Latest news with #Ōtaki
RNZ News
22-07-2025
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Marae opens doors to stranded drivers after crash blocked SH1 at Manakau
NZ Transport Agency says State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin has reopened after a serious crash but drivers can expect ongoing delays. Drivers who are waiting for the road to open have been offered a cuppa at Tukorehe Marae. Photo: Supplied / Tūkorehe Marae Earlier, a marae near the scene of crash opened its doors to stuck drivers. At about 2.30pm, NZTA said northbound queues were back to Ōtaki, and southbound queues were back to Kimberley Road. Emergency services were called to the two-vehicle crash near Manakau around 10.20am between Whakahoro and Kuku East Roads, and remain on site. Earlier police said Te Iwi o Ngāti Tukorehe Marae just north of Manakau opened its doors to drivers waiting for the road to open and was providing cups of tea. When the highway was still closed, a worker at a nearby business said traffic in the southbound lane was at a standstill. "It's very quiet and the traffic has just stopped. You can hear people's voices rather than the drone of the traffic. "There's a line of traffic - trucks, cars - nothing travelling north." They thought it was "fabulous" that the nearby marae had opened its doors to waiting drivers. Earlier this month, members of the Horowhenua-based iwi Ngāti Tukorehe said they would fly their flags even higher along State Highway 1 after what they said was a "racist" attack after several of the Tino Rangatira flags were ripped down. A social media post on Tuesday said marae members were "offering manaaki in the form of water and access to whare paku to those stuck in traffic". "Know us before you judge us. Caring for others is in our blood," it said. Police urged drivers travelling through the area to be patient and drive carefully. Flags outside Tukorehe Marae. Photo: Supplied / Tipi Wehipeihana Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
04-07-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Country Life: Crooked Vege's pay-what-you-can model feeding families two years on
Jon with a box of newly harvested vegetables Photo: Supplied It's a little over two years since Crooked Vege started up near Ōtaki with a plan to allow people to just "pay what you can" for a weekly vege box. What started with a somewhat noble, if not radical idea, for New Zealand at least, seems to be working, notwithstanding some challenges. Back in 2023 , co-founder Jonathan Mines was living in a portacabin looking out over a few newly dug rows, with an experimental cover crop in a small polytunnel. When Country Life visited again this week, things had revved up more than a notch. Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. The registered charity has gone from 200 to 300 square metres in production to about 1500m2. There's a large greenhouse heaving with winter crops, an automated irrigation system and a nursery "you can stand up in", helped by $34,000 in donations after a crowdfunding exercise. "Still very DIY, but far more functional," Mines said. Winter crops flourishing in the greenhouse Photo: RNZ/Sally Round The trust-based model of pay-as-you-can weekly vege boxes is done in conjunction with Ahoaho Māra Kai at Ōtaki College. "There's no means testing. If people need access to affordable, high quality veg, you shouldn't have to prove that you're poor to get that." Do people still think it's a crazy idea? "Mostly that language has turned to support, more than 'you guys are naive and a bit silly and a bit daft and idealistic'." So, how successful have the boxes been and is it sustainable for the growers? Largely, it is, Mines said. "People seem to be pretty honest. We state what the average value of a veggie bag subscription is, and people, they just choose what they want to pay," Mines said. "So it's self-policing, totally trust-based." Around 60 percent of people pay the asking price, while 10 to 20 percent pay more than that and 15 to 25 percent under. The farmers are paid a fair wage but also rely on the support of volunteers. At work in the vegetable beds Photo: Supplied "We don't really track individually what people are doing but I know sometimes there are people who can't afford to pay anything in a certain week, and that's totally fine," Mines said. "That's really the sort of people that we want to be growing food for, like people who really care about where their kai comes from, but are just in a tough place." Mines said they also grow some niche crops for restaurants, and supply retailers and an honesty box outlet in the neighbourhood, with zero waste. Crooked Vege grows vegetables for a pay-what-you-can vege box and for local restaurants as well as a few retailers Photo: Supplied But there have been challenges. They have been burgled twice in six months and are fund-raising to replace $5000 worth of power tools and specialist equipment, and to upgrade their security system at the cost of about $9000, an amount they'd rather put into the community, Mines said wryly. So, has he ever felt like giving up over the past two years? "Yeah, heaps. I don't know, I guess there's a lot of stubbornness there, or pig headedness or stupidity." Jonathan Mines Photo: RNZ/Sally Round Living conditions are a bit easier for Mines two years on from living in a leaky trailer followed by a chilly off-grid cabin. "I'm not at all thinking about leaving this project, other than, you know, those really dark moments, like when you turn up to work and your door has been smashed down with a pickaxe." He said the goal is to get the farm to a spot where it pays everyone a reasonable wage. "We know we've done heaps of hard mahi in setting this place up, and if we were ever to leave it, would want it to be making it easier for someone else to be stepping into this kind of work." If you'd like to assist Crooked Vege, go to Learn more:
