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    • Two vessels broke off a mooring drifted onto rail bridge
      • Operation Details Date/Time:  Sun, 28/06/2020 - 08:30 - 10:30 Operation Type:  CG Operation (good samaritan) People Assisted:  0 Total Volunteer Hours:  14 Two vessels were "rafted up" on a mooring in the channel. The mooring appears to have broken below the waterline and the vessels were swept onto the rail bridge with the incoming tide.  Coastguard Mana were alerted to a Facebook post a member of the public had posted and went to invetigate. After assessing the situation it was decided to get them off quickly to minimise damage and risk to trains. A callout was activated and a number of people responded to tow them off the bridge and into the marina. Vessel Details Length:  10.00m Resources Attendees:  Devine Mobiinz CMFF sarge Mark Presling Neil Cornwell zanebublitz CRV's Used:  Mana Rescue 1
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    • Weekly Wrap Up (Week 11, Term 2)
      • Important Dates Monday 29 June: Open Evening 6pm Wednesday 1 July: Music Evening 7pm Friday 3 July: End of Term 2 Monday 20 July: Start of Term 3 Wednesday 22 July: Parents’ Evening (Senior Students) Monday 27 July: Parents’ Evening (Junior Students) Important Information Board of Trustees by-election results As a result of the recent Board of Trustees by-election, Dr Wyatt Page has been elected to the Board. Wyatt will join the Board with effect from the next meeting on Monday 27 July. Reports and parent-teacher meetings Learning Profile reports for Term 2 are now available for download from the Parent Portal (see Results > Reports). Parent Teacher meetings will take place on Wednesday 22 July (Senior students) and Monday 27 July (Junior students). To make appointments go to: Go to: https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/ Enter the code: vdm7q (Juniors) or 5yjhn (Seniors) Choose the SUBJECT then the TEACHER. Please leave a five minute gap between bookings. Note that we are only able to run one conversation with each teacher per student. If you are hearing impaired the Riley Centre can be a challenging environment: please email admin@whs.school.nz and we will aim to accommodate your bookings separately.   Revised guidance on testing for COVID-19 The Ministry of Education has circulated the following information to all schools: At a time where there are increasing numbers of colds and other winter illnesses, the Ministry of Health has revised its guidance on who might need testing for COVID-19. It is important to note that there is currently no known community transmission of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The vast majority of adults, children and young people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will not have COVID-19. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include new onset or worsening of one or more of the following: Cough Fever Sore throat Runny nose Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing Temporary loss of smell Health’s information on who should get tested notes that people with any of the COVID-19 symptoms who are close contacts of confirmed cases, have recently travelled overseas, or been in contact with recent travellers, should get assessed. If anyone has symptoms but is unsure if they have been exposed to COVID-19, they should ring Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or their GP for advice. Over winter there are many other viruses about that can cause people to feel unwell and have symptoms similar to those of COVID-19. Some people with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 may be tested as part of Health’s ongoing surveillance to ensure that there is no community transmission in New Zealand. If they are not close contacts of confirmed cases, have not recently travelled overseas, or have not been in contact with recent travellers, then there is no need for them to self-isolate while awaiting the test result, and they can return to school once they are feeling well. If not recommended for testing, they will be able to return to school or their early learning service when they are feeling well and no longer displaying symptoms. Wallace Street roadworks update The current phase of the Wallace Street roadworks is due for completion by the end of the month. As long as the rain holds off, Wallace Street should be re-opened to through traffic on 1 July. Following this, however, works will need to get underway along Wallace Street, near Massey University’s entrance, to upgrade wastewater pipes. This will take place in off peak hours (9.00am-4.00pm) on weekdays and traffic will often be reduced to a single lane with Stop / Go control. This is likely to take two months to complete. What’s happening? Economists breakfast with Dr Allan Bollard On Thursday, Year 13 Economics students Sarah Bennett and Rachel Woolcott, attended a Cullen Breakfast at the Wellington Club. Speaking at this week’s breakfast was Dr Alan Bollard, who has held numerous senior positions in Government and interGovernmental agencies. Dr Bollard discussed the economic impact of the covid epidemic and then participated in a question and answer session.  