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RNZ News
a day ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Supreme Court to hear Mt Messenger Public Works Act appeal
Tony and Debbie Pascoe. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin The Supreme Court will hear a penniless Taranaki farming couple's appeal against the compulsory acquisition of 11 hectares of their land for the Mt Messenger Bypass. But the country's highest court has indicated the hearing would have a narrow focus. New Plymouth's mayor denounced the move which he said would add extra time and money to the already over budget project. The six-kilometre, $360 million bypass aims to deliver a safer, more resilient route north out of Taranaki, avoiding an existing steep and windy stretch of highway which includes a narrow tunnel. NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) contractors were currently constructing the road from the southern and using a gondola to access the centre of the project because the Pascoe's land had not yet been secured. In its decision to allow the Pascoes leave to appeal, the Supreme Court said a central question would be to decide whether it was permissible for negotiations prior to the compulsory acquisition of the couple's land under the Public Works Act to be undertaken by a contractor, rather than by the Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk, or his officials. It would also examine whether outsourcing of negotiations to NZTA contractor The Property Group was consistent with the minister's statutory duty "to make every endeavour to negotiate in good faith". Tony Pascoe, who owns a farm with his wife on the northern boundary of the project, said the decision to allow the appeal was significant for all landowners. "Oh, it's huge. It's huge. This is huge for all land owners. To be off to the Supreme Court and then for them to also supply a barrister," he said. "Now the barrister's also asked the court to supply another counsel to be able to help her get this right. "So, we're pretty happy about it. We don't know what's going to happen, but were pretty happy." The courts had previously recognised the Pascoes - who face a $180,000 bill for legal costs from previous unsuccessful litigation - had little to no money. The Supreme Court said due to the complexity and nature of the appeal a lawyer would be appointed to represent the couple. Currently, the Pascoes were being offered $176,000 for the land required for the project and would need to relocate during construction because their home would become unliveable. Tony Pascoe wanted the Public Works Act process in relationship to his land to be restarted . If the Supreme Court agreed, he had a vision of the future. "A home, a farm hub and an income anywhere on our property. To be able to relocate our home and farm hub, to put a new home or relocatable home on a place that's geo-teched and suitable to put there," he said. "It's basically bloody easy but they've made it extremely hard for us." Long-time supporter of the Pascoes Marie Gibbs said granting leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was significant. "It shows that the issues around the Mt Messenger Bypass and the use of the Public Works Act are important not only for the Pascoes but also for every other landowner that faces having their land taken by force for a any sort of project like the bypass." She hoped the case would improve the process. "If the minister and LINZ are making every endeavour to negotiate in good faith to reach and agreement acceptable to the landowner then it's going to make the whole process less intimidating for landowners and they will actually get what they are entitled to." Mt Messenger bypass protester Marie Gibbs. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom had sympathy for the Pascoes, but said enough was enough. "I do love that movie The Castle and I do believe everyone has a right to their day in court, but they shouldn't have the right to appeal a court's decision 15 or 16 times," Holdom said. "And every single time, the court has found in favour of the project going ahead, but here we are again with another expensive delay." New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Holdom wasn't sure if some of the people supporting the Pascoes had the couple's best interests at heart. "This is a vital project linking Taranaki to the north and a small group of essentially vexatious litigants have cost Kiwis hundreds of millions of dollars and seven years by using every trick in the book to ensure they've had more than a dozen days in court." Holdom said the latest appeal would also likely be unsuccessful and mean the loss of another construction season adding about $40 million to the project's ballooning costs. Land Information and NZTA were unable to comment because the case was before the courts. The appeal was set to be heard in October. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Politics
- RNZ News
'Nothing short of disastrous': Seabed mining project another 'muru raupatu' for Taranaki
