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Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
McPhail proud of GDC stint
Richard McPhail will be stepping away from council, departing what he calls a changed landscape for local government, with a fair few jewels. His decision to step away from the role comes after three terms in very different councils, with very different circumstances. Many a committee has had Mr McPhail sitting at the table, but he said in recent years it has been harder to juggle his roles and his work as a councillor. It was in his blood to get out and help, as Mr McPhail said his late father Neil instilled him and his two brothers with a sense of community. "We were brought up by a father and a mother that said invest in the community, do what you can do," he said. Reflecting on his three terms, Mr McPhail said he was proud of his work in council, but admitted there were some rocky moments. "The first term was under a different mayor, there was Tracy [Hicks] and [Steven Parry], I was a chair, I think we had some good achievements. "This term's obviously been a bit different. There were issues at the start getting ourselves sorted out, but we continued on," he said. A post-Covid economic and political landscape also shifted the ground in terms of what the community expected out of councillors, and felt they could receive. It was as though you needed a crystal ball, he said, with councillors needing to know yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Not only this, but Mr McPhail said frustrations grew out of movement from central government putting pressure on councils, who would bear the brunt of the criticism. "A lot of decision-making in council, you've almost got your hands tied behind your back. "You can't make the most appropriate decision, because it's been based on legislation or what the minister at the time wants. It's frustrating for councils," he said. That aside, Mr McPhail said he was very proud of the work done, and looked back fondly on his time in council. "There are some projects I've put a question mark by, but if you look at our specific administration building, the James Cumming Wing, the library, they're generational assets. "We've got a new water treatment plant in East Gore, the Mayoral Task Force for jobs which Tracy had, I felt it was a really positive input," he said. The events, the people he met, all these things added up to Mr McPhail, who learnt a great deal from his time at the table. Mr McPhail said although some moments may have been turbulent, he felt now was a time to take a step back — without closing the door entirely. "For me, this is a natural closure at this time. It's not to say the game is over, but at this time, I'll step back," he said. If you want Mr McPhail, he will not be hard to find, as he is already planning the committees and volunteer work he is to return to.
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Councils told bridge work needed
Southern councils should look to build bridges in bulk to cut costs and have a ready supply available, a transport meeting was told late last month when the Otago/Southland Regional Transport committee met in Gore. The committee discussed the case of Southland District Council and how it had to work through the New Zealand Transport Agency conditions to secure funding for bridge building. That led to a wider discussion about bridges and how many of them would have to be replaced in the coming years. A separate report, presented to the committee at the meeting said bridges in the South Island were ageing, 73% of those on the national state highway network were built before 1980 and potentially due for renewal. It was difficult to get specific data on local road bridges, but it was thought there were 5816 bridges on the local transport network, the report said. Many of them were national resilience programme business cases as most at risk to be exposed to significant natural hazards. "With such critical transport infrastructure being built nearly half a century ago, there is a substantial risk that infrastructure is no longer fit for purpose, sustainable, or economic to continue maintaining," the report said. "The increase of severe weather events due to climate change makes a clear case for revisioning the build location and specifics of our bridges in the South Island. "Early resilience investment reduces the need for significant external emergency grant funding to support recovery from severe weather events. "It is critical that we begin considering bridge upgrades in conjunction with resilience upgrades and significant road developments. "This will ensure works are done together in a timely and efficient manner and make certain that bridging infrastructure is upgraded accordingly with the network." Dunedin city councillor Jim O'Malley questioned if there was an ability to build a series of bridges and have them sitting ready to go when they are needed. Council engineers at the meeting said decks and slabs could be produced in significant numbers but the foundation of each bridge would have to be individually designed. Southland District Council roading engineer Hartley Hare said the reality was manufacturers did not just make bridges, they made a lot of other things and councils would have to join the queue. Gore roading manager Murray Hasler said the foundations were the most expensive part of a bridge. Queenstown Lakes deputy mayor Quentin Smith said in his district, bridges such as that at Arthurs Point were very complex and could not be quickly made. Many councils did not have the expertise to design and build these bridges. Mr Hasler said most councils had bridge consultant specialists who offered the knowledge when building bridges. Committee chairwoman Kate Wilson said the government was looking to have work streams to create efficiencies. The committee voted to accept the report.