Sarah said  “the range of angles in the topic discussed was thought provoking”. Rachel commented “it was a very interesting discussion and I enjoyed listening to his jokes and insight.”         Year 13 performance of ‘Girls like that’   Evan Placey’s Girls Like That is an ensemble play that explores the pressures young people face today in the face of advancing technologies. Year 13 Drama students produced and performed this play this week. The students are to be congratulated for their sophisticated performance which was an enduring piece of theatre, an achievement all the more impressive when considering that much of this production was conceived and developed during lockdown. Congratulations to all, and to Drama teacher Roger Mantel.       He Kākano  The He Kākano students have been engaged in a range of creative activities, cognitive thinking skills and maths throughout the week.      Winter in the garden The weather over the past few weeks has seen our horticulture students spend time on maintenance, cleaning and repairing tools including secateurs. They will be well prepared for winter pruning and work outside once the weather improves.    Instrumental & vocal lessons update If your Junior student is interested in taking instrumental / vocal lessons but has not yet enrolled, please download the form from the Student Hub and hand in or email the completed form to Fritz Wollner Lessons will be reorganised for Terms 3 and 4. If students have not been attending regularly, they need to see Mr Wollner as soon as possible to ensure they do not lose their spot. Achievements National Bridge Speech competition place secured Year 13 Amelia Smith qualified for a place in the National Bridge Speech competition following her success in the regional Chinese speech competition last week. Amelia will represent the North Island outside Auckland region in the competition, to be held at Victoria University on Sunday 2 August. At that event, each qualified candidate will need to present a speech, perform to demonstrate a skill and answer questions in Chinese. Finalists will represent New Zealand and compete with candidates from all over the world in October. We wish Amelia luck as she progresses through the competition. Sports Junior girls football For the first time in many years WHS has a junior girls football team out in competition. Their most recent game resulted in a very close 2-1 loss but the girls had fun and were very impressive despite some players not having very much experience. This team could not have gone ahead without the support of parents who helped with both transport and officiating.  Special thanks to Bea Gladding and Jennifer Argyle who are the coach/manager dream team who make this team possible. Below are some photos of the action and sideline support. Basketball Basketball is underway with all teams at WHS having played at least one game so far. Big thanks to Jason Reddish who is taking on the entire boys programme at school which includes four teams and doing a great job. Another big thanks to Nick Andrews who along with a parent is coaching the Senior girls team. Junior Boys play on a Tuesday and another junior team plays on a Thursday. All Senior teams play on Fridays, with the top boys and girls team playing at the ASB Centre. Below are some photos from the first junior basketball game. Boys 1st XI football The 1st XI played their first game of the season, bringing home a 5-1 victory against St Patrick’s Silverstream. Their next fixture is against Newlands College this coming weekend.
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        • Wellington High School, Taranaki Street, Mount Cook, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Match Report Rd 1 Swindale – OBU take the points in the slush
      • By Pete McFarlane OBU 25 v Poneke 5 <div class="slider slider-nav-circle slider-nav-large slider-nav-light slider-style-normal" data-flickity-options='{ "cellAlign": "center", "imagesLoaded": true, "lazyLoad": 1, "freeScroll": false, "wrapAround": true, "autoPlay": 6000, "pauseAutoPlayOnHover" : true, "prevNextButtons": true, "contain" : true, "adaptiveHeight" : true, "dragThreshold" : 10, "percentPosition": true, "pageDots": true, "rightToLeft": false, "draggable": true, "selectedAttraction": 0.1, "parallax" : 0, "friction": 0.6 }' > #image_1642823709 { width: 100%; } #image_1621065229 { width: 100%; } #image_1747413340 { width: 100%; }   It was a cold & wet affair on Saturday as OBU took on the red and blacks from the other side of the tunnel. To be fair I have seen it colder and wetter at Nairnville, but that’s still not much consolation when the water is smashing you in the face! Paddy Carter ran on ahead of the team to bring up his 50th match in what seems an incredibly short time. Congratulations to Paddy