No seabed mining written on the beach with boards and canoes Photo: supplied / Tania Niwa About 300 people braved icy waters off the New Plymouth coast on Sunday to protest against the Pātea seabed mining project in South Taranaki. It was a part of a nationwide stand on World Oceans Day opposing fast-tracked seabed mining applications around the country. Australian company Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) plans to mine 50 million tonnes of South Taranaki seabed every year. The project last month cleared its first hurdle in the fast-track process with the application accepted as being complete . Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said there are other applicants waiting to "take sand and make it sludge".' "To the left of it and to the right of it, inside of it and outside of it. My point being, if we think that TTR are the only people lining up, we're extremely naive." Some people stood in solidarity Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Ngarewa-Packer compared the project to the Parihaka land wars . "We've had the lessons of what confiscation and muru raupatu looks like - we don't need to see them repeated again. "There's more whenua (land) under our ocean and we are really fortunate as children of resistance, as communities of resistance, as tangata tiriti beside us who have seen the resistance to what it is, to have confiscation of our land." At the break of dawn, Ngarewa-Packer was amongst the Pātea group who met up and took to the water, then drove to Ngāmotu to do it again at midday. "The biggest power that you have is when I was out in the moana and I turned around and I looked at everybody, there's this kotahitanga," Ngarewa-Packer said. "If there's anyone that can show the rest of Aotearoa what unity looks like, it's got to be Taranaki." some of the more colourful protesters Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews The West Coast paddle-out was repeated elsewhere - a group from Pātea currently in Tahiti also joined in solidarity. Pātea's Joanne Peacock said the fast-track greenlight will cause devastation to the community. "That's where we get kai from, recreational, our fishermen, and we've got a beautiful reef out there, and all the pygmy whales and the dolphins that are coming out there every year now, they're migrating around through the South Taranaki Bight. So, it's huge for us." John Niwa taking some washed up seaweed for a 'hangī' he reckons Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Pip Ngaia from the Waitara Bar Board Riders Club surfs every day, and Sunday's event made him emotional. "Tangaroa has nurtured all of us, all life, and we just need to take care of them, so this is very important. My heart and soul is into this." Pip Ngaia chucking a hangloose Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews He first surfed in South Taranaki "around 50 years ago" and said it was sad to see what was happening. "It's time for us to take heed of what's happening on our planet, and what's happening in our backyards. "If the government will get off their arses and actually think about the people, and take care of what we have, they'll stop selling everything." Waka ama paddlers departed Ngāmotu beach at 12pm on Sunday. They paddled 5km to reach East End beach by karakia. Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Anaru Wilkie was one of those paddlers. "[TTR] have been tested and found wanting in terms of their application, in terms of everything that's been put through the most rigorous tests. For them to come through and then apply through the back door as an abuse of power, an abuse of decency in terms of their application. "So, who's going to speak for the moana? Our tangata, people. We speak for the moana because its voice has been ignored by statute, by our House of Parliament. So, we're the people, that's why we're here." Not all people who took part in the protest had boards or vessels. Some also didn't have wetsuits. Surfers holding hands at East End beach, New Plymouth Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews Soraya Ruakere-Forbes did not need either, and did not hesitate before jumping in the water. The longstanding environment kaitiaki said this protest should extend to all of Aotearoa and to the Pacific Islands. "If [TTR] go through here and start here in our rohe, this opens the door for this to happen all up and down our coast and all up the Pacific. So, we need all of our whanau behind us." Some people stood in solidarity Photo: RNZ / Emma Andrews RNZ approached TTR for comment. The company reissued a statement released 16 April which said the project was a transformative opportunity for the country's economy. It said there would be comprehensive environmental safeguards, and the operation would generate more than 1300 jobs as well as $850 million annually, making it one of New Zealand's top 12 exporters. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Scoop
Nelson Rider Basalaj Leads A Honda 1-2 At Nationals
JUNE 8, 2025: South Islander Bailey Basalaj led a Honda 1-2 finish to the top of the series podium as his year's New Zealand Enduro Championships wrapped up in the North Island. The 21-year-old industrial refrigeration engineer from Nelson has been racing at the ultimate level for many years now, and on Sunday he finally broke through to achieve his career-long ambition, but he had a fight on his hands with fellow Honda rider Blake Affleck making a late charge for the title. Basalaj won the opening round of the 2025 New Zealand Enduro Championships near Nelson in April, but he was still taking nothing for granted as he headed to round two near Whanganui over the King's Birthday Weekend, barely a week ago. He managed to win again over the weekend near Whanganui and, with two outright victories in a row, it set Basalaj up for 'a more relaxed third and final round', two back-to-back days of racing, near Martinborough on Saturday and Sunday. Basalaj finished runner-up in the 'sprint' segment of the competition held on Saturday, beaten to the finish by Affleck, from Owaka, south of Balclutha, and it was the same story again the following day, during the more-arduous long-loop phase, with Affleck once more winning ahead of Basalaj. This gave Affleck overall honours for the weekend, but, more importantly, it was enough for Basalaj – with his eventual 1-1-2 scorecard for the series – to wrap up the premier Expert Grade title overall. Second overall for the series was Affleck (with 3-4-1 round results over the series) and New Plymouth's Josh Houghton (2-6-3) completed the Exert Grade podium, while Whangamata's Ethan Jameson (4-3-11) and Amberley's Nathan Hodge (6-5-5) rounded out the top five for 2025. Best of the Intermediate Grade riders at the weekend was Masterton's George Callaghan, followed by Masterton's Dave Edmonds and Tokoroa's Mark Newton. For the series overall it finished with Callaghan on top (with a 2-1-1 score-card over the three rounds), followed by Whanganui pair Grant McKinlay (1-6-5) and Jason Wakeling (0-2-7). Best of the women this season was Stratford's Megan Collins, who finished a highly-creditable fourth overall in the Intermediate Grade. 