RNZ News
02-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Prescription confusion may have contributed to woman's death
Close-up of MORPHINE SULFATE 1 MG/ML VIAL Photo: David GABIS / 123RF A coroner says Health New Zealand should centralise medicine dispensing records after he found a mistake with a morphine prescription may have contributed to a Levin woman's death. Coroner Mark Wilton found 71-year-old Norma Collins' death, at her home in May 2022, was associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with a background of excessive morphine administration. He could not determine the exact cause of Collins' death because she was cremated before it was reported to the coroner, and no post-mortem or toxicological analysis was done. But he found a GP at Ōtaki Medical Centre inadvertently prescribed a higher strength and dosage for Collins, which the pharmacist did not know about - and could not alert crucial people to. Collins suffered from end stage COPD with type 2 respiratory failure, pulmonary hypertension and anxiety. In the lead-up to her death she was prescribed morphine at 1mg strength at a dose of 2.5 to 5ml every three hours as needed by doctors at the Arohanui Hospice. Her daughter, who was Collins' carer, administered the morphine. She was advised to contact Ōtaki Medical Centre for repeat prescriptions. She did this in late May, concerned the liquid morphine was running out. A GP at the practice - who was not Collins' usual doctor, nor the lead practitioner at the centre - prescribed a higher dosage of 50ml of liquid morphine, at a higher strength of 10mg, administered at 1mg amounts. The GP told the Health and Disability Commissioner he checked prescribing records and the Ministry of Health database for Collins' medication history, but could find no previous prescription for liquid morphine, only one for a slow-release 10mg morphine tablet. He said he had not had specific palliative care training. "He said that he was unaware that Collins had previously been prescribed liquid morphine of a different dose and concentration by a doctor at Arohanui Hospice," Wiltobn said. The prescription was sent to Berrys Tararua Pharmacy, which had not dispensed the first prescription for Collins. It did not have access to her dispensing records so did not advise her daughter of any change. Wilton's report found Collins' daughter administered the drug as she had been doing - noticing her mother was drowsy and sleeping for hours at a time. "Collins' daughter did not think this was unusual as her mother had slept for long periods of time previously." She was found dead in her bed the morning of 31 May. Wilton said Health NZ should centralise dispensing records and share dispensing information through the New Zealand Electronic Prescription Service, following a previous finding by Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame. The service allows communication between prescribers and pharmacists, including emailing prescriptions and notifications for medications that have not been dispensed. He said if Berrys Tararua Pharmacy had access to dispensing records, the pharmacist could have checked out the different prescription. "This would have allowed the pharmacist at [Berrys Tararua Pharmacy] the opportunity to alert Collins' daughter to the difference in strength and dosage, or to question the GP at [Ōtaki Medical Centre] about the difference." Health NZ told Wilton it was making progress towards centralising dispensing records, but ultimately depended on funding allocation. Wilton said the Health and Disability Commissioner made recommendations to both the Ōtaki Medical Centre and Berrys Tarurua Pharmacy for future changes, and that the commissioner was satisfied this had been met. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
30-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Horse riders excluded from shared path, told to use highway
NZ Equestrian Advocacy Network chairwoman Shelly Warwick says safety is strong argument for horse riders to be included in a plan for a new shared pathway being designed for walkers and cyclists. Photo: Supplied/ NZ Equestrian Advocacy Network Horse riders are struggling to rein in their anger after horses have been banned from a shared use pathway planned to run alongside a new highway between Ōtaki and Levin - and instead told to ride on the highway itself. Work has started on the new Ōtaki to north of Levin (Ō2NL) highway project, with site investigation work well underway, final designs being drawn up and construction planned to begin in spring. Along the length of the highway a wide shared use pathway is to be built for walkers and cyclists. The project has been billed as offering safer more efficient and resilient travel options. During consultation, NZTA told the community that horse riders would be able to ride on the highway, so did not need to be included in the shared pathway plan. But Equestrian Advocacy Network chairwoman Shelly Warwick says that is unsafe, and horse riders should be included in the plans for the shared path. Warwick told Midday Report they had been asking to be part of the shared