for forcing the hand of the honours board painter to buy a new tin for the season! From the kickoff, there was plenty of endeavour from both teams. OBU had the wind at our backs although it seemed to shift around quite a bit making the 2 early penalties by Dale Sabbagh a little tougher than they would normally be. This got us out to a 6 point lead around the 15-minute mark. Wirangi Parata freshly back from a stint playing in Portugal managed to dot down off the back of a maul of sheer beauty which started from a lineout drive 7 metres out from the line. Next up Matt Sleith got through a mass of bodies to score just before half time also from a lineout maul. Poneke hit back with a try at about the 60th minute with the wind at their backs. It was the result of some fairly straightforward pick and go’s on the OBU line. OBU scored the last try to Shamus Langton after the powerful scrum earned a tighthead and he took the opportunity to dart around the side before the Poneke defence realised the ball was out. There was only a couple of minutes left on the clock by this stage and the chances of scoring another try for the bonus point were a bit slim and did not come to pass in the end. Poneke didn’t seem to have an answer to the OBU maul which is unusual as they are one club that usually loves slogging it out in the mud! They also gave OBU a few extra chances from unforced errors, particularly a couple of dropped balls from deep kicks without any real pressure. Perhaps the player’s minds were already three steps ahead of the actual play! On the other side of the equation, OBU was on the wrong side of a very lopsided penalty count. Mostly for ruck offences and for being in front of the hindmost feet. Repeat penalties sending us from hot on the attack to defending our line in the matter of a few minutes. Luckily for us, the referee didn’t want to take it any further. This really was a day for the forwards. The OBU backs worked hard to try to stay involved but the conditions just weren’t conducive to the open running rugby style OBU is known for. Standout backs were Sam Reid who played the best game I’ve seen from him in the green and white. He ran back kicks well, gained good ground with his kicking and killed a few Poneke attacking moves with accurate spot tackles. New halfback for OBU Kyle Preston had an impressive debut in OBU colours. Not his first time at premier level though as he has played for Tawa previously. With Matt Fowler coming off the bench in the last few minutes we’re well represented at the base of the scrum this season. The forwards are a bit harder to single out as it was really a pack effort throughout the game but Shamus Langton seems to have grown in physical and game stature this season proving to be a real menace at the breakdown in particular. Paddy Carter made more of a pest of himself on the Poneke throws the longer the game went. Taine Plumtree and Sam Godwin both upset a few more lineouts when they came on also. Taine made one particularly memorable run with the ball in hand, just not quite having a support player close enough to make it really sting. As ever the front row was powerful in the scrums and dynamic around the field, no surprises Fui was amongst the thick of it for most of the match and Wirangi got good reward for plenty of hard work with his try.   The post Match Report Rd 1 Swindale – OBU take the points in the slush appeared first on OBU Rugby.
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        • Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Weekly Wrap Up (Week 9, Term 2)
      • Important Dates Monday 15 June: Normal timetable resumes Monday 29 June: Open Evening Tuesday 30 June: Music Evening Friday 3 July: End of Term 2 Monday 20 July: Start of Term 3 Wednesday 22 July: Parents Evening (Senior Students) Monday 27 July: Parents Evening (Junior Students) Important Information Open Evening: Monday 29 June Know someone who is interested in 2021 enrolment at Wellington High School? Share this post with them and invited them to our Open Evening on Monday 29 June. To help with our planning, please register interest here: https://forms.gle/QFAWezmAKohH9JkH8 Emergency contact update Thank you to the families and whanau who have responded to our request for additional emergency contact information. If you have not done so yet, please complete the form at: https://forms.gle/yenaWPnB4R73x7J49. Board of Trustees by-election Papers have been sent by mail to all those on our electoral roll. If you have not received papers yet, then from Wednesday 17 June you will be able to collect a ballot paper from Reception. ‘Keep it real online’ campaign The Department of Internal Affairs with Netsafe and the Office of Film and Literature Classification has launched a ‘Keep it real online’ campaign. The campaign will support parents and caregivers to reduce the risks of online harm such as cyber-bullying, inappropriate content, pornography and grooming.   