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Driving home the message

Kia ora Wānaka. We’ve welcomed back our colleagues deployed to Wellington and we’ve all been busy with the day-to-day policing of the town.

On Monday last week there were some adverse weather conditions which led to two crashes on Cardrona Valley Road, approaching the summit. Both resulted in the single vehicle rolling after failing to navigate their respective corners. One driver was injured. This road is not to be taken for granted when it is wet and needs more caution from drivers.

On Tuesday there was an overnight burglary where a residential house was entered and a range of property taken. Thankfully this is not the norm in our town but is something to be wary of and to take the appropriate precautions with locking doors.

Police have noticed some rather high speeds on the newly sealed stretch of Ballantyne Road. We have been out to enforce this 60km/h limit and a few drivers have come precariously close to losing their licence instantly by approaching 100km/h.

Another focus has been the use of cell phones while driving. This is a clear danger on the road, so Wānaka Police have been conducting operations to observe and enforce this. Has anyone seen us covertly watching lately, or been stopped and wondered how we saw them on their phone?

On Thursday there was another crash, this time on Ruby Island Road, where another single vehicle has rolled after losing control on a corner. No one was injured on this occasion.

On Thursday we also attended a building site after a new air-conditioning unit was taken from the building.

On Friday night Wānaka Police joined the Otago Lakes Safter Roads Team to conduct checkpoints in Wānaka. Unfortunately, three drivers were quickly found over the limit and will have fines associated to their driving. This trend is disappointing and unfortunately regular. We will continue to put checkpoints anywhere at any time.

Over the weekend it was reported that the batteries were stolen from the traffic lights operating on the road from Makarora to Haast. This is long term road works and while I can appreciate it can be frustrating, stealing the batteries is clearly not the answer, and a criminal one.

Hope this week treats you well. If you see the Wānaka Police out there, don’t be afraid to say hello.

PHOTO: Wānaka Sun March 14, 2022

Leaving the nests to us

As summer is winding down, so is the grebe season.

Although a few latecomers are still sitting on their nests, incubating their eggs or watching their last chicks hatching, the grebe team slowly starts to get ready for the off-season.

Primarily, that means for us to reduce the numbers off platforms we have in the water and move them into storage where they can dry out and be maintained over winter. Every platform will get a thorough check over winter and, from experience, most of them need some kind of fixing and refurbishment to be ready for the next season. It is very interesting to see the wear and tear that these platforms show after only a few months in the water so there is a lot to do.

For now, we left six platforms anchored in the bay and three are still occupied by grebes. It is questionable but definitely not impossible that these breeding attempts will still be successful as the temperatures drop. It is increasingly hard for the grebes to keep their eggs warm and successfully incubate them.

In addition, we have another six platforms still attached to the marina and three are occupied by breeding pairs. Again, it will be interesting to find out if we see chicks hatching from these nests in the upcoming days or weeks.

Last weekend we removed six abandoned and now unused platforms from the water. When taking the old nests off the platforms, we are always astonished by what we might find in the nests. That leads me to the question: “What do baby dummies, dog toys, car radio antennas, safety and prescription glasses, pieces of a deceased hedgehog, Christmas tree tinsel, pieces of a popped beach ball (see photo) and uncountable pieces of litter and rubbish have in common?”.

They are all items that our family of Wānaka grebes find irresistible as nest building materials. We regularly find them weaved into old and abandoned nests when we remove them to swap over platforms or extract the platforms towards the end of the breeding season as we are doing at the moment.

On one hand it is fascinating to see how these birds use the things we humans have left behind, lost, or carelessly thrown in the lake to build and improve (and maybe decorate?) their nests. On the other hand, it is very sad to see the birds exposed to all this rubbish, even in that tiny stretch of our beloved Lake Wānaka.

At least the low water level at the moment enables us to regularly collect most of the rubbish around the marina. We sometimes see members of the community doing the same and we, on behalf of the grebes, are very thankful and appreciative of that!

Finally, we want to mention that our grebes, even that late in the season, are still attracting a lot of very keen visitors, spectators, ornithologists and professional photographers from all over the country. Last week we had one of New Zealand most famous and eminent bird photographers in Wānaka and she planned to spend hours hiding in the vegetation around the boardwalk waiting for some good photos of our Wānaka grebes.

Watch this space as we might be able to report further about the outcome of her visit.

– By Markus Hermanns

Health Board stretched

The Southern Districts Health Board has warned it may cut back services in response to increasing numbers of its staff contracting Covid.

It says some staff are having to isolate as household contacts or stay home to look after family.

Some services across the Southern DHB may change or scale back to allow staff to be moved to areas in the health care system where care cannot be deferred. These areas include services such as cancer care, nondeferrable surgery and diagnostic procedures such as radiology.

Some services that may see changes include non-urgent surgeries and non-urgent outpatient clinics.

“Staff across the Southern DHB are doing a great job to care for patients during a difficult time.” Hamish Brown, Chief Operating Officer for SDHB said. “We apologise in advance to those affected by these changes and remind the Southern community to still seek out medical care if they or a loved one need it.”

The Board says people affected will be contacted directly.

Mr Brown said all healthcare staff were doing their best to care for patients and the community during an unprecedented time.

He said it was understandable that some people who visited hospitals and healthcare providers were anxious or frustrated “but this is no excuse to take these feeling out on staff”.

Emergency and non-deferrable surgeries and procedures are being given priority, and anyone needing health advice should continue to call their GP or Healthline on 0800 611 116 or dial 111 if it’s an emergency.

thewanakasun.co.nz

Sun News Students sent home to study

Secondary school students in Wānaka have been told to study from home.

Mount Aspiring College took to Facebook this week to tell Year 12 and 13 students to study at home from Wednesday to Friday.

Principal Nicola Jacobsen told the Sun the last two weeks had seen a small number of students away due to Covid – but there had been an expected increase this week.

“Last week our whole-school attendance was at 85 per cent, whereas Monday it was 68 per cent, and our year 12 and 13 classes had dropped to 45-50 per cent attendance,” she said.

“I made the call in order to roster the year 12 and 13 students home Wednesday to Friday this week to minimise the disruption - particularly to learning programmes, and look after people, knowing that over the next few days we may see more students, and staff, affected by Covid.

Because of the long weekend for Otago Anniversary Day those students are not required back until next Tuesday.

Meanwhile Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) says it is adapting staffing and work arrangements to maintain service levels as close to normal as possible in the face of Covid impacts.

Figures from the Southern District Health Board show there were 1767 Covid cases in Queenstown Lakes and 300 in Central Otago earlier this week.

QLDC Chief Executive Mike Theelen said the outbreak was putting a strain on in-house teams, especially community services like sport and recreation, libraries and parks, and contractors who carry out council services like fixing water leaks, collecting rubbish and recycling.

“Like any other employer right now, we are seeing staff absences either because our people have contracted the virus or are isolating as household contacts. We all have flatmates, friends and dependents who are being affected in different ways, including staff members with kids at local schools,” he said.

“At the moment, the public won’t see much change and we hope that will continue. But it’s possible that we may need to make further changes that may be more visible over the next few weeks until we’re well over the peak of the outbreak. This may include reduced opening hours, changed access to different facilities at different times, and reduced frequency of some regular services.”

Council’s customer service office in Ardmore Street, Wānaka remains open.

“We also have a range of services that are available online or via telephone and I would encourage people to use these methods to reduce the risk of community transmission of Covid-19 whenever possible,” Theelen said.

Bookings up, says Bachcare

The domestic accommodation sector is reporting an increase in bookings from New Zealanders returning home, according to new data.

Bachcare, New Zealand’s largest holiday home management firm, says the reopening of borders to returning expats has seen an increase of bookings made from Australia by 330 per cent.

Bookings from the United Kingdom are up 42 per cent and the US also shows a 44 per cent lift - compared to the same period last year.

