From the Mayor

Election time makes for some interesting claims by those vying for a seat at the council table. 
One aspiring mayoral candidate was recently holding forth on the train about stopping further land being given to Iwi.  Well I’m not sure how they plan to achieve this.  Anyone with even a small knowledge of local government knows that councils have no say over the Crown’s settlements with Iwi through Treaty of Waitangi claims. 

What South Wairarapa District Council has chosen to do however is work with both parties to support the process because it heralds exciting prospects for the district.   

The Wairarapa Iwi’s settlements could see the largest opportunity for economic investment that this region has seen for a very long time, perhaps ever.  We should be excited not angry.

The other bit of daft nonsense is around appointed Iwi representation on committees.  SWDC has had appointed Iwi representation since 2002 and nobody has batted an eyelid.  It works well, costs little and enables us to meet our Treaty obligations.  At the end of the day though, all decisions are made by Council and only elected members can vote.
Adrienne Staples

August Martinborough Golf Club

The big news from the Golf Club this month is the national success of one of our Martinborough members. Jaquee Reid is the National Winner of the Sue Bunt 9 Hole Home Links Competition and will receive the prestigious Sue Bunt Salver and sponsored prizes. Amazingly, Jaquee won over thousands of 9 Hole women golfers across the country, and even more amazing is that Jaquee only took up golf two and a half years ago. Very well done Jaquee!

The women’s combined 9 and 18 holers day held in early August was all about fun and meeting people. The format for the day was Canadian Foursomes off the new red tees, which proved to be a hit. The formula used for handicaps was fun, where the combined age, halved, gave a negative Nett score for some. Kris Chamberlain and Gretel Dick had the best Gross with 59, 2nd Jane Terpstra and Mariana Mc Dermott Gross 60, 3rd Jo Loe and Adele Cairns Gross 63. In the Nett, 1st was Leonie Wilde and Sherry Weatherstone with an amazing Nett -11 (nothing to do with their ages of course), 2nd Nita Edwards and Jaclyn Kras Nett 3 on a c/b to Jenny Tucker and Sandra Petersen. Nearest the Pin’s: Number 6: Mariana Mc Dermott, Number 8: Sue Dalton, Number 12: Sharon Jepson, and Number 16: Jo Loe. … Continue Reading

GREG WHITTEN

Greg, a 65 year old retired Corporate Investment Manager, who has been living in Martinborough with his wife Sue for the last 13 years, has joined the list of candidates for the Martinborough Ward.
“I see a game changer in front of us all.” says Greg. “Whether we agree or disagree with it, the amalgamation of the three Wairarapa Councils is highly likely in two years time. This will have a massive impact on the government of South Wairarapa in general and on Martinborough in particular.”

Greg continues “I for one, am very concerned about the way in which the amalgamated assets of the future entity will be managed and even more concerned about the impact of the amalgamation of debt on our local ratepayers. … Continue Reading

Jamboree Fundraiser

Over the weekend of 19th and20th August , Lilly McMahon from the Greytown Scout group ran a firewood raffle from the Pain and Kershaw carpark in Martinborough. The money earned will be used to help Lilly get to the Scout Jamboree in Renwick at the end of the year.
The winner was Anne Ames, drawn by Keli from Mitre 10, and Lilly would like to thank Pain and Kershaw and Mitre 10 for their help and use of the woodsplitter. Like all good scouts, Lilly was very much involved in helping her father Brendon cut , split and deliver the firewood.

Lilly says ” everyone was so generous and one lady even gave me a bag of blanket badges from an old Jamboree  in Feilding, which is amazing”. She would like to thank the people of Martinborough for their friendliness and support for her venture.
Lilly is Martinborough’s only Scout, and her father Brendon is a leader with the Greytown group. If anyone is interested in Scouts, contact tony.allen@callplus.net.nz. Meanwhile, good luck to Lilly and her goal of getting to the Jamboree.