Parents and caregivers can find information including tips on how to have conversations with their kids at www.keepitrealonline.govt.nz. What’s happening? The prefabs are here! In a much anticipated event, four prefab classrooms were lowered in to place on the school field last weekend. These four classrooms will provide more space on campus and will be important as the school moves through the master planning process. There is still some work to do onsite and we anticipate that they will be in use from the first day of Term 3. Outdoor Education This week Year 11 students have been out on the water to Makaro (Ward Island). Students participated in a beach clean up and spent time looking at the habitats of Little Blue Penguins. The fact that students were able to observe seals and penguins on the rocks and in the water was a real bonus.   Art      This week we share stunning landscapes painted by Ms Peters’ Year 10 Art class.      Year 13 took advantage of the winter sun and fine colours to work outdoors. Āwhina Āwhina is our Thursday homework club which takes place in the Library every week. This popular, supportive environment is one where students can come for support with assignments and homework, thanks to the dedicated teachers who regularly give up their time after school each week. MyKindo As recently reported, the cafeteria has adopted the mykindo app to facilitate easy pre-order and contactless payment for food. To support those using the mykindo app, the attached guide provides information on the different methods you can use to top up your account.   Achievements  NZ Online Mathematical Olympiad Well done to Ruby Nicolson and Lias Morris who achieved marks which placed them in the top 10 in the NZ Online Mathematical Olympiad. Ruby and Lias are both in year 9. From the careers desk Virtual Careers Expo — 18-19 June Even in unusual times like these, our students still have important decisions to make about their futures. Next week, a number of NZ’s top providers come together to give you a Careers’ Expo experience, virtually! Attendees will have full access to the Virtual Expo Hall, where you can interact with exhibitors, ask questions, and access useful resources that will help you choose the right path. Students only need to register once to be able to access the expo across the 2 days (and with you during the evening on Thursday night). They can access the expo at any time. There will be representatives from each institution during expo hours to chat to attendees. Outside of these hours they can still log in an access information. Registration:   https://www.mediadesignschool.com/virtual-careers-expo Webcast Timetable: https://www.mediadesignschool.com/virtual-careers-expo#webcast-programme
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        • Wellington High School, Taranaki Street, Mount Cook, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Mayday call from broken down vessel
      • Operation Details Date/Time:  Wed, 20/05/2020 - 13:15 - 15:30 Operation Type:  SAROP Cat 1 People Assisted:  2 Total Volunteer Hours:  9 A vessel broke down up towards Pukerua Bay. It was towed back towards Mana but then dropped out in the bay off Plimmerton and told to get someone else to take them in, or they'd pick them up again on the way back from fishing. The vessel appeared to be taking on water so the skipper placed a Mayday call, which Maritime Radio responded to. Police then tasked us to respond to tow them in. Resources Attendees:  Weedoogie Mark Presling Neil Cornwell zanebublitz CRV's Used:  Mana Rescue 1
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        • -41.077372, 174.839835


    • Minutes of the March 2020 Meeting
      • Minutes of the Newtown Residents’ Association meeting 16th March 2020 Present: Rhona Carson (Chair), Steve Cosgrove (Minutes), Leonie Walker, Jane Patterson, Jill Ford, Alison Borbelly, Keith Powell, Tom Law, Don McDonald, Warwick Taylor, Peter Frater, Effie Rankin, Faye Tohbyn, Lyn Morris, Sam Somers, Eileen Brown, Neville Carson, Kevin Lethbridge, Graeme Carroll, Merio Marsters, Marion Leighton. Apologies: Paul Eagle, Dom Shaheen, Steve Dunn, Martin Hanley, Anna Kemble Welch, Jan Gould + Marion Leighton(for lateness)Noted that Paul apologised because MPs have been advised to stay away from community meetings due to Covid-19 risks..  Rhona welcomed everyone to the meeting. Newtown Festival Rhona thanked all the marshalls and other volunteers for helping. The meeting made an enthusiastic  vote of thanks and appreciation to the organisers for another very successful Festival.Sadly there was one violent event later in the evening; this seemed to be the result of a personal conflict between two visitors to Newtown. The Police and Community Patrol were involved. Don asked what the noise policy is, as he worries about how loud the Festival is.  Tom Law outlined the Council policy. Wellington City Council Consultations Parking Policy.  