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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Wānaka disability community 'left out'
Bailley Unahi. Photo: ODT Files People with disabilities say they have not been considered or consulted in Wānaka's town planning, leading them to be disadvantaged. An Upper Clutha Community Board member and several Wānaka residents with life-altering disabilities said there had been little consultation around access and equipment for those who needed it. In 2008, Bailley Unahi was on a Dunedin balcony listening to Kiwi band Six60 when the balcony she and her friends were on collapsed and she was crushed beneath it. "I looked up to see what the noise was. I didn't even realise what it was, didn't have time to make any move and then it crushed me — the balcony with all the people on it." Since then, she has been in a wheelchair. But not one to let barriers hold her back, she moved to Wānaka to pursue a career in occupational therapy and take up ski racing. "I still want to do all the things other people can do. I think in this area, the people who are involved in the planning of the facilities aren't aware of what needs to be done or how to do it." As part of her job, she is helping others adjust to life-altering accidents that have left them with physical and intellectual disabilities. From what she had heard and in her own experience, the council did not speak to the community enough about what was needed to live a relatively regular life. "I really want those living in the area and travelling here to be able to experience the same thing everyone else can." Her first goal is to get more information online about where in town has access for those who need it — be it eateries, accommodation, sports or trails. Miss Unahi said she had contacted several businesses as well as the Queenstown Lakes District Council and Lake Wānaka Tourism, but had heard nothing back. A council spokesperson told the Wānaka Sun it was considering a review of its disabilities policy and that would involve community feedback. The council's current approach was to support and advocate for the development of a more inclusive and diverse community. "It will respond to the needs of disabled people living in and visiting our district, with a focus on removing barriers to their full participation in our community, and acknowledges and respects the diversity within the disability community," they said. Miss Unahi said Wānaka was not user-friendly for those with disabilities. While the streets and some trails were well thought out, there were public facilities and private businesses with no wheelchair access. For example, the Lake Wānaka Centre has no upstairs access for wheelchair users. "There are areas to improve. From a wheelchair users' perspective I manage most places but there is always events upstairs at places we cannot access. I am excluded from those events." When she moved to Wānaka several years ago, she found the information to be lacking and all research had to be done herself. Miss Unahi would take a friend with her on trails, as a fall-back option in case she "got stuck". "We want to experience our backyard, but we are not really considered and it is isolating. Even accessing the lake is a common frustration for all of us. So you just don't go. "Consultation with people that have had these lived experiences isn't happening. The big barrier for us is information." Community board member Linda Joll was also frustrated by the lack of consideration given to those who needed it. She said disability groups in Wānaka had approached the board for safer crossings and she was disappointed that Bike Wānaka was given priority by the board to plan stage four of the lakefront development plan. Priority had been given to active travel and cars, she said. "There should be full consultation required with all community on this jewel in the crown for the lakefront, which must include iwi, Wai Wānaka, Heart of Wānaka, the disability groups, business owners, property owners. None of these groups are aware of this dissecting of the plan." Board chairman Simon Telfer said council policies around accessibility covered off consultation. "I don't think when they're doing planning they can necessarily go out and consult with individual groups each time. I assume the policies are being followed as opposed to every time they're going out and consulting with a group. "Accessibility and ensuring that we have infrastructure that's inclusive for everyone is a real priority for the board, so that's always taken into account. Mrs Joll asked the mayor about consultation for other groups but she had not yet received a response. Meanwhile, Queenstown Lakes District Deputy Mayor and Wānaka resident Quentin Smith, who is a paraplegic after a 2008 paragliding accident, said Wānaka was more disability friendly than most. "I would say Wānaka isn't bad in terms of accessibility, mostly because these are new buildings. We have grown so rapidly so there is not a lot of older buildings." He had little trouble in the town, as the pathways, parking and often buildings were accessible for someone in a wheelchair. However, the council was open to feedback. "The attitudes are generally very accommodating and supporting and any shortfall in the provision is a result of not knowing there is a problem than opposed to not being able to come up with a solution." Mr Smith is a member of the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust and was instrumental in making improvements to the town's active networks and pathways for all users. This work included flattening trails and removing unnecessary barriers. Mr Smith admitted the town's main place to gather, The Lake Wānaka Centre, lacked good facilities for those with disabilities. "There are cases we can do better and in time we hope to be able to build a lift." Mountaineer and published author Dave Vass has been in a wheelchair since 2015 after a mountaineering accident in Fiordland resulted in incomplete tetraplegia. He said in the 25 years he had lived in Wānaka, the town had improved for people in need of wheelchair accessibility. "It's a mixed bunch. Some of the tracks are fantastic, the new tracks around Mt Iron into town are quite good. Once they hit town you have to rely on footpaths, but that has all been improved." Vass said businesses could pay more attention to detail. "Eating out is a classic one, if you are in any kind of power chair you don't fit under tables, it is only 100mm difference for us. Wānaka is terrible for that, no-one caters specifically for wheelchairs; they are crowded places also. "When those things don't happen and when it becomes a bit hard it means you don't go to places and wheelchair people aren't seen to be out, it can get too hard."