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Award-winning creations inspired by family, fauna
New Zealand fauna and a pair of purple hot pants were the seeds of ideas that became Gore's prizewinning garments at the 2025 MLT Hokonui Fashion Design Awards. Peroni — Open Gala award-winner Viv Tamblyn said the royal purple of her garment was based on a pair of hot pants she wore on her first date with her now husband in the 1970s. Mrs Tamblyn and her husband Graham have been married 50 years, and the garment's colour was an ode to their anniversary. "Our first date, I wore that purple — hot pants that I'd made myself," she said. Mrs Tamblyn has entered the awards each year since 2007, and has won a category every year since then. She said the awards had changed over the years and in the beginning there were a lot of polyester fabrics being used, and now everyone tried to use more natural fibres. "Now we're much more aware of sustainability," she said. The purple "puffer" wrap was a last-minute addition, when Mrs Tamblyn wondered what to do with some leftover fabric, she said. Her preference is wool because, as well as being a nod to Southland weather, can be used to provide different textures, layered and contrasted in a look. She has combined hand-knitted, crocheted, machine-knit and merino wool layers in her designs. "I like to try and do something original each year if I can, and something I haven't done before," she said. "I don't like doing things twice, really." Debbie Smith said her sparkling creation, which won the Heather Paterson QSM Memorial Award, was inspired by the iridescence of the native tui and paua shells. Mrs Smith's glittering, behorned number was entered in the APT Collections Open Aotearoa Award section, in which she was runner-up. In her research, she realised the Maori word tui meant to sew, or weave together and she said that informed her garment's construction. Also a native bird, she said the tui's feathers were a "stunning interplay" of inky black, deep green and metallic blue, which she expressed in her garment. To achieve the iridescent look of tui feathers, Mrs Smith used shimmery fabric under sequined material that shone under the stage lights. Mrs Smith was honoured to win the Heather Paterson award, as she had been an "idol" for her growing up. Mrs Tamblyn also knew the Southern fashion awards icon, and won the award in its inaugural year, 10 years ago. She said Mrs Paterson, who died in 2015, was a generous competitor who encouraged everyone to enter, acting as a mentor to amateur designers. "She always gave you confidence to have a go," Mrs Tamblyn said. "As you get a few awards, you do get more confidence," she said.
Otago Daily Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
‘Wait and see' for building supplies
The proof of this pudding will most definitely be in the eating, with changes brought into the building supply chain. The government announced recently thousands of additional building products including plasterboard, cladding systems, external doors and windows will all be easier to access in construction sites across New Zealand. Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said quality overseas building products have been given the green light for New Zealand construction, ending costly monopolies on a small number of products that are currently used in the country. Mr Penk said it was 50% more expensive to build a standalone home in New Zealand than in Australia, which he called outrageous. New Zealand Certified Builders Southland president Will Kennedy said it was good news for builders and hopefully the cost of a house but there were questions which remained. "It is going to be good for the industry, bringing all these extra products into the country which we can use," he said. "The issue is whether they are going to be up to standard. We have windows brought in for jobs from the designers and have noticed they do not meet the correct standards. "So I suppose it is not fair on the local manufacturers. But we are just going to have to wait and see what happens." The government wants to see more products on the market to bring competition and hopefully bring down the price. Price relief could not come soon enough, Mr Kennedy said. He said costs were continually going up. "Every week you would get an email saying something is going up. Everything goes up but not that much goes down. Steel has gone up, 5% this month for concrete. Gib went up 15% in January. "There are no real specific reasons they give. The cost per square metre now to build a house is $4000 per sqm. Back before Covid you were looking at say $2700." He said New Zealand being a small country was a big hinderance. "I think a lot of the manufacturers do not want to come here. "We are a long way away, not a big market, not a lot of money to make. Are they going to come all the way over to New Zealand to sell their parts?" At the moment there were not a lot of suppliers to pick from and builders were locked into one. A couple of years ago Gib was in short supply and the price skyrocketed with builders caught out with clients unable to afford the new prices. He said consent authorities would be aware of the new products coming into the country and would maintain their high standards. One of the main issues was building standards in New Zealand were the toughest in the world and that led to increased cost to build houses, he said. "We build houses which are 10 times better than than other parts of the world. Part of that is because of our geographical makeup, earthquakes and other stuff. But what they get away with overseas they would not get away with here. It does not, generally, come back at them."
