Second pair of EV charging stations for Martinborough

Two EV chargers with the ability to charge three vehicles at once are currently being installed at  Martinborough’s Freemasons Lodge carpark _ the pilot location chosen by the nationwide charity group for “proof of concept” testing.

If the project is successful, the group could expand the installation  programme to as many as 35 small town Freemason Lodge sites across the country, project lead Andrew Cowie told The Star.

“We are supporting the community, supporting the country and supporting the climate change (fight),” Cowie said as electricians began groundwork to install charging cables at the Strasbourge St carpark.

Last month Pain & Kershaw announced it was installing two EV chargers in its supermarket carpark _ and had started grocery deliveries with an EV Renault van.

Cowie noted that Martinborough is “a destination town,” which attacts high tourism numbers _ many driving EVs which need charger access. It would allow visitors to “park in our site, charge, wander the streets of the town, spend money and help the local economy _ so we see a number of consquential benefits.” 

Whakatane, another “destination town,” was next on the installation list, if the concept proves successful. 

One of the two new charging units being installed just three minutes walk from The Square would be for 20-minute DC charging, the other will use slower AC current, taking 2 – 3 hours for a full charge. … Continue Reading

Maori Wards win mayoral, chair support

In opposition to government’s move to dump Maori wards from local body decision-making, Mayor Martin Connelly, more than 50 other mayors and local body chairs wrote to the government:  

“Kia ora Prime Minister, Ministers, and party leaders.

“Local Government New Zealand and the Mayors and Chairs that have signed this letter are opposed to the changes the Coalition Government is proposing to Māori ward and constituency poll provisions. 

“The Government’s decision to remove decision-making from councils by mandating that polls be run on Māori wards and constituencies is an overreach on local decision-making when current legislation already requires councils to seek community views. 

“We are disappointed this is in contrast with the commitments the Government made during the election campaign to empower local government to make decisions about its own communities. 

“Our position – a position that has been held by Local Government New Zealand since 2018 – is that Māori wards and constituencies should be treated like all other wards and that decisions should be made at the council level. 

“Polls aren’t required on any other wards or constituencies, and requiring them will add increased costs to councils. 

“The Government’s decision … undermines the important contributions that Māori are making to local government. 

“We urge the Government to reconsider its position and leave it to local councils to make decisions about appropriate representation arrangements in partnership with iwi and their communities. 

“Ngā mihi nui.”

South Wairarapa has mandated a Maori ward be established for the 2025 and 2028 elections.

Move school access away from Dublin St bypass?

In Paris it’s called “Streets to Schools.”

The objective: to make the home-school path safer for children, to better share public space, to calm down daily life, and fight against air pollution.

Big aims towards helping make children, school street environments and urban driving all safer.

“Streets to Schools” explains:

“When traffic cannot be completely cut off, the street becomes a pedestrian area, which means that only certain vehicles can travel there at walking speed, with pedestrians having priority on the road.”
“The passage of emergency vehicles, transport of disabled people and delivery remains assured.”

What is an open pedestrian area?

-Only accessible to vehicles with a destination in the street (residents, deliveries, emergency services, craftsmen having access, for example, to enable household collection);
– Possible bus passage, provided that there is a stop in the street;
– Speed only “walking” for vehicles;
– No parking space;
– Delivery in the middle of the road;
– Possibility of indicating/reserving locations for deliveries.

In Martinborough, the Dublin street access to Martinborough School is in conflict with both general and heavy traffic as the street is designated as a Town Centre “bypass” for all heavy transport. … Continue Reading

Kupe the region’s first immigrant, new settlers told

Sixteen new citizens from eight nations at Town Hall ceremony.

South Wairarapa District Council Mayor Martin Connelly welcomed 16 new citizens to the district on Thursday 9 May paying homage to mana whenua, the first people to call this their home.

“I started today’s ceremony by acknowledging mana whenua, the first people to call this land their home. Then I thanked Matua Abe for his welcome to us all,” Connelly told the group.

“Today is most important for 16 special people from Thailand, the United Kingdom, China, India, France, the Philippines, Australia and Taiwan. You are the reason we are here.”

The Mayor encouraged the new citizens to enjoy the beauty of the South Wairarapa, its dark skies and to see the benefits in exploring the Māori language. He hoped they would be inspired to learn Te Reo Māori.

“Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of immigrants. One of the first was a fisherman called Kupe who built a large canoe and started chasing an especially annoying octopus from Hawaiiki.

“One morning Kupe’s wife, Hine-te-Aparangi saw a long cloud in the distance, a sign that land was near. She named the land, Aotearoa, land of the long white cloud. Kupe came ashore near here and chased the octopus across the Wairarapa. There have been many immigrants to the Wairarapa ever since.” … Continue Reading