news from the greater wellington regional council no place for … · 2015. 3. 31. ·...

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gw.govt.nzNews from the Greater Wellington Regional Council

GWRC hosts night time walks though Pakuratahi Forest’s Tunnel Gully Recreation Area and provides perspective on what goes on in the bush under the cover of darkness.

GWRC runs several active travel programmes that encourage people to use sustainable or active modes of transport to get around Wellington.

Contact your regional councillor

KAPITI COAST Nigel Wilson 021 284 3339 nigel.wilson@gw.govt.nz

LOWER HUTT Sandra Greig T 04 586 0847, 027 640 8681 sandra.greig@gw.govt.nz

Ken Laban T 04 971 8982, 029 200 0044 ken.laban@gw.govt.nz

Prue Lamason T 04 566 7283, 021 858 964 prue.lamason@gw.govt.nz

PORIRUA-TAWA Jenny Brash T 04 233 8217, 027 354 4233 jenny.brash@gw.govt.nz

Barbara Donaldson T 04 237 0773, 021 976 747 barbara.donaldson@gw.govt.nz

UPPER HUTT Paul Swain T 04 528 7830, 021 270 9113 paul.swain@gw.govt.nz

WAIRARAPA Gary McPhee T 06 372 7020, 027 457 5363 gary.mcphee@gw.govt.nz

WELLINGTON Judith Aitken 027 769 6424 judith.aitken@gw.govt.nz

Paul Bruce T 04 972 8699, 021 027 19370 paul.bruce@gw.govt.nz

Sue Kedgley T 04 384 9123, 021 270 9088 sue.kedgley@gw.govt.nz

Chris Laidlaw T 04 934 3143, 027 425 4668 chris.laidlaw@gw.govt.nz

Fran Wilde, Chair T 04 830 4246, F 04 384 5023 021 888 075 fran.wilde@gw.govt.nz

Some dates are liable to change. For updates, see www.gw.govt.nz/committee-meetings-calendar

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Council Council Chamber, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea, Wellington

Te Käuru Upper Ruamahanga River Floodplain Management Plan Subcommittee Choice Room, Greater Wellington Regional Council, 34 Chapel Street, Masterton

Regional Transport Committee Council Chamber, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea, Wellington

Wellington Regional Strategy Committee Council Chamber, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea, Wellington

Council Council Chamber, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea, Wellington

COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE MEETINGSThe public can participate at all meetings, except hearings

Meeting agendas are available two working days before each meeting from:• GWRC, Shed 39, 2 Fryatt Quay, Pipitea,

Wellington• GWRC, 34 Chapel Street, Masterton

Pirinoa School students and community volunteers got stuck into cleaning up Whangaimoana Beach last week, filling 27 sacks with rubbish from the shoreline and dunes.

The event was planned to coincide with the end of the nesting season for endangered banded dotterel and pipits which have made the beach their home in recent years. Both species are

The tail-end of ‘Cyclone Pam’ brought rain to some parts of the Wairarapa earlier this week. However, the extremely dry eastern hill country received very little. While MetService data shows 43mm of rain in Masterton over a 48hour period, Castlepoint received less than 16mm and the NIWA gauge at Martinborough showed just 8mm. Soil moisture levels are an ongoing concern for farmers in these areas.

Greater Wellington Regional Council recently convened a Wairarapa Drought Committee to consider the current state of farming conditions. The Committee decided

Coastal clean-up

Big Dry continues

Bus Stop

SHAPE THE FUTURE OF OUR REGIONConsultation on the 10 year plan 2015-2025 is underway from 16th March to 20th AprilFind out how you can get involved at www.gw.govt.nz/have-your-say

ground nesting birds and at risk from vehicles, dogs and human feet.

‘We collected a range of rubbish, plenty of bottles, cans and plastic bags, but also a surprising number of tyres and some building materials,” said Biodiversity Officer Toni de Lautour. “We found heaps of fishing line and hooks knotted round clumps of rubbish, and the children saw a seagull flying away with line tangled round its leg.

to declare a ‘localised drought’ as a way of acknowledging that parts of the Wairarapa were suffering from extreme climatic conditions.

“Large parts of South Wairarapa and North East coastal areas are severely affected,” said Wayne O’Donnell, GWRC General Manager Catchment Management. “Soil moisture deficit levels are below where they are normally. We need more than 50mm of rain to bring up the levels and get good pasture growth for winter stockfeed.”

The Wairarapa Drought Committee is monitoring the situation closely.

Greater Wellington Regional Council wants your views on our draft climate change strategy.

impacts of climate change?How do we protect the region from the

For more information visit haveyoursay.gw.govt.nz/climate-change

Submissions close: 10 April

We’d like to know

what you think.

Wairarapa residents are being urged to have input into decisions being made about what major projects should be funded in their community over the next 10 years.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council needs to decide what projects to include in its 10 Year Plan, and how it will pay for them.

Top projects on the list for the Wairarapa include protecting communities from flood risk, refurbishing and upgrading rail carriages, faster, more frequent rail services, and improving the environment and water quality.

GWRC Chair, Fran Wilde, says six main projects have been identified as needed to be carried out in the Wellington region over the coming decade. They are:

• Investing in public transport infrastructure to improve service levels

No place for complacency in 10 Year Plan

• Implementing major initiatives to increase the number of public transport users

• Increasing programmes aimed at getting more people walking, cycling, carpooling and using public transport

• Taking a strong leadership role in ensuring improved water quality across the region

• Investing in flood protection infrastructure to protect the community from flood risk

• Increasing the region’s ability to withstand an emergency (through a number of projects to provide emergency water following a major event).

“We’ve identified what we believe are the priorities, locally and regionally, and included them in the Draft 10 Year Plan. Now we need our communities to tell us what they think,” says Ms Wilde.

To pay for the initiatives included in GWRC’s Draft 10 Year Plan, the regional council is proposing an average annual rates increase of about $38 for the average residential home in the 2015/16 financial year. That’s 9.8% and equates to 73 cents a week for the average home. GWRC is proposing maintaining the cost of its ‘business as usual’ – or existing services – with a 1.1% rates increase.

Wairarapa residents can find out more about what is proposed in the plan by attending an open day at the Greytown Library between 10am and 1pm on Saturday 18 April.

Submissions for the Draft 10 Year Plan are open from 16 March to 20 April. For more information visit www.gw.govt.nz/have-your-say.

Fare FreezePublic transport fares look set to be frozen for another year, if approved as part of GWRC’s 10 Year Plan.

The proposed fare freeze for 2015/16 is, in part, due to the success of the new Matangi train fleet and savings realised through an increase in people using the trains.

By keeping fares at the same price, the regional council is hoping to help drive more people onto trains, buses and the harbour ferry.

“Volunteers were extremely enthusiastic. The children were delighted to see lots of skinks. Community members commented on the growth of plants established during last winter’s dune restoration planting.”

The event was organised by the South Wairarapa Biodiversity Group, supported by Greater Wellington Regional Council and was part of ‘Seaweek’.

Spotted any unusual visitors in your backyard? GWRC is hearing reports of two locally-rare species turning up in new locations across the Wellington region. Numbers of kakariki, both yellow and red crowned parakeets, are booming following predator control and unusually heavy flowering and fruiting of native trees over the past year. Help us understand more about these gorgeous natives, often confused with the more common introduced eastern rosella. Kakariki are smaller, have mostly green feathers and a chattering call.Send details of the location, date and number of birds you have spotted to environmentalscience@gw.govt.nz.

Aria Whiteman, Year 3 from Pirinoa School, helps clean-up