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Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Unsung rural hero
PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Know an unsung hero in your rural community? Nominations close on May 27 for this year's Otago Daily Times — Rural Life Rural Champions initiative which is now in its third year, celebrating the South Island's food producing champions. As well as a category championing farmers and growers, there is also a rural service provider category which celebrates those critical to the smooth running of those operations. Last year's Rural Champions were Southland dairy farmers Steve and Tracy Henderson, (pictured above with their children Annie, Gus and Ruby) and Silver Fern Farms Finegand plant manager Bronwyn Cairns.
Otago Daily Times
11-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Fire at Dunedin restaurant property
PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Fire and Emergency NZ crews were called to a fire at a building housing a Dunedin restaurant this morning. Black smoke could be seen in the area, but it was not yet known how much damage there was to Brazen Eating House in Filleul St. An Otago Daily Times photographer at the scene said smoke was coming from the second floor of the property and from a large industrial chimney. A Fenz spokesman said four appliances - two from Dunedin central and one each from Willowbank and one from Roslyn - initially attended about 8am, while a command unit arrived separately. The fire happened on the top floor of the two-storey building and Fenz were trying to keep it under control, he said. The premises have been home to various eating establishments over the years, including 95 Filleul and Bracken. It became Brazen Eating House, serving tapas-inspired international fusion food with a Kiwi twist, earlier this year.
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
University arts fellowships on ‘hold'
Artist Grahame Sydney, the 1978 Frances Hodgkins Fellow, said being awarded the fellowship was ''like a gold medal in many ways''. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY The arts community is reeling over the University of Otago's decision to "pause" two prominent fellowships which have launched the careers of some of the country's most notable artists. The Otago Daily Times has received an email from Otago University pro-vice-chancellor humanities Prof Hugh Campbell that said it would not have a Frances Hodgkins Fellow for arts or Mozart Fellow for music next year. The fellowships would have been worth about $97,000 for the recipients next year. Prof Campbell blamed the economic situation. "While it was initially thought that funding these fellowships for 2026 could go ahead, recent volatility in international investment markets has created unacceptable levels of risk to the ongoing viability of the funds should they have gone ahead. "This is a hold on these fellowship offerings and the university is committed to ensuring that these fellowships remain a long-term part of our community and the wider New Zealand arts landscape." Artist Grahame Sydney, a 1978 fellow, said for many artists it provided them the security of being able to employ their craft in a creative environment. "It is a wonderful gift, that ability to be nothing but a painter or a sculptor or whatever for a whole year without interruption and with some degree of financial support. "For me, it wasn't the gift of a full-time year — I was already doing that. "But it was certainly a huge contributor to the notion of your standing in the arts community. "The fellowship was the first of the arts fellowships in New Zealand and being given it was sort of like a gold medal in many ways." Many of the artists who were awarded fellowships ended up staying in Dunedin for longer than their tenure, Sydney said. "It had that magnetic attraction and a lot of people discovered how much they loved Dunedin and did not leave after having had the fellowship. "And that changed Dunedin in many ways, too." This year's Mozart Fellow Dr Simon Eastwood said the pause was hugely disappointing news. "The Otago Arts Fellowships are an absolute taonga for the arts in Aotearoa in so many ways. "At the most obvious level, they provide artists with the time they need to focus on their craft and develop new ideas away from the pressing needs of the gig economy and the need to pay the bills". Dr Eastwood, who moved to Dunedin about 18 months ago, said he had seen the impact the fellowships had on the city. "They also enrich the cultural life of the country as a whole. "A list of previous arts fellows includes some of the greatest creative thinkers our country has had and some of our best art has arisen directly from the time artists spend here in Ōtepoti — I'm not including myself on that list, by the way." The year-long Frances Hodgkins Fellowship began in 1966; its first recipient was Michael Illingworth. Notable fellows include Ralph Hotere, Grahame Sydney and Jeffrey Harris. It was named after Dunedin-born Frances Hodgkins, one of New Zealand's most distinguished painters. The Mozart Fellowship was first awarded to Anthony A. Watson in 1970; other notable fellows include Anthony Ritchie and Gillian Whitehead. At Otago University, arts fellows receive a studio or office space and not less than the minimum salary of a full-time university lecturer for the year. Dunedin Public Art Gallery director Cam McCracken said the Frances Hodgkins Fellowship held a significant place in New Zealand's arts landscape. "While it's a little disappointing to see the fellowship paused, I understand this is due to economic pressures. "I fully support the decision if it helps the university stabilise its resources and ensures the fellowship's long-term future." Prof Campbell said it was not a decision the university had come to lightly. "The trust funds that support these two fellowships have become increasingly at risk of over-allocation over recent years ... and the university was not in a financial position to supplement these fellowships, as it has in the past." The fellowships were originally established through endowments and have since been managed in trust funds by the university. "We are deeply disappointed that we have to pause offering these fellowships for the short-term," Prof Campbell said.
