Stu Kneebone

Waikato Regional Council (WRC) recently approved a submission on the government’s proposed new wastewater environmental performance standards that are intended to be rolled out across New Zealand.

Taumata Arowai is the water services regulator for NZ and is managing this consultation process on behalf of the government. Taumata Arowai was established by the government following the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak in 2016.

District and city councils throughout NZ have consents to discharge treated wastewater and stormwater.

Regional councils are the authorities responsible for the consenting of wastewater and stormwater discharges. Regional councils and their communities have the authority to set limits for discharges to land and water via consent conditions that reflect the values of the local community and the values and attributes of the receiving environment.

However, this change proposes changes that affect how wastewater standards are made and implemented. The amendments direct councils to implement any requirements imposed as part of a wastewater standard in a new consent, and concerningly, they mean that regional councils cannot include any conditions in a consent which are more or less restrictive than the new standards dictate.

Regional councils will still be the regulator but will have very little say on behalf of their communities on what these new standards are. Of real concern is that many of the existing consented municipal wastewater discharges in the Waikato have contaminant discharge standards that are of higher quality than what these new proposed standards will require.

Meaning that implementation of these new standards would see an increase in contaminants being discharged into the environment, effectively undoing significant work and investment that has been made by councils and their communities upgrading their wastewater treatment plants across the region.

This also will have the effect of undoing the work that other sectors such as farming have been doing with riparian planting and other measures to improve water quality.

Meaning if we are to continue on our journey of improving water quality across the region, other sectors such as farming will have to take up the slack.

A good example of this is the Lake Taupō Protection Project that was initiated to maintain the water quality in Lake Taupō. It imposed very restrictive requirements on farmers in the Taupō catchment, requiring them to reduce their stocking rates and associated production in order that a 20 per cent reduction in nitrogen discharge from both farming and industry could be made. Those reductions are now locked in place for 999 years.

To assist those farmers in making that transition, every ratepayer in the Waikato region contributed approximately $10/ratepayer/annum for 15 years; $81 million of public money was invested. These standards will in effect undo all of that work and investment. WRC has submitted strongly that it does not support what is proposed and explained why.

And for those interested, the Ministry for the Environment recently released its three yearly state of the environment report.

While the report contains some positive stories, it also highlights some concerning issues with regards to our environment, and the risks that these issues present to the quality of life for future generations.

Water quality at risk

Meghan Hawkes

When Mr Bowlin went to Solomon’s store in Ōtorohanga around 9pm on an April evening in 1912 he saw lights burning but the front door was closed, and he could not open it.  He knocked and Mr Solomon’s young son, 10 year old George, let him in.  Bowlin wanted to pay back Solomon some money he had borrowed. He found Solomon in an inebriated state in the barber's room at the back of the shop. Bowlin only stayed five minutes and left.

It had been a shambles at Solomon’s all evening. John Farrell, a 45 year old Irish bachelor who struggled with drink, had gotten hold of some liquor and taken it to Solomon’s where he, Solomon and a man named Larsen drank a considerable quantity.

By 5pm, when Fred Mace went to Solomon's to get some provisions he found the three men in the barber's room.  Farrell asked him to have a drink.  Larsen said, "Don't take that; it is Roman Catholic whiskey. Have one of mine; it is Presbyterian."  Fred took the ‘Roman Catholic’ and said he would come back later. When he returned, he had a drink out of Larsen's bottle. Farrell, a government-aided settler on the Rangitoto No 1 block, and Larsen were arguing about their farms, as to which was the better. After having a ‘Presbyterian’ Fred left.

Around 5.30pm Hugh Meynell went to Solomon's shop to get a shave and saw Farrell lying back in the barber's chair, asleep. Larsen gave Hugh a drink of whiskey out of a bottle. When Hugh realised they were all more or less drunk he left.

About 6pm Mr Rhodes went to Solomon’s to get a haircut.   He saw Larsen and Farrell in the barber’s room. Farrell was still in the barber’s chair but now awake and very talkative.   He took a couple of large drinks of neat whiskey. Solomon staggered in from another room, and when Mr Rhodes saw the condition they were in he wanted to leave, but Larsen and Farrell insisted on him having a drink which he did before leaving.