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Letters to the Editor: landfill, hospital cuts and spouting
Today's Letters to the Editor from readers cover topics including the new Smooth Hill landfill site, another round of cuts to the hospital, and just how important is spouting? Message to Lee: keep rubbish close to home As a resident of Winton I would like to inform Cr Lee Vandervis that many of us here do not want refuse from other centres outside our province coming to AB Lime's site. Build your own. We don't want to be the dumping ground for other provinces' refuse/waste. Dunedin has been dithering for 32 years. Just imagine what could have been done with the $85.4 million if action had been taken all those years ago when $7m was mooted. Consultancy fees have cost Dunedin ratepayers huge sums too. Anyway, why on earth are you talking landfill when very efficient incinerators are available and are multifunctional? Contradictory votes? Dunedin City Council just voted to go ahead with the Smooth Hill landfill. So on one hand they want to dig a big hole on Smooth Hill, so we can truck our rubbish there. But on the very same day they debated carbon-friendly projects. The landfill in Winton could be accessed by rail, so no need to burn tons and tons of diesel to build a new landfill that will never be accessible by rail. Looking for carbon-friendly projects? Being dumped on Many Dunedin councillors today (27.5.25) in their meeting say they don't support "at any cost dumping landfill waste on other regions". Good to hear but I'm a bit confused over their values when they support dumping diverted sewage waste from the hill suburbs on South Dunedin? Which side are you on? Last Friday, another round of cuts to our hospital was revealed: after five long years of construction, the government will deliver a facility with 26 fewer beds than the current hospital, which is already over capacity. This would plainly be a disaster for the South. If this plan goes ahead it will increase waiting times for ED and for life-saving surgeries, and will ultimately force many who need frequent care out of the city. Our honorable Mayor, Jules Radich, has welcomed the announcement as "a great result". Even ignoring his ethical and democratic responsibilities, this is an election year; Jules has little to lose and everything to gain by opposing these cuts. I cannot fathom why he is assenting to this plan which will plainly cause great harm to the city. Which side are you on, Jules? [Mickey Treadwell is a Green mayoral candidate.] What He says Re "Claim hub sale call guided by God" ( ODT 24.5.25), I would have been surprised had it been otherwise: the decision to sell was made after "the local churches in the region discerned the mind of Christ together over a long period of time . . . together they felt this was the decision God would have them make." Is it likely that after consultation among a group of like-thinking people strongly desirous of selling the property, they would not get the desired response from their God? A neutral arbitrator would have been equally persuasively informed regarding current claims of rightful use of the property, and history of the provision of the land, buildings and improvements over the time it has been used both as a religious and community facility. Good try but China can be seen another way Mercy Fonoti's article on the rise of China (Opinion ODT 23.5.25) was an admirable attempt at trying to be evenhanded, but it still failed. This is because it views China through a Western minority world lens, which has at its core a deliberate omission of historical context, painting the actions of China as either capricious acts or interpreting their motivations as if they are the same kinds of imperialistic motivations that Western nations have had for 500 years. The 'contradictions' of China's behaviour she cites are not contradictions at all. Their actions in the South China Sea are solely in response to the Obama administration's initiation of 'The Pivot to Asia' in 2011, which has at its core the military containment of China. As part of this, the US and its allies conduct an annual naval exercise, explicitly practising the closure of the Straits of Molucca through which the huge bulk of China's exports and imports transit. At the same time on the eastern side of the SCS, America and its allies began ramping up relatively dormant diplomatic and military relations with Taiwan in contravention of agreements going back 50 years, that recognise the island as Chinese sovereign territory, to a point where the Biden administration actually stated they would militarily defend Taipei from invasion – an explicit abandoning of five decades of strategic ambiguity. In response, China activated its long but disputed claim to the SCS (and built its own equally illegal Diego Garcia type island base close to the Straits of Molucca) and conducts naval exercises off Taiwan (and in the Tasman Sea). These are defensive acts in response to obvious provocation, not signs of any kind of expansionist agenda. Mushrooms, ridge lines, and mould Re the recent article on the MBIE inspection of student flats. I have the greatest sympathy for the tenants suffering damp and mushrooms as I did almost within the photograph where Liam White is standing, in an old masonry house where the damp proof course had failed, some decades ago. I went to extreme lengths to replace the foundations and damp proof course and was thrilled when I managed to persuade the next door neighbour to do the same much more efficiently than I had via a masonry saw. However, seeing from a careful read of the article that most of the problems with the flats, apart from three which seemed to be in a bad way, were the same minor home maintenance issues that most home