Latest news with #WhanganuiDistrictCouncil
NZ Herald
12 hours ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Whanganui District Council rejects funding request from Quartz ceramics museum
The Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics' plea for $60,000 in annual funding has been denied by the Whanganui District Council. Museum founder and director Rick Rudd made the request during hearings on the council's 2025-26 Annual Plan earlier this month. He cited burnout and said the money would be used
Scoop
2 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Regional Events Fund Delivers Boost To Whanganui, Rangitīkei And Ruapehu
Adventure races, festivals, cultural and sports events across the Whanganui, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu districts will benefit from new Government investment. Funding from the contestable $5 million Regional Events Promotion Fund will support a range of local events aimed at attracting domestic visitors and driving economic activity in rural and regional areas. Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said she was particularly pleased to support events in regions which traditionally did not see as many domestic tourists. 'Investing in these events has a direct impact, with visitors spending money in local cafes, businesses and accommodation providers,' Upston said. One of the new events coming to the regions is the Whakapapa Festival, a non-skiing event in the Ruapehu district in June 2026. Visit Ruapehu, Ruapehu district's regional tourism organisation, has won $81,850 to support five adventure and cultural events: $20,250 for Mardi Gras Ohakune, $13,000 for the Ring of Fire 2026 alpine races, $11,300 for The Goat Adventure Run, $12,300 for the Tussock Traverse 2026 and $25,000 for the Whakapapa Festival in 2026. Whanganui District Council will receive $115,500 for five key events: $17,500 for the Artist Open Studios art trail, $30,000 for the Cooks Classic athletics event, $15,000 for the HoopNation Junior Showcase basketball tournament, $40,000 for the Suzuki Series motorcycle event, and $13,000 for Whanganui Vintage Weekend. Rangitīkei District Council will receive $10,000 for two events: $5,000 for the Marton Country Music Festival and $5,000 for the Rangitīkei Adventure Race. These investments are part of a broader $2.6 million allocation from the fund's second round, supporting 152 events nationwide. The fund, established from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, aims to grow regional tourism and support local economies. 'By growing regional tourism, our remote and rural communities can benefit from the economic opportunities it brings,' Upston said. 'Events are excellent drawcards to get more visitors into our regions, particularly in quieter parts of the year for the tourism and hospitality sector.'
Scoop
3 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Is This The Lowest Rates Rise In The Country? Whanganui Council Holds Firm On 2.2 Percent
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. On Thursday, the council confirmed it would: Continue to consider a standalone housing entity Consider all submissions and feedback to inform any minor changes ahead of adopting the draft Strategy for Whanganui Proceed with proposed changes to fees and charges for the year ahead Pay off an additional $590,000 of debt. 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.
1News
5 days ago
- 1News
Child's death a stark reminder of speed of drowning
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. ADVERTISEMENT 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 caught on CCTV 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. ADVERTISEMENT 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. No failings found 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 ADVERTISEMENT 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". Paediatric neurologist on spinning 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, vigorous 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." ADVERTISEMENT 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." No single factor 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. ADVERTISEMENT "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. ADVERTISEMENT "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.
NZ Herald
16-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Expert calls for less packaging as Whanganui recycling tops 1000 tonnes
She said buying meat directly from a local butcher meant it was wrapped in paper instead of a single-use plastic tray. 'Aluminium is infinitely recyclable back into aluminium, and it's the same for glass. 'Personally, I'm more inclined to buy a box of cans of drink, as opposed to plastic bottles.' Fenwick said recycling could only happen 'if you do it right'. 'If you're not going to wash your bottles and take the lids off, don't bother recycling. 'The consumer needs to do the job. 'You bought the product, so it's 1000% your responsibility to prepare it properly.' Whanganui should stick to its three-crate recycling system instead of closed-lid bins, she said. In Tararua, recycling was done with closed-lid bins and materials were hand-sorted by the truckload rather than at the kerbside. 'When I was there, there was four bags of rubbish instantly,' Fenwick said. 'Bags ripped apart and you've got bacon and maggots and all this stuff. It's contaminated.' Whanganui District Council waste manager Morgan Harrison said 70% of households in the Whanganui network were participating in the service and there had been very little contamination in crates so far. 'The feedback from the team at Low Cost Bins is that most people have been doing a great job separating their recycling and putting the right things in their crates,' she said. 'There are still a few issues popping up with some households not separating correctly - or including things like lids and laminated food and beverage cartons like Tetra Pak which can't be recycled at kerbside. 'And, of course, the wind can be an issue - especially when crates are stacked three-high or over-filled.' Fenwick said wheelie bins filled with recycling also blew over in the wind. 'Common sense tells you to only put heavy stuff out on a windy day. 'The good thing about crates is less contamination. 'With closed bins, you can hide stuff in there, and people do.' The council's waste plan aims to divert 15,000 tonnes of waste from landfill by 2027. Last July, the first month of the Whanganui kerbside service, 74.64 tonnes of materials were sent to processing plants. That increased to 154 tonnes in December. Fenwick said she was in the Whanganui district last month and took a tour with the council's litter team. 'People had left couches and tyres on the side of the road. 'Council tidies up the berms and, at the end of the day, that costs ratepayers to get rid of it. 'It's sad that it has to be policed, and that some people don't like to take responsibility.' The Resource Recovery Centre in Whanganui accepts tyres through the Tyrewise scheme. Earlier this year, Whanganui's council ended the rollout of its kerbside food scraps service following the cancellation of the previous Government's mandatory food scraps requirements. Fenwick said she was disappointed by the Government's decision but home composting was not hard. 'Obviously, you've got your old school compost bins, but it's really important to layer them properly to get the right amount of nitrogen and carbon in there. 'Then there are worm farms. Make sure you don't put in a lot of citrus, bread or meat.' Advertise with NZME. Her recommendation for households was a Bokashi bin - 'you can put pretty much anything in them'. 'You get a little bit of zing in there, it looks like sawdust but it's a micro-organism and, once the bin is full, you leave it for two weeks.' The bin could be emptied into a trench with the waste covered over. 'I always planted on top of that,' Fenwick said. 'It's a really good system if you've got bones and fish heads and stuff like that.' A council spokesperson said as of March 31, Low Cost Bins had collected more than one million kilograms - 1000 tonnes - of recyclable material through the kerbside service since it started last July. Whanganui was one of the few districts offering weekly recycling collection, with most others fortnightly, Fenwick said. 'If you're filling three crates every single week, you might need to look at reducing packaging. 'It's all about reduction. There is still a lot of stuff that can't be recycled.' The kerbside service costs ratepayers in the network about $2.75 a week.