Around 7pm Mr Scowans called at Solomon’s looking for someone, but he was not there.  Mr Scowans, observing the scene, stayed only a couple of minutes.

When Solomon was called to come for his tea, he, his son George, and Larsen went into the house.   Farrell was again asleep in the barber’s chair, and they left him there.  After tea young George went from the house and through the back door of the shop.  He could not see Farrell anywhere and he shut up the shop, having to open it again around 9 for Mr Bowlin.

In the meantime, Constable Drummond, knowing that John Farrell had gotten hold of liquor, was looking for him.  About midnight he found Farrell’s horse harnessed to the cart and wandering around an allotment.  He unharnessed the horse and searched until about 2am but could not find any trace of Farrell.  Early next morning George Solomon saw Farrell lying close to the back door in Solomon’s yard which was adjacent to the main street.  Shortly after Mr Moffatt, approaching Farrell, was horrified to discover he was dead.

Although newspaper headlines declared his death a ‘King Country sensation’ and ‘King Country Mystery’ an inquest found that John Farrell died from syncope of the heart, accelerated by excessive drinking.  He was buried at Ōtorohanga cemetery.

A King Country mystery

Richard Steele

To make our country work and prosper, successive governments for most of my long life have aimed to have three percent growth each and every year.

Without such growth, the economy is deemed to be stagnant, or even worse, in recession. Which is deemed to be bad for us, and maybe it is.

I don’t get it, and I’d like to. Because I see this big flaw in having to grow the economy so much all the time.

It is well known within the circles I move in that economists were only invented to make weather forecasters look good, and to me that’s a worry, when the economic theory that dictates the way the country has to prosper, continually seems so unsuccessful.

Ask yourself, where does it all end up, as needing three percent growth each cent all the time becomes our own predictor of doom. Three percent every year compounds, so that every 20 years everything has to double for us to be able to stay in the same place.

I don’t think that doubling the economy every generation, is sustainable, so you see the problem.

Pundits are lauding the return to confidence in the sheep industry. Dairy farmers too, are on a well-deserved roll. The issue though, is that all the input costs keep rising, so that the profitable times are soon eroded. $10 this year, only needed to be $5 a kg 10 years ago.

Towns and mostly cities keep expanding to keep up with the growth, and in the process, swallow up the most productive gardening land in the world, and few people really get ahead.

Then you build a new flash as all get out highway, a state of the art bridge, and before the final road cone is moved , the new infrastructure is already overflowing, and we need to start building all over again.

Just look at the two highways to Tauranga and the Mount. Finished five minutes, and they are already being reshaped, overloaded, and falling apart. Never mind the two bridges.

So shouldn’t a more successful model for us and the world rely rather on aiming for us to stay in the same place. A place where our 2025 dollar buys the same amount as the 2000 dollar did? Shouldn’t the 2035 dollar buy the same as the dollar does now? You get the drift.

Is the end result to have the whole world, covered in people? For every hectare to be unproductive?

Then you get some of the greatest plonkers the world has ever seen, aspiring to spend trillions of dollars so we can expand to other planets - when everyone with half a brain, can see how much we are stuffing this one.

How far would those trillions go towards feeding those who can’t feed themselves?

Let’s encourage our politicians to keep our wonderful country, in the same place it is now, for generations.

Why the need to grow?

Janine Krippner

In late 2020—amidst a world full of distractions—you might have missed the eruption of La Soufrière, a volcano on the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. This wasn’t an unknown volcano. Documented eruptions stretch back to 1718, with the most recent activity in 1979, so it was on the radar of the volcanology community.

On 27 December 2020, a new lava dome was spotted right beside the old one. A lava dome forms when near-solid lava squeezes out at the surface and grows into a large mound of hot, and potentially very dangerous rock. While active, the dome can be incredibly hot and unstable. Generally, this is not a good place to be.

This kind of activity, where lava steadily squeezes out like toothpaste from a tube, is known as an effusive eruption. There's little to no explosive activity in this phase — no volcanic ash, no flying rock — at least, not yet.

Over the following months the lava dome continued to grow. By 19 March the dome was 105m tall, 921m long, and 243m wide. To put that in perspective, the Beehive in Wellington is 72m high and about nine times the length of a rugby field. An impressive structure so far!

