The Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2023. Here’s what made headlines in December.
December 5
More than 1000 people marched down Hewletts Rd in Tauranga as part of Te Pāti Māori’s call for nationwide action against Government policies labelled “anti-Māori”.
Traffic was reduced to one lane as protesters held placards and Māori flags.
Kharis Jeffery said, in her view, the Government was attempting to take away a people’s culture and that drove her to the hīkoi with her dad.
“I just think it is absolutely disgusting. I think we’ve got to stand up for the things that seem little but they snowball into big things. It’s good to come and support your culture … your whānau, your family.”
December 6
The removal of a car park outside Bay of Plenty Cancer Centre has been described as “cruel” and “heartless” by a woman appalled cancer patients may have to climb a “brutal” hill for treatment.
Tauranga City Council said it removed a 60-minute car park “after a safety issue was raised by a member of the community”.
Shonagh Harris, who regularly takes a family member to the centre, said she had seen cancer patients struggling to get to the top of the hill and was aware of circumstances where centre staff had to intervene due to the physical impact of the more than 200m uphill trek on some patients.
Harris acknowledged she was concerned about a single car park “but it’s the most important car park”, she said.
It was the only close on-street space on reasonably flat land.
December 11
A man helped perform CPR on a motorist on a Tauranga roadside then stole bank cards from the patient’s car and spent more than $1000, court documents show.
The man pleaded guilty in the Tauranga District Court to charges of theft from a car and using stolen bank cards for a pecuniary advantage.
Judge Bill Lawson granted the man interim name suppression.
The police summary revealed that victim Andrew McKenzie and his wife Marion were driving along Te Awanui Drive near Tauranga Harbour Bridge at about 11am on December 4 when he suffered a medical event.
When McKenzie, 67, lost consciousness, his wife stopped the car and started to perform CPR. The defendant stopped and helped, then entered the McKenzies’ car and took a purse that contained several bank cards before leaving.
December 16
A dog owner says a man bit his hand in a “tussle” after his border collie’s throat was “ripped open” by two dogs that came onto his rural Bay of Plenty property.
The Western Bay of Plenty District Council and police have launched investigations.
Paul Gibbs and his wife, Marlene, told the Bay of Plenty Times they were traumatised after their beloved pet, Molly, was attacked by two dogs on December 4 on their property in Whakamārama.
Gibbs said the man, who he believed to be the owner of the attacking dogs, “bit me on the hand” when confronted about the attack.
He said the bite wound “bled profusely” and he later sought medical treatment.
December 21
A Bay of Plenty prostate cancer patient plans to go to Australia for a $30,000 treatment that could “limit” the risk of side effects such as incontinence and erectile dysfunction after being denied the option of having it in New Zealand.
Steve Learmonth, 66, was diagnosed with prostate cancer this year and was told his treatment options were having a prostatectomy or radiation. Both had potential side effects of incontinence and erectile dysfunction.
Learmonth said he found out about the “nanoknife” procedure that was pioneered in New Zealand by Tauranga urologist Mark Fraundorfer at Grace Hospital in 2017. Learmonth described it as “almost non-invasive” and having “almost zero side effects”.
“For me, it’s the best option because I didn’t want to have to wear a nappy for the rest of my life.”
However, upon inquiring about the procedure at Grace Hospital, he said he was told he could not have it as a primary treatment and his best option was to go to Australia.
Grace Hospital said the nanoknife procedure could only be performed as a “salvage procedure” after an initial treatment failed and for patients wanting it first, the best option was Australia.
His actions have been described as a 'veritable crusade' against a fellow practitioner.