Extremely bad luck for any politician to “go down” with Covid so close to an election, and more so for a prime minister wishing to lead the government again after that election. In my humble opinion, while it would not have completely solved our...
A waka suspended in the air? Incongruous and unrelated to its form or function. Why not build the bridge to look like a kite? What a shame to have lost the observatory. Wayne Rickard
Hawke’s Bay Today’s candidate evening for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti was held at Karamū High School in Hastings. Editor Chris Hyde has the run down . . . Why candidates want to be MP Meka Whaitiri: Kia ora whānau, thank you for coming out tonight. I love...
Tairāwhiti GP Fergus Bruce Aitcheson says general practice is in the worse state he has ever seen. The Three Rivers managing partner and specialist GP recently appeared on Newshub as one of several medical specialists who said his sector was in...
Restoring the life of kākahu (Māori garments) cared for by Tairāwhiti Museum is a part of the new exhibition opening on Sunday. Tairāwhiti Museum kaitieiki Māori have organised an exhibition called He Kākahu Rerehua The Uplifting Wind, that...
After weeks of dry, September returned to the year’s unfavourite flavour of weather -—wet, wet, wet. The month ends with a rainfall total of more than twice the September normal figure. The total stood at almost 180 millimetres yesterday...
The skateboarding national championships at Alfred Cox Skate Park were forced to change their final events to yesterday due to a forecast of “100 percent chance” of rain for today. The last-minute adjustment added to the excitement for the...
Swift work by local residents stopped a potentially devastating fire in its tracks at Parihimanihi Marae at Waihirere on Thursday night. Firefighters said there was only a minute in it. The fire is being treated as a probable arson. Fire and...
Mistrust over what Gisborne District Council would do with proceeds from potential commercial asset sales and disbelief at its challenged commercial arm’s “short-term” view of Tauwhareparae Farms were two main takeaways from a public meeting...
The $500,000 Lotto prize struck by a Gisborne ticket in last weekend’s draw was claimed at the Ballance Street Bookshop on Wednesday, much to the delight of the winners and shop staff. The Gisborne ticket, sold at the bookshop, shared the First...
The Gisborne owners of the dog mistakenly put down and Gisborne District Council say they have resolved the matter, issuing a joint statement yesterday afternoon. “Sarge’s owners and Gisborne District Council have settled the matter between...
Urgent repairs to a wastewater outfall pipe at Midway Beach are being treated as emergency works following bad weather in the region. But one concerned resident with a background in environmental advocacy believes the issue could have been avoided...
Labour’s Tāmati Coffey and the Green Party’s Jordan Walker are friendly East Coast political adversaries and hold similar views on the health sector. The possibility of more vigorous debate and disagreement at a health-themed election meeting...
The challenges of the past year that led to Gisborne Holdings Ltd’s board deciding they could not pay GHL’s council owner $2.5 million of anticipated income also seem to have helped unify their thinking. The directors didn’t appear to be...
John Kape Council had planned to discharge treated sewage on to Midway beach during the school holidays. This would have forced probable cancellation of a National Junior Surf competition planned for the pipe surfbreak. There are a number of...
It used to be that newspaper presses were built like battleships and lasted forever. They were reminders of an age gone by when they were huge mechanical monsters, served by ink- and oil-smeared men in overalls. I know all things change, as is the...
by Kate Green, RNZ Apprentice builders in Wairoa are earning their qualifications by repairing flood-damaged homes. After homes north of the river were inundated by metre-high flooding during Cyclone Gabrielle, locals looking for work found it in...
Gwynne Dyer The Polish hate the Russians The Slovaks hate the Czechs, The Bulgars hate Serbs And everybody hates the Jews. — with thanks and apologies to Tom Lehrer. Tom Lehrer’s original song, “National Brotherhood Week”, was about how...
Election fever is heating up this weekend with two meet the candidates events. The first is being organised by the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce and is on tonight. A Federated Farmers-organised event is on tomorrow night. Both are at the Waikanae...
East Cape residents will get partial access to Ōpōtiki, after State Highway 35 was closed by multiple slips in the Motu Bluffs area. The biggest slip has occurred in the same location that brought logs and debris cascading down the hillside across...
A finger-pointing woman who approached Winston Peters at his Emerald Hotel speaking podium was described by the New Zealand First leader as a “plant”. Mr Peters was speaking at a public election campaign meeting yesterday before about 130...
A Government support package for Cyclone Gabrielle recovery will soon go out for public consultation in Tairāwhiti as the region faces repair costs of more than $1 billion. On August 24, Gisborne District Council was presented with a Government...
The uptick in political polling as the general election nears shows some clear trends in public sentiment, the most obvious and impactful of which is the continuation of falling support for Labour that began in late April. Another with potentially...
Gavin Maclean With the election upon us, three quotes spring to mind. Al Gore, 1992: “The future whispers while the present shouts.” The campaign is randomly shouting about immediate problems and hardly mentioning the overwhelming crisis. Yet...
To sell or not to sell Tauwhareparae farms? We need to know facts. How was the land acquired and for what reason? And what the income should be compared with for similar land in the vicinity. If not the same or better, why not? Can reinvesting the...
Found on Gisborne street, sadly run over, six military service medals — three regular size and three miniatures. They were cased and the name on the rim is Baker, NZ Army. One is a Malayan service medal, so possibly from the 1960s. Two are...
GDC, please see common sense and understand the danger that we face travelling the three-quarter-hour, life-threatening Parikanapa Road compared to five minutes travel on a flat, open road through the Hangaroa Bluffs. It just needs signs at each...
Re: Bridge to nowhere. Congratulations to whoever spawned this brilliant concept and was able to get it passed at the council table. How did you do it? Were your colleagues asleep? Ah, I know, you put something in their coffee. Come on councillors...
The owners of a dog mistakenly put down by Gisborne District Council staff are calling for an end to the controversial euthanising practice that was used on their pet. New information on the state of the dog — Sarge — has also been revealed...
Tairāwhiti rural residents are being given the opportunity to have rainwater collection tanks tested for free. A group of environmental engineers are conducting a study of rooftop rainwater quality and are keen for residents to register if they...
The emergency sewer valve near the Gladstone Road bridge was closed at 1pm yesterday afternoon and the council said all the discharge of wastewater had stopped. The valve was opened during the recent heavy rain due to overload in the wastewater...
Tairāwhiti Museum continued with the creative school holiday programmes this week with artistic workshops. Inspiration came from the exhibitions showing at the museum. The workshops were “really popular”, said museum director Eloise Wallace...
Up to 300 motorcyclists will be out on State Highway 35 tomorrow taking part in what they call ‘The Poker Run”. Some of the bikers belong to the Highway 35 Motorcycle Club, which has about 25 members, from Potaka at the top of East Cape down to...
CREATING a safe space for men who are wanting to change was the goal of a three-day hui in Tokomaru Bay organised by Tauawhi Men’s Centre. The “call to men” hui was organised by Papa Rau (Ralph Walker) after having a kōrero with his close...