Then, on 21 March, local volcanologists detected a shift. Changes in the pattern of seismicity hinted that more magma might be rising—a warning that something was changing beneath the surface.

By 5 April the seismicity was ramping up.

Just three days later, steam and gas were observed visibly venting from the top of the dome. The alert level was raised to Red, and evacuations began. The eruption was about to shift from slow and steady to something far more dangerous.

On 9 April the eruption turned explosive, with the magma violently fragmenting into ash that towered high above the vent. This new phase saw volcanic ash significantly impacting St. Vincent as well as Barbados to the east.

Over the following days, ash plumes reached up to 16km altitude as well as pyroclastic flows–fast and hot avalanches of gas and rock. The ash drifted around 3000km east, disrupting air traffic across the region. The weight of the ash caused some roofs to collapse in St. Vincent.

By 11 April, widespread power and water outages were affecting the island—compounding the challenges of an already difficult pandemic year.

Intermittent ash plumes and pyroclastic flows continued until the end of the eruption on 22 April.

In total, approximately 22,000 people were evacuated, 88 shelters were activated, and the cleanup cost more than $NZ17.8 million.

This eruption started out quietly—gently, even—and remained that way for months. That long, calm period can lead to a false sense of security. But this example shows just how quickly a volcano’s behaviour can shift. What begins as an effusive eruption can evolve into something far more hazardous.

 

From whisper to roar

We don’t predict eruptions – we forecast them.

I sigh every time a headline boldly claims that new research will allow us to predict volcanic eruption. The word predict implies precision: saying exactly what will happen, where, and when. That’s simply not how volcanoes work.

Instead, we forecast eruptions – like meteorologists forecast the weather. Much like weather systems, volcanoes involve complex, ever-changing factors. Forecasts improve as we get closer to an event, but they’re never absolute.

The ongoing eruptions near Grindavík, Iceland, offer an exceptional case study in how effective volcanic forecasting can be. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO), the official monitoring agency, has done a remarkable job. But what makes a good forecast?

The foundation is expertise. We need volcanologists with the right skills and experience, backed by advanced monitoring tools and research technologies.

Take seismic signals, for example. Before an eruption, a volcanic system produces complex seismic activity. Interpreting these signals requires a specialist, typically a volcano seismologist or geophysicist, alongside a well-maintained network of seismometers and the technology to decode what those signals mean.

But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. Other monitoring methods must also be integrated - gas emissions, ground deformation, thermal imaging, and more. The IMO’s website, for instance, shares updates on seismicity, volcanic gases and surface movement.

Each volcano has a unique personality - complete with its own "mood swings." To forecast its behaviour, we must understand its history. Past eruptions help us anticipate future ones.

That understanding takes time and collaboration. Volcanology is a diverse field. My own research focuses on how eruptions interact with the environment and communities. To understand what leads up to an eruption, rely on experts who specialise in those early signals.

Monitoring data makes sense only when placed in context. Fortunately, Iceland has a rich history of volcanic research, covering a wide range of eruption styles and the deeper magma systems driving them.

This current eruption series is especially valuable because it’s happening in a location where we've already seen multiple events -11 eruption episodes since 2021. This growing dataset allows volcanologists to compare patterns and refine their forecasts. The IMO has developed methods to estimate how much magma is accumulating beneath the surface, which helps them forecast the size and likelihood of future eruptions.

One of the biggest challenges? There’s no single signal that guarantees a specific outcome. Magma evolves as it rises through the crust, interacting with different rock types and pressures along the way. Each stage can produce different kinds of activity.

That’s why it's essential to consider the range of possible outcomes. Good forecasting isn’t about certainty - it’s about informed probabilities that help communities prepare.

By monitoring volcanoes during periods of calm, unrest, and eruption, we’re learning what each phase looks like - and how varied the signals can be, even within the same system.

Volcanoes are incredibly complex, dynamic systems. Change happens over time and across space. That’s why we don’t make predictions. We make forecasts—because understanding what might happen, and when, can save lives.



