Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Radio New Zealand

A person has died after being pulled out of the water at St Clair Beach in Dunedin.

Police say they were called to the beach at the south of the city just before midday on Thursday.

The person was unresponsive after being pulled from the water and could not be revived despite medical treatment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A controversial high-rise development has been approved in Mt Victoria in Wellington, despite strong opposition from neighbours.

The proposal for the seven-storey, 32-unit Mayfair apartment block was first lodged in late 2024, after the Wellington City Council relaxed rules about what could be built in character areas.

In his decision, Commissioner Alistair Aburn said the proposal’s effects on townscape were “acceptable and consistent with the outcomes anticipated under the recently revised and now operative District Plan (2024) provisions, which provide for residential buildings of at least six storeys in the High Density Residential Zone”.

He found that any adverse effects on the Elizabeth Street Heritage Area would be “less than minor and therefore be acceptable”.

Opponents to the development include filmmaker Dame Gaylene Preston and former Wellingtonian of the Year Ralph Highman.

Highman shares a private road with the development.

He said 25,000 truck movements were planned over two years in the construction of the apartment block, and neighbours had safety and access concerns.

“One of the developers’ main plans has been to rip up the pedestrian pathway to try and make it safer. I mean, on what kind of planet does ripping up a pedestrian pathway make a driveway safer? If you’ve got your kids walking up and that driveway to school each day, obviously, that’s a big concern.”

Dame Gaylene is a long-time Mt Victoria resident.

She said the development would require extensive geo-tech work, which was “crazy” given recent weather events.

“Particularly in light of what happened last weekend in Tauranga and other places in New Zealand… Hauling 5000 cubic metres of Mt Victoria out from the mountain, it’s on a slope, and carting it away down a shared driveway on 10-tonne trucks, with permission to do that over two years… I think that is a crazy sort of development to be putting there.”

In his decision, Commissioner Alistair Aburn acknowledged that there could be “no debate” the proposal would involve substantial earthworks over the majority of the site.

Council officials had noted that those earthworks had the “potential to result in adverse effects in terms of site stability, erosion and sediment control, dust emissions and visual effects.”

However, a council engineer had reviewed a Geotechnical Assessment provided by the applicant and concluded that the earthworks effects, “including site stability, erosion and sediment run-off”, and dust emissions could be appropriately managed during the construction phase.

Aburn said he was also satisfied that the visual effects of the proposal would be limited to the construction stage and would be “fully mitigated” once the building and site landscaping had been completed.

It was appropriate that the final shared driveway layout and detailed design plans were provided to affected residents and invited them to forward comments to the Council’s compliance monitoring officer, he said.

Ralph Highnam said opponents now had 15 days to decide whether to appeal the decision to the Environment Court.

The developer of the Mayfair apartment block, Forma Group, was approached for comment.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The chair of Wellington’s new water entity will not promise the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant will be fully fixed by July, when it takes over.

Tiaki Wai board chair Will Peet also will not give “absolute confidence” that people will be able to swim on south coast beaches next summer, but says he will provide updates about that in the coming months.

But he says the entity has a good shot at significantly improving Wellington’s water infrastructure, despite having to deal with serious problems.

Directors of the water entity met on Thursday in central Wellington.

Tiaki Wai is replacing Wellington Water and inheriting the region’s assets – providing drinking water, wastewater, and piped stormwater services from July.

It is also in line to inherit the extensively damaged Moa Point, which after a major failure earlier this month was sending millions of litres of raw sewage into Cook Strait every day.

Officials are currently tight-lipped about the cause of the delay, or when the plant will be fixed, citing an independent Crown review and insurance processes.

But Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty previously said 80 percent of the electronics were damaged and some equipment parts may need to be brought in from overseas.

Peet said he expected to get an “operating plant of-sorts” by July, doubted it would be fully-fixed.

“There’s a lot of work to do with the plant, I think they’re still discovering what the state of things are. We will be getting some updates over the next while – I wouldn’t be making commitments that all things will be in and done in 90 days – not at all.”

He said he was working through the specific details of the transfer agreement with Wellington City Council, including making sure the plant was able to do what it needed to.

“If there are any changes we’ll come back and let people know about what that is, but right now the focus is not about the legal agreements and the funds – it has to be on the recovery and minimising the amount of sewage going into the south coast.”

Peet said he would not comment on what caused the plant’s failure while an investigation was underway, though he said he was “interested” to find out like everyone else.

Asked whether he could give absolute confidence people would be able to swim at the beaches next year, once the entity had controlled the plant for months, Peet said he would provide updates on that in the future.

“I don’t think anybody in my position should give you something that says absolute confidence because that wouldn’t be the right thing to do. I’ll be able to give you more of an update on that in the coming weeks and months, as we know more as we get closer to taking over.”

(h) ‘A lot to be done’ before July – officials

During the Tiaki Wai board meeting, establishment director Dougal List said progress had been made in the asset transfer agreements, but there was “a lot of work still to go” before day one.

The complex paperwork and financial arrangements were currently being worked through with councils, List said.

Peet agreed, saying there was “a lot of work to be done”.

Wellingtonians – those living in Wellington City, Porirua, Hutt City, and Upper Hutt – would receive a separate water bill from 1 July for water services.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Peet said the organisation was “well in train” with being ready from July.