2025 New Zealand Enduro Champs calendar: Round 1: April 25-26, Nelson. Day 1, 725 Dovedale Road, Day 2 Moutere Highway, 3.8km west of the Redwood Valley Hall. Round 2: June 1-2, near Whanganui. Round 3: June 7-8, Ruakokoputuna Hall, Martinborough District, South Wairarapa.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Experience: I travelled the world delivering letters to strangers
I have always loved travelling, and have spent most of my adult life either on the move or planning my next adventure. In 2014, I was living in London when my dad, Eric, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). I immediately moved back to my home town of New Plymouth in New Zealand, to help and spend time with him. When he passed away in October 2022, I wanted to find a way to process my grief, and I was desperate to get back out into the world. In early 2023, I took off to the Galápagos Islands for a much-needed break. While there, I visited Post Office Bay, on Floreana Island. There's an old whisky barrel there that is used as a postbox. It was first used by sailors in 1793 to send mail back home: they would leave a letter and take any that were addressed to their next port of call to deliver them by hand. It's still used by tourists. People will leave a letter and take one that they are able to hand-deliver to their next destination. The barrel was full to the brim with postcards waiting for delivery. I took a couple home with me and delivered them with glee: one to a teacher from their pupil, and another from a girl to her boyfriend. The recipients were incredibly grateful, and it felt wonderful to have brought such joy. Weeks later, I couldn't stop thinking about the letters. I'd already planned to do some more travelling, but then I thought: what if I spent a year delivering more letters from that postbox? I realised I could keep my remote job, and at the same time travel the world delivering post, using air miles and working along the way. I decided to document my journey on social media, partly to keep a record of my adventures, but also to help raise awareness of MND. I had watched Dad lose his ability to travel and physically communicate, which was devastating, so I wanted to remember him by making meaningful human contact. In March 2024, I set off for Galápagos. I picked out 55 letters and postcards that covered a large geographic area. I aimed to deliver one a week, covering at least 52 countries and spanning all seven continents, starting in Central America and finishing in Europe. I avoided using social media to get in touch with people, going purely by address. If they weren't there, I'd ask around locally, then use social media, doing my best to hand-deliver the letter. Sometimes, friends who had joined me for part of the trip could help translate, but I had to rely on Google Translate a lot. Usually, people were initially confused, but that would turn to complete joy as they read their letter. I was extremely nervous about the first few deliveries. I didn't know how people would react to me knocking on their door unannounced. I'm 52 and very outgoing, but I'm aware that nowadays people are wary of speaking to one other. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Usually, once they understood what I was doing, they were really warm and welcoming, but there were a few exceptions. Delivering letter number 50, in Bergen, Norway, I almost got arrested. The lady who answered the door didn't believe my story and mistook my selfie stick for a weapon, so she called the police. I had to show the officers my Instagram journey to prove what I was doing, and we all ended up laughing together. In Belize, I delivered a love letter to a man, only to find he had broken up with his partner. Weeks later, I got a message to say they were back together. My favourite delivery was letter eight, in Mexico City, from a daughter to her mother, thanking her for letting her follow her dreams. The mother had been very ill, and her daughter wanted to come home from her travels to look after her, but she insisted her daughter continued with her trip. I'm still in touch with both of them. When I finished my challenge in March this year, I held a party in London and invited everyone I'd met along the way. People came from all over the world – I was so touched and humbled. I've made friends for life. Now my challenge is over, I've decided to write a book and help develop a film about my travels, but I'm already starting to get itchy feet. The only problem is finding a way to top my last adventure. As told to Heather Main Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
New Plymouth council to undertake safety audit of new cycleway
