NOTEWORTHY

UPPER HUTT PASSES ON PASSPORT

Upper Hutt City Council will ask entrants to show their vaccine passes at only one of their public facilities, despite most other councils in the Wellington region requiring them. The exception will be Whirinaki Whare Taonga, Upper Hutt’s councilowned arts centre. The council’s chief executive, Peter Kelly, highlighted accessibility issues in a press release: “Our pool, libraries, and customer services functions at the council building are public facilities. It’s important to us that we continue to allow access for everyone in Upper Hutt.”

CANTER IN KĀPITI

Giddy up! To entice more visitors and their horses to the Kāpiti Coast, the District Council is funding the hire of a portable shower and toilet block at the Ōtaki Māori Racing Club to create an area for “horse camping” in the club’s grounds. The council hopes the camping area, looking out onto the Tararua ranges, will prove attractive to trekkers on horseback. DANISH DELIBERATION

Wellington High School student Jasper Greenberg has just returned from Europe, where he spoke at the Children’s General Assembly in Denmark, alongside 19 other students from around the world. The summit is designed to mirror the United Nations. Jasper is a member of the Big Buddy scheme, an initiative that pairs men with boys who do not have a father figure in their households. Steen Videbeck is Jasper’s mentor and encouraged him to apply. His speech focused on global inequality. TRANSMISSION TROUBLES

For the fifth time in two years, the opening of Transmission Gully has been delayed. Costing $1.25 billion, the 27-kilometre motorway section is now intended to open mid- to late January. Brett Gliddon of the New Zealand Transport Agency said they have been working with Wellington Gateway Partnership and their contractors, who manage the build, to address outstanding issues. Fewer than half of the 100 complex safety and assurance tests required for the road’s opening have so far been submitted.

Synthony

YOUR ULTIMATE TARANAKI ADVENTURE AWAITS

Oxfam

LUNAR LANDING

The Chinese New Year Festival is rebranding as the Lunar New Year Festival, it will run from 1 to 12 February. This year is the Year of the Water Tiger. While the Tiger zodiac is fixed to certain years, the tiger cycles through the traditional Chinese Five Elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. “We are looking forward to welcoming many more communities to work with us to create a festival that will further increase exposure, awareness, understanding, and acceptance of Asian art and culture,” says Asian Events Trust chair Linda Lim.

SEAS SIZZLING A FOR EFFORT COMMERCE ON CAMPUS

Rising coastal sea temperatures are a cause of ecosystem imbalance and extreme weather. Marine heat wave conditions, when sea temperatures occuring above the 90th percentile are recorded for at least five days, were recently observed all over New Zealand, the capital being no exception. “Sea temperatures around Wellington are currently 16 to 17 degrees, and it’s about 1–1.5 degrees Celsius above average for the time of year,” says NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll. Wellington has been named as one of 95 cities worldwide to receive a top mark of “A” on climate action from the Carbon Disclosure Project. It is an international nonprofit organisation founded in 2000 to track the carbon reduction performance of cities and corporations. Almost $30 million of Wellington City Council’s budget will be allocated to climate initiatives over the next decade, on top of a $226 million investment in cycling. The city’s first electric cross-harbour ferry was also launched recently, at a build cost of $8.5 million. Property developer Willis Bond has broken ground on a five-hectare Upper Hutt business park, which they estimate will add an annual $250 million to Wellington’s regional GDP, at a build cost of $100 million. Blue Mountains Campus will offer 36,000 square metres of space with a mix of old and new buildings, which they say will be highly earthquake-resilient. KiwiRail has taken a 20-year lease on a refurbished building, which will include a high-tech control room. New-built premises on the campus will be ready by 2023.

WOMAD

Experience Taranaki at its best this summer. With events for everyone, there’s never been a better time to plan your ultimate escape to Taranaki, a region like no other.

WHAT’S ON • L.A.B at the Bowl of Brooklands – 8 January • Taranaki Off Road Half Marathon – 15 January • Synthony – 5 February • AmeriCARna – 23 - 26 February • WOMAD – 18 - 20 March • Oxfam Trailwalker – 26 - 27 March Taranaki.co.nz/visit