Consultation opened today and will run till April 14th. WCC had a traveling road show on the subject in Newtown Mall this morning. It wasn’t widely advertised and no one at the meeting knew it was going to be there, or attended.Rhona noted that the policy is very high-level at this stage. We recommend that people look at the material on the website.  The questions on the web site are quite general so Newtown-specific concerns would need to be added in narrative form.Some general issues were discussed.We will consider different things we can agree on, such as further communication with WCC to develop a Newtown-specific plan, and sensible Residents’ Parking areas and fees. Planning for Growth The WCC Consultation Team were to have a Newtown Festival stall but cancelled because they were not quite ready to go.  Next consultation meeting is on 26 March at Prefab – Jane and Rhona  interested in going. No one had any further comment: Rhona suggested reading the web page and keeping up-to-date with progress on the development of a proposed spatial plan for the city.District Plan Review – this is beginning at the end of this year or early next. Water Warrick is concerned that water metres are coming back into discussion.  This has resulted in some suggesting we ‘need’ water metres to pay for replacement of aged infrastructure.A number of views were expressed regarding the pros and cons of water metering. COVID-19 Eileen Brown is working for the Council of Trade Unions developing plans and consolidating ideas for “managing the risk and flattening the curve”.The current situation was outlined, along with common narratives being used to describe the situation and management options.  Eileen described then distributed some information.Marion Leighton (Consultant Physician at Wellington Hospital) arrived during this discussion, having been at a hospital meeting on the same topic. She outlined the hospital’s plans for managing an influx of seriously ill patients and also answered questions. Most important thing is to wash hands frequently and thoroughly, cough and sneeze into your elbow or tissues, don’t touch your face, avoid physical contact with others and self-isolate at the first sign of any symptoms. We are in this for the long-term, so make sure you have a reasonable plan. Emergency Management Discussion Neville Carson outlined his background in Civil Defence (previous name for Emergency Management, and introduced “Wellington Conversations” – facilitated conversations on various topics which have been running in Newtown and elsewhere for several months.Neville is organising a meeting to discuss Emergency Management issues on 31 March, 7:30 to 9:30, at Newtown Hall, using a model based on Wellington Conversations. Circus Performers – Steve informed the meeting that on Wednesday evening (18th Mcaarch) in Carrara Park circus performers will be performing with LED Hula hoops. Meeting ended at 8:58
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        • Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Northern Premier 1 Teams End the Year On a High
      • <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > A cold, wet NUHC Prem 1 Women’s team after their 5-6 playoff with Karori In an interesting twist, the Northern Premier 1 Men and Women’s teams have both ended their 2019 seasons ranked fifth equal. The Northern P1 Women, in their first year in the competition after possibly a 30 year hiatus, had an exceptional year under the guidance of coach David McNaughtan. With several wins under their belt in their first season, the women made their way into the 5-6th playoffs. In a match which was marred by torrential rain throughout, the Northern women fought to the end against Karori. The turf was underwater for most of the game, but with less than 10 minutes remaining, and with the scores tied 4-4, the rain became too heavy and the umpires called the game off. This left a very cold, wet, but relieved team fifth equal with Karori. The men’s competition was similarly affected by the weather, however it was the Saturday earlier that affected the men. Their penultimate match against Victoria University was unable to start due to heavy rain and hail that put the turf under several inches of water. The game was rescheduled for a midweek late night game. The disruption put pressure on both teams, with the match being the most stressful of the year for coach Jono Mackey and his team. A tit-for-tat scoreline kept the pressure on Northern, but the Northern strikers and excellent keeping by Cameron Loader kept them in the game. The Northern boys ended up triumphing 3-2 over the students, keeping them out of the relegation zone and putting them through to the 5-6 playoff. A death in the Wellington Indians hockey community unfortunately meant that the the 5-6 playoff against Wellington Indians Sports Club was unable to be played. Despite the unfortunate reason for cancellation, the Northern boys were relieved to end the year fifth equal. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > NUHC Premier 1 Men after their final match of the season against Victoria University.