Forecasts, not crystal balls

Contributed

Councillor responds

In response to my recent story on kiwi, Selwyn June stated incorrectly that 90 kiwi were released back into the Okahu Valley (which skirts Te Urewera).

The Department of Conservation stated in a 2025 Official Information Act (OIA) response that “DOC has not released any kiwi into the Okahu Valley, as there is no stoat control in the area to protect the birds from predation.” DOC also states it has removed over 100 kiwi and eggs from the Okahu Valley in the last 25 years. Despite the kiwi removals, the pig hunting, native logging, and absence of “pest control”, the population continues to thrive.

Mr June also states that “more than 600 kiwi have been monitored through aerial 1080 drops nationwide, and not one has died from 1080.”

DOC rarely tests kiwi for 1080 poison residues. Only three were tested nationwide between 1998 and 2018. However, since 2018, nine kiwi have been tested, two being positive - 22 per cent.

An OIA reporting 740 dead kiwi in Northland between 1998 and 2018 shows that none were tested for 1080 poison residues. However, 53 of the Northland kiwi were tested for anti-coagulant rodenticides (not 1080), and 20 (38 per cent) were positive. Oddly, not a single kiwi has ever been recorded by DOC as dying from any kind of poisoning.

Between 2024 and 2014, 54 kiwi chicks were recorded as dying in the Tongariro Kiwi Sanctuary in the five years they were monitored. Between 2013 and 2005, over 120 chicks died, and in at least one of the seasons, the entire Operation Nest Egg batch of chicks died. Hundreds of kiwi have been translocated into poisoned forests like the Tongariro (driving up kiwi call counts), none into unpoisoned forests.

In the Waikaremoana/Te Urewera wild kiwi range, the population is thriving. DOC states not one kiwi has been reported dead in the area in the last 10 years, despite the absence of pest control. As I said previously, mad scientist experiments are no place for kiwi.

Clyde Graf

Waikato Regional councillor

Letters

I’ve been thinking about the vast, interconnected processes that shape our world. As a geoscientist - someone who studies the Earth - I work across scales that range from thousands of kilometres down to microscopic levels requiring a microscope to see. Even relatively small volcanic events can have catastrophic effects for us, but they pale in comparison to the immense forces that drive volcanic activity in the first place.

In relatively recent times it has been well-established that the Earth’s outer crust is made up of tectonic plates that slowly shift over time.

These plates interact in different ways: some are forced beneath others in subduction zones, some grind past each other along transform boundaries, and others pull apart at divergence zones. Come back in a million years or so and our regions will look quite different.

Here in the North Island, we sit near the Hikurangi Subduction Zone, where the Pacific Plate is pushed beneath the Australian Plate. The Pacific Plate—Earth’s largest tectonic plate—is surrounded by a network of active zones forming the infamous Pacific Ring of Fire. The South Island lies along a transform boundary, and further south, the pattern reverses, with the Australian Plate subducting beneath the Pacific Plate. Our region is geologically dynamic, to say the least.

One tectonic feature we don’t have in our neck of the woods is a divergence zone, where plates spread apart, creating new land. Some of the most well-known examples include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the East Pacific Rise. There’s also the East African Rift Valley, often making headlines with claims that Africa is “splitting apart” - though this process has been happening for 25 to 30 million years at about the same rate as our fingernails grow.

One place where a spreading ridge reaches the surface is Iceland. Most of these ridges are hidden beneath the ocean, leaving much to be explored. These vast regions are where new oceanic crust is formed, giving rise to impressive fault systems, deep valleys, and volcanic activity that shapes the seafloor. The salt deposits I mentioned last week can flow across these zones, adding another layer to their complexity. A great example of this is the Red Sea Rift.

The discovery of plate tectonics revolutionised our understanding of Earth. What was once a groundbreaking theory, only widely accepted in the 1960s, is now fundamental to how we study our planet. And yet, we are still uncovering new insights. With advances in ocean mapping, technology, and computing power, we continue to refine our understanding of the forces that create and shape the landscapes we depend on.

In just this short discussion, I’ve touched on processes that span timescales and distances almost beyond comprehension. It has taken generations of scientific inquiry to reach this level of understanding -and there is still much more to learn. Within our lifetimes new discoveries will change the way we think about different aspects of our incredible planet. I look forward to sharing new discoveries with you.