New chief executive Michael Brewster, who previously led Tasmania’s water utility, would start at the organisation on 2 March.

“Look, Moa point is a significant issue, but I don’t want to take away from all the other stuff that’s going on… there’s still Seaview, Titahi Bay, Karori wastewater treatment plants operating.”

The new entity had been promising more investment in Wellington’s chronically underfunded water infrastructure – but warned it may come at a higher cost.

Asked whether he was confident Wellington’s water infrastructure would improve, Peet said: “It will, but it will take some time.”

“I am confident that things will improve, we have got a very different makeup to what Wellington Water and the councils have had – we have got a good shot at making this significantly better.”

But he said there was 800 kilometres of the network where pipes had passed the end of their life, and “serious problems” to deal with.

“It didn’t take five minutes to get like this, it’s going to take longer than five minutes to fix.”

He said it was likely water bills would increase, but expected Wellingtonians to ask what improvements they were getting for that higher cost.

Already people are paying about 30 – 40 percent of their rates on water services, a spokesperson said.

On 25 March Tiaki Wai will release its water services strategy, which would give people a pricing strategy for their water bills, which will be different, depending on where they live in the region.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Parking changes in Hamilton city have come with a hefty price tag for drivers, with infringements more than doubling.

The total value of tickets in the central business district was also nearly five times higher the year after the changes were introduced. But the council said Hamilton central is still cheaper than most other cities in the country.

In October 2024, Hamilton City Council reduced the previous two hours free parking on central city streets to one hour free parking and required all cars to be registered via a streetside kiosk or parking app to receive the free parking and pay for more if needed.

At the same time, the government increased penalties for people misusing mobility parking and also increased the parking infringement and towage fees (which are not set by local councils but by central government).

Data released to RNZ under the Official Information Act showed that the year after the city changed to zoned parking, 5434 drivers parking in the ‘green’ zone (closest to Garden Place and the heart of the city) were issued with fines valued at $316,414. This compares to less than half that number of infringements, 2528, in the 12 months before the change.

Those fines had a total value of $64,645 and were in a period before the government changes.

Zooming in on the city’s main road, Victoria Street, the cost of fines issued rose by nearly 400 percent.

In the 12 months before the changes were introduced, 876 parking tickets were handed out with a combined value of $22,643.

Those numbers soared in the 12 months after the changes when 1461 parking tickets were handed out with a combined value of $90,470.

Despite this substantial new cost for some drivers, the council’s head of transport, Gordon Naidoo, said parking in Hamilton’s central city was still inexpensive compared with other city centres in New Zealand.

“Hamilton’s first hour of free on street parking is uncommon among major cities, which positions our city as one of the more affordable places for short stay parking,” Naidoo said.

RNZ asked whether the large increase in fines represented the fact the public either did not understand the changes or didn’t find them workable.

However, Naidoo said the increases were an expected part of people adjusting to the changes.

“Some drivers fail to register their vehicle for the first hour of free parking, which results in an infringement. We believe the system is workable for the public, but like any parking system it requires ongoing monitoring and clear communication to ensure people understand what is expected of them,” Naidoo said.

What the system did not have was the support of the mayor.

Mayor Tim Macindoe campaigned to return the city to two hours free parking and told RNZ that continued to be his position.

“I continue to advocate for the return of two hours’ free parking to make the CBD more welcoming and accessible, which is better for retailers, businesses and Hamiltonians. Parking arrangements from 1 July 2026 will be considered as part of the 2026/27 Annual Plan, and I have asked the new CBD revitalisation sub‑committee to include this in their work.

“However, the final decision rests with the full council, and due process must be followed,” he said.

The data provided to RNZ shows that not all fines were collected as revenue for council.

“The ‘value of infringements’ figures represents the amount issued, not the amounts paid,” said the council.

This was because fines could be disputed, withdrawn, or referred to the courts.

In the 12 months since the parking changes, $2,235,906 of fines were issued in Hamilton central.

Just over 68 percent of that amount, $1,664,143.78 was actually collected by the council.

Generally, Naidoo felt the current set-up, while not perfect, helped encourage turnover in high demand areas while still providing longer stay options where appropriate.

“This supports retailers, hospitality, and visitors by reducing the time people spend searching for a park. A good parking system isn’t just about enforcing rules or issuing tickets. It’s a tool for shaping how people move, access, and experience a city. We want people to find a park when they need one and get on with their day,” Naidoo said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Water has announced a new board chairperson after Nick Leggett stepped down amid the Moa Point plant failure.

Bill Bayfield was appointed into the leadership role after having served on the water company’s board since September 2023.

Leggett stepped down from the job following the sewage plant failure which occurred two weeks ago – and had been sending tens of millions of litres of raw sewage into Cook Strait each day.

He said leadership carried responsibility, and stepping aside would allow Wellington Water to focus on fixing the problems and restoring public trust.

Bayfield acknowledged Leggett’s work in the role.

“On behalf of the Wellington Water Board, I would like to thank Nick for his valuable contribution and leadership over the past few years during his time as chair.”

Bayfield had been chief executive of Canterbury and Bay of Plenty Regional Councils and was also the CEO of water regulator Taumata Arowai.

He would take on the role as board chair effective immediately.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand