From the Mayor

This month, the Star management have asked for an overview on 3Waters, and what I think of it. As there is limited space, I can really only give you an overview of my thoughts – I could go on for pages.

Council as a whole has not come out with a definitive stance on 3Waters for the following reasons:

Government has declared they are the consulting body with public and iwi, not Local Government.

The information we require to form an opinion has been drip-fed and is still incomplete, especially in areas of asset transfer, costs to public, future standards, and water races to name but a few.

There is a high level of distrust in Central Government over the way the process has been started, advertised, discussed and progressed, and the likelihood of South Wairarapa’s opinions being able to change the direction is considered to be minimal. … Continue Reading

Did you know

THE MATINBOROUGH School’s 150th Jubilee reunion will be held over the weekend of 16th and 17th September. So all you ex pupils mark your calenda for the great even. And please let any former pupils now living elsewhere know that it’s on. A great weekend is promised – not to be missed. 

‘IT TAKES considerable knowledge just to know the extent of your own ignorance’ Thomas Sowell

TEAM NZ’S land yacht is near completion and headed for testing at Whenuapai. The team is seeking to break the current wind-powered land speed record. The current record is held by Richard Jenkins who broke the record in 2009 in a land yacht he called the Ecotricity Greenbird. Team NZ would need to get their land yacht racing faster than Jenkin’s speed of 202.9kmh. Team CEO Grant Dalton said it was a “new challenge, and brings some fun factor to the organisation”.

‘ FRIENDSHIP IS like money easier made than kept.’ Samuel Butler.  … Continue Reading

Community Kōrero

It’s already June – I don’t know if time has ever gone this fast before. Therefore I am all the more excited and grateful that we are approaching Matariki. Matariki is a special occasion in the New Zealand calendar, which marks the start of the Māori New Year. Signified by the Matariki cluster of stars reappearing in our night sky, this is a time to reflect on the past year, celebrate the present, and plan for the year ahead. … Continue Reading

First Church News

The Mini Book Fair on the 21^st May got off to an interesting start.  We had just managed to finish the final setting up and were ready for a cuppa, when low and behold, off went the power.  This turned out to a major outage, so we rugged up in our winter jackets – opened the doors to prospective purchasers and were thrilled to bits that lots of people came.  As well as having books for sale, we had linen, clothing, housewares, raffle, and plants for sale. Books were priced at $2 each or 3 for $5 and were the most popular item.  Thanks to a portable Eftpos machine we were able to do Eftpos and cash sales. … Continue Reading