Otago Daily Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Local Māori oppose expansion of NZ's largest gold mine
Oceana Gold's Macraes mine showing the underground pit, front left, processing plant, front right, and open cast pit right rear. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Local Māori have opposed the expansion of New Zealand's largest gold mine, north of Dunedin, saying not enough is known about its long-term or cumulative effects on the environment. Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, and Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou — submitting as Kā Rūnaka — said OceanaGold's application to expand its Macraes Gold Mine did not adequately address "the magnitude, severity and ongoing impact" of the effects arising from their plans. "Furthermore, the conclusions contained in the application regarding the effects arising from the application have been reached without an assessment of the cultural impacts of the project endorsed by Kā Rūnaka," the submission said. "It is not possible for the applicant to conclude that the effects are of an acceptable level without cultural input into their assessment." OceanaGold applied to the Otago Regional Council, Waitaki District Council and Dunedin City Council for consent for the site-wide expansion of mining activities at Macraes, requesting public notification. Seven submissions were published on the regional council website yesterday. A hearing is set down for July. Kā Rūnaka's counsel said the mining company's application lacked detailed information on the proposed expansion's effect on a range of matters including the mine's cumulative effects on water quality, the provision for appropriate and meaningful management of long-term environmental effects and the ongoing and long-term nature of its effects. Questions remained about the expansion's cultural effects, its land restoration requirements, and its economic impact on Kā Rūnaka. More needed to be known about the "durability and sustainability" of the offsets and mitigation measures proposed, the submission said. The applications also lacked a "credible long-term environmental management plan". "Kā Rūnaka has little choice but to oppose the consents sought." Forest & Bird also opposed the application and said the proposed expansion would result in significant adverse effects on indigenous plants, animal habitat, wetlands and freshwater ecosystems. The environmental organisation called upon the regional council to decline the application in full. Or, if the council was of a mind to approve the application, to include "significant changes to effects management, mitigation and compensation" to account for the significant effects on indigenous species and habitats. Otago Fish & Game also called for consideration of the long-term effects of the mine. "Fish & Game submits that the decision-maker should be very certain that there is an extremely robust mechanism to ensure any proposed rehabilitation work — including future adaptive management actions which are not now currently known — will actually be undertaken. "With that said, Fish & Game is not clear exactly how this could be achieved on a project which spans hundreds of years and into perpetuity, affecting countless future generations." "In the face of such dramatic uncertainty, it may be that adopting the precautionary principle would be a helpful place to begin," Otago Fish & Game said. Fire and Emergency NZ submitted a neutral submission but called for assurances there would be an adequate water supply available for firefighting activities as well as emergency vehicle access. The Department of Conservation noted the application was missing an ecological enhancement area management plan as well as the cultural impact assessment. "This means that at the time of lodging this submission there can be no certainty that the combination of conditions and management plans will be able to adequately address effects on the environment," the department's submission said. One neighbour opposed the expansion, citing concerns about noise, air, water and light pollution. Another raised concerns about what he described as historic consent breaches. OceanaGold has been approached for comment.
Otago Daily Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Iwis oppose expansion of NZ's largest gold mine
Oceana Gold's Macraes mine showing the underground pit, front left, processing plant, front right, and open cast pit right rear. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Local Māori have opposed the expansion of New Zealand's largest gold mine, north of Dunedin, saying not enough is known about its long-term or cumulative effects on the environment. Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, and Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou — submitting as Kā Rūnaka — said OceanaGold's application to expand its Macraes Gold Mine did not adequately address "the magnitude, severity and ongoing impact" of the effects arising from their plans. "Furthermore, the conclusions contained in the application regarding the effects arising from the application have been reached without an assessment of the cultural impacts of the project endorsed by Kā Rūnaka," the submission said. "It is not possible for the applicant to conclude that the effects are of an acceptable level without cultural input into their assessment." OceanaGold applied to the Otago Regional Council, Waitaki District Council and Dunedin City Council for consent for the site-wide expansion of mining activities at Macraes, requesting public notification. Seven submissions were published on the regional council website yesterday. A hearing is set down for July. Kā Rūnaka's counsel said the mining company's application lacked detailed information on the proposed expansion's effect on a range of matters including the mine's cumulative effects on water quality, the provision for appropriate and meaningful management of long-term environmental effects and the ongoing and long-term nature of its effects. Questions remained about the expansion's cultural effects, its land restoration requirements, and its economic impact on Kā Rūnaka. More needed to be known about the "durability and sustainability" of the offsets and mitigation measures proposed, the submission said. The applications also lacked a "credible long-term environmental management plan". "Kā Rūnaka has little choice but to oppose the consents sought." Forest & Bird also opposed the application and said the proposed expansion would result in significant adverse effects on indigenous plants, animal habitat, wetlands and freshwater ecosystems. The environmental organisation called upon the regional council to decline the application in full. Or, if the council was of a mind to approve the application, to include "significant changes to effects management, mitigation and compensation" to account for the significant effects on indigenous species and habitats. Otago Fish & Game also called for consideration of the long-term effects of the mine. "Fish & Game submits that the decision-maker should be very certain that there is an extremely robust mechanism to ensure any proposed rehabilitation work — including future adaptive management actions which are not now currently known — will actually be undertaken. "With that said, Fish & Game is not clear exactly how this could be achieved on a project which spans hundreds of years and into perpetuity, affecting countless future generations." "In the face of such dramatic uncertainty, it may be that adopting the precautionary principle would be a helpful place to begin," Otago Fish & Game said. Fire and Emergency NZ submitted a neutral submission but called for assurances there would be an adequate water supply available for firefighting activities as well as emergency vehicle access. The Department of Conservation noted the application was missing an ecological enhancement area management plan as well as the cultural impact assessment. "This means that at the time of lodging this submission there can be no certainty that the combination of conditions and management plans will be able to adequately address effects on the environment," the department's submission said. One neighbour opposed the expansion, citing concerns about noise, air, water and light pollution. Another raised concerns about what he described as historic consent breaches. OceanaGold has been approached for comment.
