Winter is not my favourite season, I take no joy in the cold and darkness and if I had my way I would hibernate through it like a bear. However, with the arrival of spring my disposition changes and I become energised and optimistic once again. Spring on the Otago Peninsula though has its trials, and is best described by Mark Twain who once wrote “In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”…
The Tomahawk Community have expressed long-term concerns over the removal of sand from the beach. In 2015 I met with the Otago Regional Council to discuss those issues and to ask them to provide more information on the issue. One of the things they have agreed is to make their monitoring reports available to me at the Board and the community. For the benefit of the community I have provided the relevant documents here for people to view and disseminate….
The District Plan is an extremely important document for Dunedin. It outlines the future direction of the city in regards to development, business, housing and the environment. The Resource Management Act 1991 requires a district plan to have; Objectives for the district Policies to implement the objectives Rules to implement the policies. It’s a crucial document to the city, but it’s also one that people need to take notice of and understand how its rules, policies and objectives might affect…
Our first experiences of the environment and biodiversity usually come from our early explorations as children in our backyard and local community. It’s the beginning of our awareness of the natural world and an important step into our understanding of the world around us. The Dunedin City Council has recently presented Te Ao Turoa – The Natural World as a draft environmental strategy for the City. The proposed strategy lo sets out themes, objectives and priorities for the management of the Dunedin Environment. I was asked…
Many households and businesses have frustrations over the availability and quality of broadband in New Zealand. It seems to be taking forever for the fibre network and rural broadband initiatives to become available for many. The Otago Peninsula is no different and given its importance to the local economy as a tourism destination the need for better broadband coverage is becoming more apparent. At a broader level, business, education and community opportunities are being impeded by not having a reliable and accessible…
The recent Representation Review undertaken by the Dunedin City Council will see major changes to Community Boards across the city. For the Otago Peninsula that means we have lost the Tomahawk area from the Otago Peninsula and next year may lose two of the Board’s members. This appears to be part of a longer term plan by the City Council to abolish Community Boards all together. For me its deeply disappointing to lose part of our community from what has been…
The Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen once wrote that “a community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.” In many respects it was that wish to make a difference and be part of the decision-making process that led me to stand for the Otago Peninsula Community Board. Being prepared “to take the helm” as Ibsen wrote and represent my community in the daily ebbs of flows of community life. As 2014 draws to…
I was at the working bee held at the Portobello Domain, developing the skate park with a great bunch of people and their kids recently. Peninsula communities are so good at getting together and pitching in when there is something that needs to be done, especially when it comes to providing facilities for their kids. It was very pleasing to see so many of the local children take an interest and actively participate in helping the park get up and running….
On a rather gloomy damp day that was thick with mist staying in bed seemed like a very good option, but the Pope whanau from Portobello had other ideas. My wife Lyn and I have always encouraged our kids to be good citizens and do things for their community selflessly. We want them to take an interest in their community and care for their region like we do. Keep New Zealand Beautiful Week is always an opportunity to do something positive…