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        • Karori, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • NUHC Patron Rex Manning has passed away
      • <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Rex Manning in 2018 Longtime player, president and patron of Northern United, Rex Manning, passed away at the age of 91. A service was held for Rex on Saturday, 1 June at 2:00pm, and many club members past and present attended, including the whole NUHC committee. Rex joined Wellington Tech Old Boys hockey club in 1944 when he left college. Two years later, while still a teenager, he was made club delegate to the Wellington Hockey Association. It only took Rex two years to join the Senior team, where he played for 17 years, with 7 as captain. The highlight was the legendary 1950 team, which won the senior championship for the first time (shared with Karori) – and the only time in the first 50 years of the club history. That was back in the days when, in Rex’s words, “We didn’t warm up or stretch or anything, just had a few hits before we ran on. And lemons, not water, at half time.” Tech Old Boys later became Northern United, where Rex served as team captain, selector, coach, club captain, president and patron. Rex never just played the game; he was always helping run the organisations that allowed everyone else to also play the game he loved. <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > President’s message from the 50th Jubilee booklet, 1980 When Rex retired from playing, he immediately switched to umpiring, coaching, and drawmaster/ umpires appointee for WHA. His son Bruce recalls a typical Saturday morning in the Manning household in the 1960s: <blockquote data-animation-role="quote" > “Dad would have already done the draw on Tuesday, so it could be put into the paper on Thursday; then at some ungodly hour of Saturday morning, if it was raining, the phone would start ringing. If grounds were closed, he would have to rearrange the draw, ring the radio station to broadcast cancellations and game changes, and ring the umpires to tell them their new games. Then it was up and off to coach the junior team Ross and I played in. Back for lunch and more phone calls – he was always on the phone – then off for his two games as umpire (at 1:15 and 3 pm), and we would all meet up at the clubrooms at Alex Moore park to socialise and hear team results. Repeat the next week...” — Bruce Manning Not surprising, then, that the 50th Jubilee booklet (1980) recorded this little fact: <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > This involvement over a long time saw Rex receive the 1992 Club Administrator of the Year award from the Johnsonville Sports Association. From 1986-2010, Rex was involved in the Foundation for the National Hockey Stadium, doing the turf timetabling, chairing the Trust Board, running the Pavilion and fixing the goals. On one occasion he tried to convince a lawn bowls player that they should hire the turf for special bowling events. The man said “you’ll never get bowlers playing on turf, it just won’t happen” – Rex remembered this every time he passes an artificial turf at a lawn bowls club. Along with another Northern Club member, Ken Wood, Rex was instrumental in the fundraising and installation of the Maidstone Park and Elsdon turfs, the bowling clubs have had to put their own turfs in. Rex’s continual presence in the pavilion was handy for many teams, when they had no umpire. Rex filled in as an umpire until he was almost 80! Rex continued to attend committee meetings and was still at the turf at the weekends, watching a new generation of Northern United hockey players. Rex served as patron of the Northern United Hockey Club, of which he was also a Life Member.He was also a Life Member of the Wellington Hockey Association. He was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to hockey in 2000. In 2012 he received a Hockey New Zealand Gold Award. These accolades however, barely recognise Rex’s over 70 years service to hockey. Rex will be sorely missed by his family, friends and all of the Wellington hockey community. Article and photos courtesy of Suzanne Manning <figure class=" sqs-block-image-figure intrinsic " > Rex Manning, Johnsonville Sports Association Administrator of the Year, 1992
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        • Karori, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


    • Sore Losers: Nick Smith and the Government Water Down the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund
      • The rules of the Ministry for the Environment’s Environmental Legal Assistance Fund, which groups including Save the Basin have used to help fund legal challenges to infrastructure projects, have now been changed so that such applications can be arbitrarily declined, by: The inclusion of a new criterion to consider whether providing ELA funding to the applicant for its involvement in the legal proceedings, will contribute to impeding or delaying the ability of people and communities to provide for their social, economic and cultural well-being in relation to important needs, including employment, housing and infrastructure.   I was rung by a Stuff journalist about this and responded on behalf of Save the Basin: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/94323541/quiet-change-to-public-fund-for-environmental-legal-challenges A subsequent exchange in Question Time (see below) makes it very clear that Nick Smith had the Government’s Basin Reserve flyover defeat in mind when he made this move. Nick Smith and the Government appear to think that fits of pique make good public policy. We beg to differ. Question Time 9. EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: By how much has annual funding for the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund been cut since 2013/14? Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): The budget this year is $600,000 per year, as it was last year and the year before. For the 4 years prior to that the budget was $800,000 per year but was repeatedly underspent. The spend in 2013-14 was $555,000, and the average actual spend was $520,000. As much as I like the Minister of Finance, I do not like under-spending my vote so I reduced the budget in 2015-16 and transferred it to increased support for collaborative processes. This is also consistent with our blue-green philosophy of supporting people to find solutions rather than spending it on legal aid to fight disputes. Eugenie Sage: Can he confirm that he created a new criterion for the fund recently so that community groups wanting to challenge council decisions in the courts are likely to be denied funding if their case might “impede or delay” a development project? