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When good nights go bad
Kia ora Wānaka.
Here is a snippet of what the local constabulary have been up to this week.
We all like to go out and enjoy ourselves and have a social drink. However, going out shouldn’t turn you into superman or superwoman or a MMA/WWF superstar. There is absolutely no reason why going out should turn in to a violent affair.
Police attended a couple of incidents this week where an outing to a local establishment has turned violent between patrons. This is not the answer and you will find yourself in a spot of bother if you engage in any form of violence or similar behaviour.
Police attended a number of family harm incidents this week. All incidents varied from minor to serious. Alcohol and drugs, children, money and mental health were all factors in the incidents attended. If you need help don’t be shy to ask or seek it. Don’t forget the Wānaka Community Networks at the Community Hub, 34 McDougall Street, Wānaka has a number of agencies that are there to help.
I’m sure most of you would have heard about, observed or come in to contact with the increased Police presence last Wednesday. Police were out and about reminding road users of their obligations when operating a motor vehicle. Restraints, mobile phones, speed, impairment and stopping at stop signs were the focus for this day. Unfortunately, there were many failures in these areas and many infringement notices issued. Please be a prudent driver and be respectful of all other road users.
It wouldn’t be a crime line without a mention of the continuing trend of drinking and driving. Wānaka is a small community and I’m sure you all know of someone who has been affected by drink driving in some way or form. Don’t be that person or the next person to be caught over the limit. You not only put yourself at risk but you also put the community at risk. Make the
PHOTO: Wānaka Sun
right decision.
A reminder to all that winter is well on its way. We have already had a couple of frosts. Please ensure your windscreens are clear before travelling and you plan to leave a few minutes earlier than usual to travel to your location. This may also be a timely reminder to give or get someone to give your vehicle a once over and check window wipers, defrosters, heaters, tyres and fluid levels are all tickety boo.
Finally, an ongoing issue in Wānaka is the use of mobile phones whilst driving. The Rotary Club of Wānaka and Police are teaming up to try and improve this dangerous practise. Many vehicles have the ability to set up hands free calling through blue tooth. This can be slightly tricky for some to set up especially if you don’t have a 13-year-old you can call upon. If you would like to bring your vehicle and phone to an event with experts to help, please register your interest with Mike Elliot, email melliot144@gmail.com. If there is enough interest a date and location will follow.
Keep up the good work Wānaka, look after each other and our community.
Wrap up warm and see you all out there.
– By Adrian Kerin
Acting Sergeant, NZPD
New approach to our aviation
This item was submitted by Paul Callister, an economist and research associate at Victoria University, and Robert McLachlan a mathematician at Massey University.
Paul Callister
When discussions turn to its proposed new international airport at Tarras, Christchurch Airport operators are keen to focus on their world-leading “green transition”. And on its own terms, it is impressive. Emissions from ground-based operations have been cut, and the remainder offset, leading to a claim of carbon neutrality in 2021.
But airport emissions are dwarfed by the enormous emissions of the planes themselves: aviation was responsible for 12 per cent of New Zealand’s CO2 emissions in 2019. And airports are a vital component of the industry – no airports, no flights. Airport expansion and aviation growth are joined at the hip.
This is an industry with a proven ability to increase emissions at a staggering rate: New Zealand’s international emissions were up 40 per cent in the four years to 2019, domestic up 20 per cent. And one factor in that is the convenient fraud that international emissions somehow “don’t count”. They are not in our national climate targets or carbon budgets. International flights are not charged any fuel excise tax or GST, and are not in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
But all this may be about to change. At the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow, New Zealand joined 21 countries in the “International Aviation Climate Ambition Coalition”: New Zealand will unveil “ambitious and concrete” plans to reduce aviation emissions this year, in time for a UN meeting in September.
In response, we have written a detailed report looking at all the options. What would such a plan look like for New Zealand?
One of the key questions is growth. The past two years have seen a wave of new ambition around the world, with many commitments (including by Air New Zealand) to net zero aviation by 2050. But this just cannot be reconciled with the short to medium term impossibility of technological solutions (such as long haul low-emission planes and lowemission jet fuel), the Paris Agreement, and the industry’s wish for unlimited growth.