user path group, alongside pedestrians and cyclists, since 2019. "New Zealand Equestrian Advocacy Network represented those groups at the Environment Court hearing last year, when we were told that we weren't in the scope due to cost, and NZTA told us that we could ride on the expressway itself, because legally we are a vehicle and we can use the expressway. "However, it's completely unsafe. It's ridiculous." While NZTA said the expressway would not be the only north-south option, Warwick said it would cut through rural Horowhenua - a community where riders live. Riders would also be able to use the old State Highway 1. But that was "completely impractical, when there's a very good, safe shared-use path going to be built that we could use," Warwick said. Directing riders towards the highways also created a risk to vehicles using the highway, she said, as the Road Code instructed drivers to slow down and stop if a horse seemed frightened. "Our position is how we're going to be kept safe, and how are police going to enforce those driver rules to drivers on the expressway if horses are using it?" NZTA said one of the objectives of the new Ōtaki to north of Levin (Ō2NL) highway was to enable walking and cycling between local communities, with a north-south shared user path. "During the design, planning and consenting of the project, we have engaged with the community, seeking feedback from residents, road users and representatives of local equestrian groups. Unlike with the Kāpiti expressway to the south, the Ō2NL highway alignment doesn't affect existing bridle path connections and routes, or equestrian facilities. "After hearing submissions from equestrians, the Environment Court accepted that the project was not required to better provide for equestrian users." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Central Districts get vote of confidence from racing bosses
Things got worse on Anzac Day when the Awapuni relaunch lasted one race before that meeting was called off for the usual reason: a slippery surface making racing unsafe. Add to that long-term doubts about the sustainability of the remaining Trentham grandstand and Ōtaki losing its only Group 1 to Ellerslie and good news has been hard to come by in the lower half of the North Island. But help, or at least the promise of help, is on the way. New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing have backed the new Awapuni track by scheduling two Group 1s to be run there in the spring, if the track can come up to scratch by then. That IF has to be in capital letters as NZTR chief executive Matt Ballesty has made it clear the track must prove itself first and any sign of trouble that threatens the Group 1s will see an alternate venue found. The two races are the Arrowfield Stud Plate and the Livamol, traditionally the second and third legs of the Hawke's Bay Triple Crown. With Hastings out of play for the spring (more on that soon) the three Group 1s it usually holds will be split between Ellerslie for the first, the Tarzino Trophy, with the next two legs tentatively at Awapuni. 'Subject to a visit from track expert Liam O'Keefe in early June we intend to run the two Group 1s in that region,' Ballesty told the Herald. 'However, if the track isn't exactly where it needs to be and more time is needed we won't rush and we will look at other options. 'NZTR understands all participants, especially trainers, need to know in advance where the races are to be held.' While the move is hardly the most boisterous vote of confidence in Awapuni being up and running by spring, NZTR are bringing in the big guns in Flemington track man O'Keefe, who helped Ellerslie smooth out their problems when they launched their StrathAyr track last year. Like Ellerslie, one of the key Awapuni issues has been compaction of the top layer, making it prone to becoming slippery, so it will need constant verti-draining to break up that level and create more organic matter, ultimately providing a more natural surface. But one of Awapuni's issues is rocks underneath the surface which limits the use of certain verti-draining machines. There will be weekly management meetings between the local administration body RACE, NZTR, O'Keefe and fellow track expert Callum Brown. If that all goes well racing is scheduled to return to the turf track in August with Ballesty saying, 'a safe return to racing is our number one priority'. So while nothing is certain in the increasingly weird world of race track management, NZTR are at least giving Awapuni and those who run it the chance to prove themselves. The second piece of good news for the region came in Hastings last night when Ballesty announced racing will remain at the current track with recambering work to start soon. The Hastings track has been dogged by problems in recent years, admittedly not helped by erratic spring weather, but one of its biggest issues has been the camber on the bend out of the straight. There has been debate about whether it is better to fix the current track or look to build a new track in the Hastings region, but Ballesty answered that question when addressing club members last night. 'We will start work on correcting the camber on the track and all going well hope to have it ready for racing in spring 2026,' he said. That is a far quicker, and cheaper, option than moving the track in what is a famous racing region and all going well Awapuni and Hastings could be racing, on safer surfaces, in the New Year. Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
