as a cultural symbol and heritage icon for the people of Song, an area earmarked for the 'Dabai Belt' due to the high quality of the fruit there. KDC has since met in Song with Katibas assemblyman Lidam Assan to come up with a resolution. 'In the spirit of unity and as a gesture of goodwill, KDC, Katibas assemblyman Lidam Assan, local community leaders, and Tai Pek Kong Deity Kang Lin Ten Temple committee members have agreed to plant a new dabai tree at a more suitable and prominent location. 'This replanting symbolises peace, reconciliation, and our shared commitment to preserving the cultural identity and aspirations of the Song community,' Andy said in a statement. Moving forward, he said KDC will engage with and share its landscape development plans with the local community to ensure better coordination and mutual understanding in preserving local heritage and enhancing public spaces. The tree was considered iconic as it represented Song's reputation as the producer of top quality dabai. According to locals, the tree produced an estimated RM8,000 worth of fruit every year, which was sold by the temple as a source of fundraising. Andy Lawrence dabai tree lead Tai Pek Kong Deity Kang Lin Ten Temple
