Latest news with #Whanganui
RNZ News
7 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Is this the lowest rates rise in the country? Whanganui council holds firm on 2.2 percent
The plan for 2025/26 will go before the council in June to be adopted. Photo: Unsplash / Tom Rumble Whanganui District Council is sticking to an average rates increase of 2.2 percent following deliberations on its draft Annual Plan. Mayor Andrew Tripe believes it's the lowest rise in the country for the year ahead. The plan for 2025/26 will go before the council in June to be adopted. Tripe said the council has focused on doing the basics well, investing in core infrastructure, and involving the community in decision-making. The big topics thrashed out by the council in this week's deliberations were creating a standalone housing entity to grow housing stock, adopting a new strategy for Whanganui, changes to fees and charges, and increasing loan repayments. In each case, community feedback aligned with the council's preferred options. Whanganui mayor Andrew Tripe. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin On Thursday, the council confirmed it would: Operational budget changes have also been made since the council opened its draft Annual Plan 2025/26 for consultation. This includes water levies set by water services authority Taumata Arowai to recover the cost of regulatory functions. These levies will take effect from 1 July, 2025 and are expected to cost around $16 per household. Tripe said it was "incredibly frustrating" to receive news of the levies just as the council was about to adopt its budgets for the year ahead. "It is yet another example of central government shifting costs to local councils and communities - when it should be administered and funded at a national level." These levies, along with proposed Commerce Commission levies, would be incorporated into the Annual Plan budget for 2025/26 and would affect three waters rates for connected households. To ensure full transparency, the levies would be identified on rates notices. However, they would not increase overall rates due to additional income from other council revenue streams. The Annual Plan will be adopted on 26 June, with the plan taking effect from 1 July. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Everything's coming up roses as Rural Women marks centenary
Rural Women New Zealand has commissioned a rose for its centenary created by Matthews Nurseries of Whanganui. Photo: supplied Stocks of a pinky lilac rose to mark the centenary of the national organisation Rural Women are two thirds sold already. The Mangamahu-Fordell branch of Rural Women New Zealand commissioned a nearby nursery to breed the new variety for its 100 years. The floribunda rose displays clusters of soft hued blooms above a bushy growing plant with mid-green foliage. Committee member Clare Adkins said it was special. "We came up with this idea of creating a rose in partnership with Matthews Nurseries who are just around the road from us," she said. Adkins farms near Whanganui with her husband, Grant. As well as farming sheep and beef, the couple grow pumpkins for their seeds . These are sold through their business Summer Hill Seeds at Okoia. The rural women's organisation is thrilled with the bloom and fragrance of the new rose. "They've created a beautiful rose for us. It's very scented because that was our criteria," Adkins said. "It's a lovely tribute for rural women all over New Zealand." According to the Whanganui nursery the rose will perform at its best planted in a garden, but can also be grown in a large pot of around 60 litres, so watering and liquid feeding can be done from below to strengthen the root system. Floribundas are ideal for group planting in borders and hedges. They're also suitable for floral arrangements and picking. Photo: Supplied Rural Women New Zealand was first known as the Women's Division of the Farmer's Union and was founded to connect rural women. Adkins said the strength of the organisation was not to be underestimated. It had stood the test of time by adapting to the evolving needs of rural women and their communities. "The rural women's movement started about 100 years ago when the ladies who accompanied their husbands down to the national conference of the Farmers' Union got together to form a new group," she said. The rose commissioned to celebrate the centenary. Photo: Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life The 16 women shared their experiences of the often hard and lonely times on the farm and with each other. In its early years the organisation aimed at finding ways of improving living conditions on New Zealand farms. "They realised they needed to form a group to help support women and children living rurally and in isolation in the 1920s," Adkins said. Whanganui's Florence Polson from Mangamahu was the first Dominion president. The organisation received a boost of $250,000 in this month's Budget to expand its reach and continue its work. "Rural Women New Zealand has been a backbone of rural life for 100 years," Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson said. "This funding will support the important work they do every day - helping connect people to services, building strong local networks, and advocating for rural voices to be heard."