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Yes, I have changed the criteria. A new consideration is the issue of housing and infrastructure. The Government makes no apologies for making it harder for groups to get Government money to stop houses and infrastructure from being built. It does not prevent funding being provided in those sorts of cases, but it requires the panel to give consideration to the broader public interest. It simply does not make sense for the Government to be using public money to stop transport projects being built and stop houses being built with legal aid funding. Eugenie Sage: Does he believe that Forest & Bird would have received funding to mount a legal challenge to Bathurst Resources’ proposed coalmine on the Denniston plateau if this new criterion had been in place? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There is an independent panel that makes the decisions on the issue of the legal aid. What I have added to the criteria is that, alongside the environmental things, issues like infrastructure, jobs, and housing have to be a consideration. But it still will be an independent consideration for the panel. Eugenie Sage: Can he confirm that last year he gave himself the power to decide which cases and which community groups would get environmental legal aid, stripping this power away from the Ministry for the Environment’s chief executive? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Each year Ministers make a decision about the level of delegations. In this particular case, I decided not to delegate to the Ministry for the Environment, albeit I note that I followed the panel’s advice in every case. In the event that I do not follow the panel’s advice it will be a matter of open public record. Eugenie Sage: Why will he not just own the fact that his Government is trying to stop legal challenges that might impede environmentally destructive development, like the coalmine on the Denniston plateau, the Ruataniwha Dam, and the Basin Reserve flyover? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I know of many Wellingtonians who would be concerned that the Government was spending money on stopping roading through to the airport being constructed with legal aid funds. So the Government has deliberately put into the environmental legal aid criteria that the panel needs to consider issues like infrastructure and housing. To quote the Minister for Infrastructure: “We are the infrastructure Government.”, and we want to see New Zealanders being able to get around and have a roof over their heads.9. EUGENIE SAGE (Green) to the Minister for the Environment: By how much has annual funding for the Environmental Legal Assistance Fund been cut since 2013/14? Hon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment): The budget this year is $600,000 per year, as it was last year and the year before. For the 4 years prior to that the budget was $800,000 per year but was repeatedly underspent. The spend in 2013-14 was $555,000, and the average actual spend was $520,000. As much as I like the Minister of Finance, I do not like under-spending my vote so I reduced the budget in 2015-16 and transferred it to increased support for collaborative processes. This is also consistent with our blue-green philosophy of supporting people to find solutions rather than spending it on legal aid to fight disputes. Eugenie Sage: Can he confirm that he created a new criterion for the fund recently so that community groups wanting to challenge council decisions in the courts are likely to be denied funding if their case might “impede or delay” a development project? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Yes, I have changed the criteria. A new consideration is the issue of housing and infrastructure. The Government makes no apologies for making it harder for groups to get Government money to stop houses and infrastructure from being built. It does not prevent funding being provided in those sorts of cases, but it requires the panel to give consideration to the broader public interest. It simply does not make sense for the Government to be using public money to stop transport projects being built and stop houses being built with legal aid funding. Eugenie Sage: Does he believe that Forest & Bird would have received funding to mount a legal challenge to Bathurst Resources’ proposed coalmine on the Denniston plateau if this new criterion had been in place? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: There is an independent panel that makes the decisions on the issue of the legal aid. What I have added to the criteria is that, alongside the environmental things, issues like infrastructure, jobs, and housing have to be a consideration. But it still will be an independent consideration for the panel. Eugenie Sage: Can he confirm that last year he gave himself the power to decide which cases and which community groups would get environmental legal aid, stripping this power away from the Ministry for the Environment’s chief executive? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: Each year Ministers make a decision about the level of delegations. In this particular case, I decided not to delegate to the Ministry for the Environment, albeit I note that I followed the panel’s advice in every case. In the event that I do not follow the panel’s advice it will be a matter of open public record. Eugenie Sage: Why will he not just own the fact that his Government is trying to stop legal challenges that might impede environmentally destructive development, like the coalmine on the Denniston plateau, the Ruataniwha Dam, and the Basin Reserve flyover? Hon Dr NICK SMITH: I know of many Wellingtonians who would be concerned that the Government was spending money on stopping roading through to the airport being constructed with legal aid funds. So the Government has deliberately put into the environmental legal aid criteria that the panel needs to consider issues like infrastructure and housing. To quote the Minister for Infrastructure: “We are the infrastructure Government.”, and we want to see New Zealanders being able to get around and have a roof over their heads.
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        • Wellington International Airport, Coutts Street, Rongotai, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6023, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)


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