Zaina Razzaq, Bachcare spokesperson, says their data shows most are looking to reconnect with friends and family and have reserved homes which can accommodate groups of five for up to 4-5 days at a time.

She says the figures also suggest changes to the managed isolation model have come just in time for New Zealand’s ski industry with Southern Lakes district already the most popular winter destination for Kiwis returning from overseas.

“What we can see from the data is that forward bookings from overseas markets have increased significantly since changes were made to managed isolation requirements last month.

“The Coromandel is the most popular area during the warmer months of March and April for the influx of Kiwis from Australia, followed by Canterbury and the Far North.

“For those returning home from the UK, the Coromandel and Wairarapa are the top two destinations, followed by Waiheke Island.

“Kiwis coming back from the US follow a similar pattern, with bookings picking up from February through to April. Coromandel again is the most popular, followed by the Far North and Abel Tasman.

“New Zealand’s ski industry is also expected to receive a significant boost from overseas based Kiwis travelling here for the winter season,” she says.

Trust chair to retire

The Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust (QLCHT) board is looking for a new chair.

Andrew Blair, chair and trustee since 2018, will retire from his positions at the end of April.

He will continue with his other roles, including being a director of Queenstown Airport Corporation and executive chair of the Southern Cross Central Lakes Trust Hospital company.

QLCHT is a not-for-profit social enterprise created to manage and deliver affordable housing to people who need assistance. It was initiated by Queenstown Lakes District Council in 2007 but is now an independent entity.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed supporting the Trust’s work to provide affordable and secure housing for our community” he says. “It has been particularly rewarding to witness the pleasure that individuals and families share

Andrew Blair

when they finally achieve home ownership with the support of QLCHT. I have always viewed this as a community service which I have taken pride in contributing to, but now feels like the right time for someone else to have the opportunity to contribute to their community through the Trust.”

Queenstown Lakes District Councillors were to be asked to adopt the 2022-2023 draft Annual Plan and consultation document today.

It would pave the way for a consultation period running to April 25.

The plan proposes a 5.96 per cent rates rise.

The draft plan takes its lead from the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) 2021-2031 Ten Year Plan (TYP) with variations proposed to address evolving community needs since the TYP was adopted in June last year.

These include potential adjustments relating to weather tightness claims, increased user fees and charges for some services, and optional

Annual plan process continues “Each year we invite the community to tell us if they think we are prioritising and funding services and infrastructure projects in the right additional budget for the latest Queenstown way. It’s important individuals, families and Lakes District Climate and Biodiversity Plan that groups provide their feedback so we capture will also be open for community feedback during the views of as many different people across the the same period. district as possible. We’ll be scheduling drop-in The draft plan highlights the progress made on opportunities to talk with Council staff during the Wānaka Lakefront Development. the consultation period,” she said. The consultation process also provides an Both the draft plan and consultation document opportunity for community groups to apply for provide a detailed breakdown showing the grants for one-off projects or operational costs impact on rates – residential, commercial, for the 2022-2023 financial year. accommodation and rural – that Council’s QLDC Corporate Services General Manager proposed work programme would have. Meaghan Miller encouraged the community QLDC General Manager Finance, Legal and to have their say once the consultation period Regulatory Stewart Burns said Council had taken opens. steps to minimise the average rates increase taking into account the financial impact of potential variations to TYP expenditure for the year ahead.

“The anticipated average rates increase for 2022-2023 in the current TYP is 5.87%. The combined impact of adjustments and mitigating actions proposed in this draft Annual Plan move the average rates increase to around 5.96%, just inside Council’s self-imposed rates increase limit of 6%,” said Mr Burns.

Copies of the draft Annual Plan and consultation document will be available from Council’s customer service offices in Ardmore Street, Wānaka and QLDC libraries. across the district.

Following hearings in Wānaka on May 25 and Queenstown two days later Councillors will consider adopting the final plan at a meeting on June 30.

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