For example, we think that it could just be possible for New Zealand to build three sustainable aviation fuel plants by 2035, two using forestry waste and one fully synthetic using just water, carbon dioxide, and renewable electricity. The cost might be $2 billion, and the uncertainties – considering that no such commercial plants are in operation anywhere in the world – large. But even this would supply just eight per cent of New Zealand’s aviation fuel at 2019 levels of demand. And the fuel would be expensive.
A common response when we raise these concerns is that flying is better than the alternatives for a particular trip. Unfortunately, that argument ignores the fact that the very convenience of flying encourages vastly more travel, which then becomes normalised and embedded in the economy, from decisions about where to live and holiday to where to invest and what products to export.
The fact that flying is better for the passenger on one particular trip does not justify any amount of growth or any amount of emissions.
Until we get a national plan for decarbonising aviation, local opposition to growth can be effective.
Locals have stopped the planned expansion at Wānaka through the courts. A new CEO at Queenstown Airport, Glen Sowry, is radically scaling back growth plans, partly in response to local opposition. However, flying remains fundamentally problematic. Sowry said, “Airlines will fly where people want to go. The ability to leave work on a Friday in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane and be in [Queenstown] for dinner, on the ski field the next day, ski all day and be on the plane the next day, there is high appeal in that.”
And that’s the problem in a nutshell.
Robert McLachlan
Council rates not a bad effort...
Ratepayers get two options
The Central Otago District Council rates for 2022-23 were adopted at Alexandra last week.
Having not signalled any significant changes for year two of the Council’s 2021-2031 Long-term Plan, which involved an extensive public consultation, there was no requirement to consult on the 202223 Annual Plan.
In adopting the Long-term Plan (LTP), the average rates increase was predicted to reach 7.8%. This has reduced to 7.5%. The fees and charges for 2022-23 financial year were also adopted as part of this process.
Mayor Tim Cadogan said bringing the figure back to 75 per cent was “not a bad effort”.
“This is an average rate rise and different areas and different types of properties will have a different level of rise that make up the average. For instance, the Teviot Valley rates increase will be higher due to the impact of the funding agreed last year for the new swimming pool.
“Council has chosen not to reduce any levels of service across the organisation, which is what would have been required to bring the rise back further.”
The council’s Executive Manager Corporate Services Leanne Macdonald said the Council had also seen increased costs relating to wastewater and waste (rubbish) collection and disposal.
Wastewater and waste minimisation had increased in year two of the LTP as predicted. This created differences across the district as well, she said.
Tim Cadogan
Ripponvale community ratepayers have been given a choice of how they would like to pay for their water scheme upgrade.
Central Otago District Council took over the scheme last November. Councillors have now decided ratepayers can: • Opt into a one-off payment for the scheme by way of a one-off capital contribution of $4,726. • Take the default option and pay a 10year targeted fixed rate of $602.57.
The payment options will be applied on July 1.
The Ripponvale Community Water Scheme agreed to pay half the $600,000 of upgrading the network to meet the New Zealand Drinking Water Standards, and minimum engineering standard requirements.
Members also agreed that existing properties on the scheme would have the option of paying their share of the $300,000, by either a lump sum payment in the year one of the scheme or as a targeted rate . A letter will be sent to all members of this water upgrade scheme, confirming Council’s decision and will include an invitations to ‘opt in’ to the one-off payment.
Ripponvale was one of two capital funding plans, the other being the Clyde Wastewater Reticulation Scheme, approved along with the adoption of the 2022-23 Annual Plan, and the fees and charges for 2022-23 financial year, at Wednesday’s Council meeting. Otago farmers preparing resource consent applications can now work under one set of provisions, instead of two - designed to further protect freshwater quality across the province.
The Otago Regional Council has ratified changes to the operative Regional Plan: Water for Otago, which now allows some key parts of proposed “Plan change 8” that relate to rural discharges to become operative.
ORC’s General Manager Policy and Science Anita Dawe says the PC8 rules which set minimum standards for animal effluent storage and application, intensive grazing, and the establishment of small in-stream sediment traps apply now.