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Motorbike ridden by man who died in crash taken by riders
Police were keen to hear from anyone who could help them identify the group of riders who took the motorbike. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER A group of motorcyclists removed the bike being ridden by a man fatally injured in a crash in Castlecliff during the weekend, Whanganui police say. A 25 year-old man died from his injuries after the motorcycle he was riding hit a parked car on Seafront Road just after 4pm on Sunday. Sergeant Mark Taylor said police were keen to hear from anyone who could help them identify the group of riders. "Disappointingly, after the rider crashed and before emergency services arrived, a group of people on motorbikes took the crash victim's bike. We need the public's help and want to hear from anyone who can help us identify those individuals, or anyone who has descriptions, photos, or video of them," Taylor said. Taylor urged anyone who witnessed the crash or may have seen the motorcyclists in the area between 2pm and 6pm to contact police. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Child's death a stark reminder of speed of drowning
Gerrard-Junior Raunga Williams-Boglieka got into trouble after repeatedly spinning around, losing his balance and falling in water about a metre-deep in the 25m training pool. File photo. Photo: The death of a seven year old boy at a Whanganui public pool is a stark reminder of the speed at which children can drown, a coroner says. Gerrard-Junior Raunga Williams-Boglieka died at the Whanganui District Council run Splash Centre in July 2020. Robin Kay has recommended that an extra lifeguard be rostered on at all times the complex and that the council invest in technology which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to analyse the behaviour of pool users, and alerts lifeguards to potential drowning incidents via smartwatches and office dashboards. Chief executive David Langford said after reviewing the recommendations, the council had already added an extra lifeguard at the pool, begun to gather information on using an AI drowning prevention system, and as an extra measure removed partitions to improve visibility for lifeguards. "This was a tragic event and our heartfelt sympathies are with Gerrard's whānau and loved ones," he said. Gerrard - who was at the complex with his mother, grandmother and three siblings - got into trouble after repeatedly spinning around, losing his balance and falling in water about a metre-deep in the 25m training pool. Events leading to his death were caught on CCTV. "At approximately 1:50pm, Gerrard was standing in the pool when he began to spin around - he spun around approximately 30 times, with his arms, head and neck above the water," the coroner's report said. He stopped and picked up a football that was floating nearby, held it out of the water and spun about another 20 times. As he spun, Gerrard moved closer to a raised bulkhead at the end of the training pool. "Gerrard then lost his balance and footing, and fell down into the water. CCTV footage captured splashes in the area where Gerrard was last seen above the water, at which point his arms were out of the water. Gerrard then floated face down in the pool, in the vicinity of some steps." After about three minutes, a member of the public drew a lifeguard's attention to Gerrard and about 30 seconds later the boy was lifted out of the pool and the alarm raised. A lifeguard and a member of the public performed CPR while emergency services were called and resuscitation attempts continued, until he arrived at Whanganui Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Worksafe investigated and did not find any failings in Splash Centre's operations. It asked an occupational medicine specialist whether spinning in the water could cause a person to lose consciousness, increasing the risk of drowning. The specialist said that prolonged spinning could have caused a drop in blood pressure leading to the 7-year-old, who had no previous medical conditions, fainting. "When a person faints, it usually results in them dropping to the ground and lying in a horizontal position - this helps to restore the person's blood pressure, and them regain consciousness. However, in an aquatic environment the unconscious person would rapidly inhale water and drown," they said. WorkSafe issued an safety alert to Recreation Aotearoa and Poolsafe, recommending that all swimming facilities be made aware of the critical risk that any spinning-type activity in an aquatic environment created, asking that it cease immediately Its report also recommended that children under the age of 8-years-old be readily identifiable - for example by the use of wristbands - and caregivers given easily understood information on the meaning of "close supervision". Coroner Robin Kay