Latest news with #Waitaki
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Campervan driver assaults elderly man on South Island highway
By Tracy Neal, Open Justice reporter of Photo: 123RF A campervan driver head-butted a 71-year-old who stopped on the side of a highway and confronted him about his dangerous driving. The victim had been following Daniel Juan Daly on SH1 in the lower South Island last September. The man saw Daly pass a large truck in a dangerous manoeuvre that forced an oncoming driver off the road. Further up the road the victim watched as Daly pulled over in his campervan, got out, stepped out into the path of the truck and bashed the side of it as it went past. "It's really quite astonishing behaviour," Judge Jo Rielly said in sentencing Daly in the Nelson District Court today on charges of assault and dangerous driving. The court heard how the 39-year-old was driving a campervan north on the state highway near Waitaki on September 5 last year. He was following the large haulage truck and trailer unit which was travelling at a governed speed of 90km/h, meaning it was unable to travel faster. The vehicles then entered a section of the road with an 80km/h speed limit, when Daly, who was frustrated at not being able to pass, made several "erratic moves". As Daly pulled out to pass, he crossed the centre line and accelerated, forcing a south-bound vehicle to take evasive action to avoid a collision. The older driver was travelling two vehicles behind the truck, the police said. When he saw Daly walk out in front of the truck, he pulled off the road and parked in front of his campervan. Daly asked the driver in a confrontational way what he wanted, before lunging at him and knocking him to the ground. The victim got up before Daly again knocked him down and then head-butted him. Police said that after a brief tussle, Daly helped the man to his feet. He was uninjured, but his glasses were damaged. Judge Rielly said he was lucky to be facing a low-level assault charge. Daly, who was no stranger to the court system, including having been earlier convicted on a dangerous driving charge, now lives in a remote area of Marlborough where he works as a pest controller. In Nelson he was convicted, sentenced and fined on the charges, despite his lawyer requesting a sentence that he come up for sentence if called upon. Judge Rielly said that was "an unrealistic submission". Defence lawyer Josh Friend said Daly accepted his manoeuvre in passing the truck was unsafe and that ordinarily he was a "reliable driver". Last year he received his heavy vehicle licence. Friend said Daly's last conviction for violence matters was 11 years ago, and in 2019 he was convicted on a theft charge. Friend said it was Daly's perspective that the scuffle ensued after he was approached by the other driver, but "he took the wrong action by head-butting him". Judge Rielly said Daly's actions had been particularly dangerous, not only because of the type of vehicle he had been driving but because of the sustained period he had been trying to get past the truck. She said his driving had put other road users at risk but his attempt to get in the path of the truck was "really quite astonishing behaviour". On the charge of dangerous driving, Daly was convicted and fined $400 and disqualified from driving for eight months. On the assault charge he was sentenced to 80 hours of community work and ordered to pay $200 in emotional harm reparation. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Economist backs new water services model
One of New Zealand's best-known economists is backing the maths behind a move to shift control of Waitaki's water services and assets to a new company, jointly-formed by four Otago district councils. With water charges due to come off rates bills from the 2027 financial year because of changes to government regulations, Infometrics chief economist Brad Olsen has voiced strong support for Southern Water Done Well's preferred water services delivery model, saying it offered the "best pathway" to safe, reliable water services and long-term financial benefits for the districts involved. SWDW's four partner councils — Waitaki, Gore, Central Otago, and Clutha district councils — are consulting on options for the future delivery of water services to meet the government's Local Water Done Well legislation. Their preferred delivery model is a jointly owned council-controlled organisation (CCO) covering all four districts. The other three options being consulted on are a standalone Waitaki CCO, an in-house business unit, and in the case of WDC only, a joint CCO with Mackenzie, Timaru and Waimate districts. At a recent meeting of Southern Water Done Well (SWDW) elected politicians and senior staff, Mr Olsen outlined what he felt were the positives of the joint CCO option. Mr Olsen said one of the "most compelling" advantages was the leap in bargaining power, a media statement issued by the SWDW group said. Individually, the four councils each represent just 1% to 2% of the South Island's population. However, by forming a jointly owned council controlled organisation, they collectively represent 6.6% of the South Island's population. "That shift in scale is transformative. "In a tight infrastructure market, scale gives you options and leverage." SWDW, through Wellington-based consultants Morrison Low, has modelled all of the options, for water charges in 2027-28 and 2033-34 years in the Waitaki district. Mr Olsen noted SWDW's deliberately conservative approach to financial modelling for the jointly owned CCO. While short-term financial gains might be modest, water assets were long-term (20 years+) and by year 20, modelling for other joint water services delivery entities showed potential savings of up to 20% compared with going it alone. "Even under these conservative assumptions, the numbers still stack up." The conservative modelling projects 15% to 16% operating and capital efficiencies being achieved over "roughly a decade, which is a similar timeframe to achieve efficiencies as seen in other spaces". WDC's public consultation on the four options ends today at 5pm. Water options Water options considered (prices per year) Joint ''Southern Water Done Well'' 2027-28 2033-34 Joint council CCO (SWDW) $2168 $2894 Stand-alone CCO $2466 $3754 In-house business unit $2269 $3093 The South Canterbury council's model 2027-28 2033-34 In-house business unit $2041 $2924 Joint council $2269 $3093