In some cases farmers’ consents for existing animal effluent storage may not be required until a later date.
The PC8’s primary sector provisions - to counter adverse water quality effects of rural land - cover rural discharges, animal effluent application and storage, intensive grazing, stock access to water and sediment traps.
The new provisions include rules that set minimum standards for animal effluent storage and application to land, for intensive grazing, for the establishment of small in-stream sediment traps, plus an amended rule for stock access to water bodies.
The balance of PC8 will affect urban developers and operators of reticulated storm and wastewater systems.
The key provisions for urban land uses are aimed at reducing any adverse water quality effects, including for the management of sediment loss from earthworks for residential development.
Because the Environment Court is yet to release its decision on the parts of the plan change which cover the urban activities, it is unknown when those provisions will become operative.
PC8 is part of a transition toward a new freshwater management framework, being set into the ORC’s new Land and Water Regional Plan, the latter intended to be operative by December 2025, Ms Dawe says.
“The development of the Land and Water Regional Plan is a longer process, and to avoid any further environmental degradation in the meantime, ORC commenced a series of plan changes to address known deficiencies with its current planning framework,” she says.
Collectively, these plan changes would result in a strengthened interim management regime for freshwater in Otago; with one of the changes being Plan Change 8.
“This Plan Change 8 proposed to make a range of amendments to the current water plan provisions to better manage specific urban and rural activities, known to be contributing to water quality issues in parts of Otago,” Ms Dawe says. ORC chair Andrew Noone acknowledged the collaboration, goodwill and participation of all the parties involved with the Environment Court process for the rural provisions, including successful mediation, and 15 parties presenting evidence for ORC in the Environment Court.
“Everyone helped with moving the rural provisions of Plan Change 8 toward being consistent with National Policy, achieving greater environmental outcomes and in being practical to implement and regulate,” he said.
With ORC councillors approving Plan Change 8 -Rural Discharges, it moves another step towards a more fit for purpose and comprehensive planning framework, he says.
PC8 was part of a larger proposed Plan Change, called the Omnibus Plan Change, which was “called in’’ for fast-tracking by Minister for the Environment David Parker in April 2020 and was referred to the Environment Court.
The Court then heard Plan Change 8 as two separate matters – with one being the primary sector topics, and the second the urban topics - with separate mediation and hearings. The Omnibus Plan Change included Plan Change 8 to the Water Plan and Plan Change 1 to the Regional Plan: Waste.
Plan change eight approved
The new provisions include rules that set minimum standards for intensive grazing.
Feds see ‘sense’ in water report
Federated Farmers sees positives in the report released by the Rural Supplies Technical Working Group on water services which rejects an inflexible ‘one size fits all’ approaches to rural supplies. "Many of the findings raised by the group look sound," president Andrew Hoggard said. "The report appears to be a tiny sliver of common sense in amongst a pile of water policy decision-making we are struggling to explain to our members."
The technical working group chaired by Clutha Mayor Bryan Cadogan has recommended all council-owned mixeduse rural supplies should transfer to the new water services entities because they will have the people, resources and expertise to operate these schemes into the future.
Federated Farmers still has major concerns about the set-up of the ‘four entities’ under the Government’s Three waters proposals. "But we like the recommendation that there should be the option for rural community to take back water assets with shared ownership or maintenance agreements," Andrew says. "It would depend on capacity, finances and capability, the predominant use of the scheme and other factors. But the community should decide."
Feds agrees with the report’s recommendation rural service users should generally not be subsidising urban service users. Also that consultation with rural users on the water entities’ funding should start before the new entities ‘go live’ and before domestic volumetric pricing is introduced to new areas.
The recommendation new water quality regulator Taumata Arowai should provide cost-effective ways for schemes to comply that recognises their uniqueness, offers options to not chlorinate in certain drinking water supply situations, and closely involves rural stakeholders in designing and implementing regulatory requirements, are "spot on," Andrew said.
Federated Farmers continues to analyse and submit on the vast array of other regulatory changes proposed in the water management area. "Sadly this is just a small piece in the much larger puzzle we are trying to put together properly for our members right now," Andrew said.
Andrew Hoggard
Sarah Holmes 027 343 4776
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