Devon Intermediate School principal Jenny Gellen says the cycleway is an accident waiting to happen. Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin A safety audit has been ordered for a controversial cycleway that has divided opinions in New Plymouth, with a view to identify improvements that can be made to the design. Contractors began installing 4 kilometres of concrete separators for the dedicated cycleway earlier this year and most have been in place since April. The $3.8 million NZTA Transport Choices project along Devon Street West and South Road was developed in conjunction with the New Plymouth District council and fully funded through the Transport Agency. New Plymouth mayor Neil Holdom said the cycleway was always going to be controversial, with submissions on the project being split 50/50 for and against. "Once construction has been completed our team will undertake a safety review to assess the new layout, feedback from road users and the views of residents living along the route. "I have asked our team to report back following that process to provide council with any options available to improve the design." Since the beginning of the installation of the concrete separators, which have been nicknamed Tim Tams due to their resemblance to the popular biscuits, there has been a flood of complaints. Residents and businesses have griped about lost car parks, motorists have hit the raised separators damaging tyres and wheel rims, and others have said they couldn't pull over to allow emergency services through because of them. NZTA director of regional relationships Linda Stewart said it was important to note the new cycleway was not yet complete. "We are not aware of any significant safety concerns with the cycleway construction at this stage. "Once it is complete any new roadway layout then has a 'transition' period where it is monitored, and adjustments or fine-tuning is carried out. Equally, road users also take a period of adjustment to new road layouts including cycleways, signalised intersections etc." Stewart said NZTA had worked closely with NPDC on the design and construction phase of the project and would continue to do so in the post-construction phase." North Taranaki Cycling Advocates member Elric Aublant says the concrete separators remind vehicles to stay in their lane. Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin Devon Intermediate School principal Jenny Gellen, whose school was meant to benefit from the cycleway, said the concrete separators were too many in number and too large. "You'd actually have to be driving a quite high-set car, anything that's lower to the ground you're going to take out the bottom of your motor and I don't know what's going to happen to your tyres." The principal had even more serious concerns about the layout of a new pedestrian crossing at Belt Road, a short distance from Devon Intermediate, which was mainly used by West End primary school pupils. It now featured two car parks on the road side of the cycleway separator. "So, students can be standing on the pedestrian crossing with cars parked out in front of it and the students can't been seen by the cars coming down the road ... and the students have to be well out on the pedestrian crossing before they can see the cars. "I have a serious concern that that's actually an accident waiting to happen and it won't be a pretty one." Principal Jenny Gellen says she has serious concerns about road safety. Photo: RNZ/ Robin Martin North Taranaki Cycling Advocates Group member Elric Aublant rode his bike every day along South Road on his commute to town until recently moving house. He said the previous, painted-on cycling lane wasn't adequate. "Even when there was quite a decent shoulder space, there were a lot of cars running inside the bike lane, so really not giving cyclists enough space." Aublant had been back to try the new dedicated lane and liked what he saw. "And, so yes, the concrete blocks some people think it is quite an issue because people are hitting them, but I personally think it's a good separation and it's actually forcing drivers to stick to their lane and share the road with other users. "And, yeah, it's a much more safe, more pleasant commute on that road now." He hoped that as people became more familiar with the cycle lanes more would get back on their bikes and try them out. Emergency services providers had a mixed views on the cycleway separators. FENZ Taranaki district manager David Utumapu said it made its concerns known during the submissions process. "We advised the council that we were concerned that traffic might not be able to clear the lane when an emergency vehicle is behind them. "It seems to us that people are not always sure what to do when we're behind them, and few seem willing to drive over the lane separators, leaving a narrow gap on the centreline for our trucks to use." Police did not raise concerns about the cycle lane separators and Hato Hone St John area operations manager Blair Walton said it took part in the 2023 public consultation on their installation and "had no concerns at the time". "As it's early days we're monitoring the situation and how the new layout is working in practice." NZTA's Linda Stewart said concrete cycleway separators had been used safely internationally and in New Zealand. Guidance on the safe use and design of separators was on its website. "To achieve the space for the cycleway, essentially one side of parking was removed. The separators effectively act as a parked car in most respects. Drivers can continue until there is a gap in the separators where it's safe to pull over and stop." Council's major projects and planning manager Andrew Barron said the cycle lane separators were designed to best-practice standards. "Similar cycleways have been installed in other cities across the country. "We understood that there would be a settling-in period as drivers get used to the changed road layout. The separators themselves are not causing the accidents. "We appreciate that previously, drivers could use the cycle lane to manoeuvre into and this ability has been removed to increase the safety of cyclists." Barron said the approved designs allowed most cars, as well as emergency vehicles, the ability to negotiate them as the road width had in most instances stayed the same. "The separators are low enough for most cars to straddle without them hitting the bottom of the car." Construction of the cycleway was due to be complete later this month. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