sought the opinion of a paediatric neurologist on spinning. "It was the opinion of the neurologist that Gerrard became disorientated by more than one minute of continuous, vigourous rotations, lost his balance and fell into the water. He was then unable to orient himself to regain his footing, panicked and inhaled water, causing him to drown." The coroner also investigated why no-one saw the boy was in trouble. His mother was busy with three of Gerrard's siblings while his grandmother was momentarily distracted putting away her mobile phone after taking photos of the children playing, Kay's report said. "When she finished doing so, she heard someone shout out and then saw lifeguards pull Gerrard from the pool." The coroner found that the lifeguards were suitable trained and aware of blindspots in the complex. CCTV footage showed that shortly before Gerrard got into trouble lifeguards swapped positions briefly before the staff member covering the training pool and toddlers pool returned to their position. "Critically, CCTV footage shows that as the lifeguard walked along the end of the pool, and when Gerrard was in difficulty, the lifeguard's view into the pool was blocked by a man walking with two children between the lifeguard and the end of the pool. "In the few seconds it took for the lifeguard to return to their position between the end of the training pool and the toddlers pool, Gerrard had floated towards the corner of the pool where the raised bulkhead of the pool obscured the lifeguard's view, meaning they were unable to see Gerrard." Nobody else saw or heard the boy get into trouble. Kay said no single factor caused Gerrard's death but several contributed to it and had any one one of those factors not been in play he would likely have survived. "The first factor, and it is important to state that I am in no way being critical of Gerrard for this, was the spinning he did in the pool. If he had not spun as he did, he would not have lost balance, found himself unable to raise himself above the surface of the pool, and thereby drowned." The second was that no-one saw him get into trouble. The coroner said Gerrard's death was a stark reminder of the speed at which children could drown. "Even in environments that seem benign - in this case, a shallow, uncrowded pool with which Gerrard and his whānau were familiar, which was staffed by properly trained lifeguards of a number consistent with industry guidelines, and with members of his whānau (including two adults) nearby." Kay said employing an extra lifeguard at Splash Centre would allow two lifeguards to be assigned to monitor the training pool, where Gerrard died, rather than covering the training pool and the toddlers pool. "An extra lifeguard at the toddler pool end of the training pool would overcome the blind spot created by the bulkhead that obscured the lifeguard's view when Gerrard got into difficulty." Drowning prevention technology similar to that employed at the Selwyn Aquatic Centre would alert lifeguards to a person who may be getting into, or was already in, difficulty in a pool, Kay said. "That early detection would enable a lifeguard to respond, assess the situation and intervene if required. By doing so, the likelihood of further drownings occurring would be reduced." Kay noted Recreation Aotearoa had amended its Aquatic Facility Guidelines to reflect the Worksafe safety alert about the dangers of activities which might cause a person to faint or lose their balance near water, readily identifying children under the age of eight and providing information on active supervision. He offered his sincere condolences to Gerrard's whānau and his friends for their loss. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Four injured after multiple vehicle crash blocks SH1 near Taihape
While light vehicles can use diversions around the crash on SH1, the route isn't suitable for heavy vehicles, which are waiting on the side of the road for the site to clear. Photo: RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham Four people have been injured after three vehicles crashed on State Highway 1, just south of Taihape on Monday. Emergency services were called to the scene near the intersection of the highway and Raumu Rd just after 1pm. Hato Hone St John told RNZ it responded to the crash with two operation managers, two ambulances, two rapid response vehicles, one prime responder and two helicopters. "One patient, in a critical condition, was airlifted to Whanganui Base Hospital. One patient, in a moderate condition, was transported by road to Whanganui Base Hospital. "Two patients, one in a moderate and one in a minor condition, were also transported to Palmerston North Hospital," St John said. The road is blocked and diversions are in place. Motorists are advised to avoid the area if possible and expect delays. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