Otago Daily Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Public-private healthcare opportunities identified
A strategic report focused on the future of public health services in Otago Central Lakes has identified six potential opportunities for public-private collaboration. The Otago Central Lakes strategic health report was sent to Health Minister Simeon Brown in February by the steering group, which was comprised of Southland MP Joseph Mooney, Health New Zealand, the Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes District Councils, rural health providers, iwi, including kaupapa Māori health providers, Act MP Todd Stephenson and Waitaki MP Miles Anderson. Mr Mooney said the group's objective was to "expedite planning and investment in health services and infrastructure in Otago Central Lakes" — Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley said 70% of New Zealanders who lived two or more hours from a hospital resided in that region. The report said health service improvements were required to meet the current and future populations' needs. On a peak day, the district's combined population, which included visitors, was 168,000 — expected to nearly double by 2054, it said. "There is a reputational risk to all of Aotearoa New Zealand if adequate healthcare services are unavailable to deal with international visitor illness or injury." The report identified opportunities to increase public health services by partnering with the private sector, but Mr Anderson said the project was "not asking for public funds". The "early stage" public-private partnerships included in the report, which were "ready for collaboration", are: • The Southern Lakes Public Hospital — the location of which is to be determined — which is a proposed privately financed facility with full public hospital services and future capacity to become a regional hospital. • Lakeview Te Taumata Clinic (Queenstown), a private surgical hospital expected to open in 2027, with opportunities for maternity care and workforce development. • Integrated Care Hub (Wānaka), a planned day surgery with potential space for publicly funded after-hours services. • Wānaka Health Precinct, a private surgical hospital designed with capacity to integrate public services. • Aged-care facilities (Clyde), which are under construction, have the potential to expand into a full suite of publicly funded services for older people in Central Otago. • Securing land and investors in Central Otago for future public health infrastructure, based on the outcomes of the other projects. Additionally, the trust was exploring "innovative mobile modular units" which could be used as consultation rooms, clinics or staff accommodation and wanted to find land to host them in areas where they were needed, the report said. The $2 million funding was required to "complete the groundwork" for community consultation, clinical design and planning process, and technical assessments and detailed business cases Health New Zealand could work with — it already had $400,000 seed funding, it said. Subject to Mr Brown's support, a working group would be established to work with Health New Zealand to progress the proposed solutions — community engagement and consultation would follow.
Otago Daily Times
23-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Who has the best-tasting tap water?
PHOTO: RNZ Will a sip of pure Waitaki water take the crown or will Waimate reclaim its title from 2023? That is the question for municipal water suppliers across New Zealand as they go head-to-head in Nelson next week for the best-tasting tap water title. All municipal water suppliers in New Zealand have been invited to compete in the IXOM National Water Taste Test and submit a sample of their finest drop to the Water Industry Operations Group of New Zealand. The award for New Zealand's best-tasting tap water will be decided on May 29 at the annual water industry group conference. During judging, water samples are subjected to a blind taste test and rated according to the ''Water Tasting Wheel''. The wheel outlines some of the attributes water professionals use when assessing water such as colour, clarity, odour and taste. In the ultimate showdown, the 2025 winner will go on to represent New Zealand against Australia's reigning champion in a transtasman water taste test, in July. — APL
Otago Daily Times
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Five new exhibitions on at gallery
PHOTO: SUPPLIED The Forrester Gallery is buzzing with five new exhibitions. These include Redefining Space in the main gallery with nine exciting new kā mahi works following a bequest to the Forrester from the late Margery Uttley. They expose "shared experiences" that will relate to the diverse Waitaki community, gallery curator Anna McLean said. Elsewhere in the gallery, Floral Ecologies celebrates the therapeutic nature of flowers and the way people interact through time in garden settings. The exhibition includes paintings from the Forrester Gallery Collection, local archival imagery and even a vase all the way from Czechoslovakia. Tia Barrett's He Pounamu Ko Āu presents stunning visual imagery from our ātaahua Waitaki awa and also introduces Tia to local audiences as we await her upcoming mahi toi for the gallery's extension in 2026. Ms McLean said in the community gallery, Ngā Momo Wai — Types of Water, developed by kā kaiako educators Elizabeth King and Lisa Potaka-Ross, explores the cultural properties of wai. Lastly Hononga Rohe — Regional Ties is on in the Forrester's upstairs gallery, featuring some contemporary favourites collected over the past 60 years, including those of Ann Shelton, Robin White, Ralph Hotere, Marilynn Webb and Colin McCahon. The exhibitions will be showing until 25 May before making way for the annual Burns Memorial exhibition. — APL