owners of old villas would find if they inspected their own home, I feel that the whole thing is what people refer to as a beat-up these days. Yes, spouting is important. I have some pulled down twice a year on a flat in that area by young ones trying (and succeeding) to get on to the roof. I have seen photos of about 20 sitting on the ridge line on numerous occasions. I would see non-functioning heat pumps as a more serious issue. Ironically, they have proved the opposite point of view to their own by their survey: that the vast majority of flats in that area despite the beating they get are fine. The MBIE tenancy and compliance team has made me agree for the first time of the government's slashing of government employees. It reminds me of a survey done a few years ago when all the houses failed, even brand-new ones. A house of someone I know failed because the footpath was always wet. They said the concrete path needed dug up and replaced. Actually, it was the spouting leaking, Address Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin. Email: editor@
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Driver 'five times over limit' in Oamaru: police
Photo: ODT files A 31-year-old man's King's Birthday Weekend holiday has been cut short, almost before it even started, after he was caught by Oamaru Police this afternoon, driving while five time over the breath alcohol limit. A police spokeswoman said the man had been driving from Christchurch and was on his way to Invercargill. Oamaru police were notified by a member of the public, about 5.20pm, of a vehicle driving dangerously on State Highway 1. ''A police unit saw the vehicle on the main street of Oamaru and signalled the vehicle to stop. ''The 31-year-old man, driving from Christchurch to Invercargill, returned a breath alcohol result over five times the legal limit.'' The man was arrested, taken into custody at the scene, and charged with excess breath alcohol. He is due to appear in court at a later date. Police thanked the member of the public who reported the man's driving behaviour. The incident prompted Southern Police to urge motorists to drive safely this holiday weekend. ''Police know there are four factors that can lead to fatalities and serious injuries on our roads - restraints, impairment through alcohol and drugs, distractions and speed. ''Motorists are urged to take greater responsibility on our roads, and ensure everyone in their vehicle is able to reach their destination safely.'' Police urged motorists to contact them immediately if they witnessed unsafe driving behaviour, or someone was in immediate danger this weekend.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Driver caught 'five times over limit' in Oamaru
Photo: ODT files A 31-year-old man's King's Birthday Weekend holiday has been cut short, almost before it even started, after he was caught by Oamaru Police this afternoon, driving while five time over the breath alcohol limit. A police spokeswoman said the man had been driving from Christchurch and was on his way to Invercargill. Oamaru police were notified by a member of the public, about 5.20pm, of a vehicle driving dangerously on State Highway 1. ''A police unit saw the vehicle on the main street of Oamaru and signalled the vehicle to stop. ''The 31-year-old man, driving from Christchurch to Invercargill, returned a breath alcohol result over five times the legal limit.'' The man was arrested, taken into custody at the scene, and charged with excess breath alcohol. He is due to appear in court at a later date. Police thanked the member of the public who reported the man's driving behaviour. The incident prompted Southern Police to urge motorists to drive safely this holiday weekend. ''Police know there are four factors that can lead to fatalities and serious injuries on our roads - restraints, impairment through alcohol and drugs, distractions and speed. ''Motorists are urged to take greater responsibility on our roads, and ensure everyone in their vehicle is able to reach their destination safely.'' Police urged motorists to contact them immediately if they witnessed unsafe driving behaviour, or someone was in immediate danger this weekend.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Festival mixes spectacle of circus with time travel
PHOTO: ODT FILES Oamaru's annual Steampunk Festival goes back in time this weekend, boosting the town's tourism appeal in the process. SteampunkNZ Festival organising committee member Carolyn Lewis says this year's "Circus in Time" theme combines flamboyance and the spectacle of the circus with adventures in time. "Time travel is an iconic Steampunk theme. The Victorian Era is a key time period for Steampunk fans, and the Victorians absolutely loved a circus — it was an accessible form of entertainment, with the sideshows and associated activities being hugely popular across all classes. "Most of the tickets sold thus far for this year's festival have gone to out-of-towners, including a good chunk of North Island folk. We also have overseas visitors from Australia and the US." The Heritage Precinct in Oamaru is a major factor in the success of the festival, she said. The five-day festival began yesterday and continues over the King's Birthday weekend to Monday. Tourism Waitaki consumer and trade marketing manager Jade Harvey says the town is generally booked out, with cafes busy and motels full. "Accommodation is usually fully or almost booked out on Steampunk weekend with approximately 90% of attendees visiting from outside of Waitaki with the post-event survey showing that 80% stay for three nights or more. "Although the festival is concentrated in Oamaru, the majority of attendees are from out of town and are choosing to stay for most, if not all, of the long weekend." — APL