Forces beneath our feet

Prime Minister Richard ‘Dick’ Seddon, on tour of New Zealand, described his trip overland from Te Kūiti to Mōkau, which was done in a four-horse drag, as a pretty rough one. On arrival at Mōkau the wire rope broke on the punt, necessitating the swimming of the horses across the river for eight miles, while the prime minister was rowed across in a boat.

Mystery surrounded three men on horseback who were observed ascending the long sloping hills that rose directly above Te Kūiti. The men, Constables Hyde, McConachie, and Nikora, returned the same night drenched to the skin, horses and men covered in mud.

The news soon spread - they had been raiding a sly grog store at Paemako, about 30 miles distant. When the store came into sight one of the constables had warned, ‘We are spotted.’

A gallop was made to the store and once inside, they took charge of the place and stripped it of its illicit alcohol. After a meal and the horses had been fed, a start was made for home but it was not long before the sky became inky black and rain came down in torrents.

They were on a track, not a road, struggling over roots, stumps, logs, and through swamps and bog holes. It was well their horses were used to such country. At last a whare was reached where the billy was boiled. A pannikin of tea and a hard biscuit were greatly appreciated, while the rain hammered on the roof. But if they remained there the night the horses would go hungry, so they pushed on.

At the whare they were provided with an impromptu lantern, the bottom knocked out of a bottle, turned upside down, and a lighted candle dropped into the neck of it. Another start was made, one of the constables heading the procession with the lantern. All went well for a little while, when suddenly a horse and rider were precipitated into a swamp and bogged. With a long, strong pull from his mates they were once more on terra firma and at long last Te Kūiti was reached.

At Ōtorohanga Mr Harrison and a companion went out wild cattle hunting. Soon they came across a wild bull, which they fired at. When Mr Harrison ran out to see what had become of him he came face to face with another bull which he had not seen. This bull immediately charged and knocked Mr Harrison down, wounding him. Luckily his companion was a cool and brave man who dispatched the animal in time to save Mr Harrison’s life.

Three young men left Hamilton at half past five in the morning on their bicycles, and rode through to the Waitomo Caves, where they spent an hour and a half. They then started on their return journey, and reached Hamilton at 11.30pm, having been just I8 hours on the road, and the distance travelled close on 100 miles.

Rough trip to Mōkau

Salt is part of our everyday lives, whether we are eating it or swimming in ocean water. Before it reaches our kitchens, salt is collected in several ways. One method involves evaporating salty water, leaving the salt behind to be harvested. Another source is rock salt, or halite, which forms when large bodies of salty water evaporate over time. These deposits, called evaporites, can originate from vast inland seas that existed hundreds of millions of years ago.

If you use Himalayan salt, that mineral has had quite the journey before arriving in stores. It is mined from the aptly named “Salt Range” in Pakistan, within what geologists call a fold-and-thrust belt. These massive geological features form when tectonic plates collide, causing rock layers to deform over immense timescales. Imagine pushing a rug along the floor—it folds and buckles as it bunches up. Similarly, when large faults develop, rock layers can be thrust over one another, creating complex geological structures.

One fascinating property of salt is that, under the right conditions, it flows. When thick layers of salt (ranging from hundreds of meters to a kilometre in thickness) are buried by sediments over geologic time, they experience uneven pressure, causing the salt to move. Picture a mattress-sized slab of putty: if you roll over it, the putty will bulge outward, shifting away from the applied pressure.

Salt can also migrate or move toward the surface, forming large domes or even flowing across the land like a glacier. If you search for “Zagros Mountains salt glaciers” online, you’ll find stunning images of multi-coloured salt formations, some even imaged from space to show their impressive size.

On the seafloor, salt can emerge at the surface and, thanks to a thin protective layer that prevents it from dissolving, create striking geological features. These are particularly abundant on the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.

Buried salt deposits can also play important role in oil and gas accumulation. Because salt is impermeable, it acts as a natural barrier, trapping migrating hydrocarbons beneath the surface.

Salt can come in different colours, depending on its composition. Pure sodium chloride (NaCl) is colourless, while pink Himalayan salt gets its distinctive hue from trace amounts of iron oxide. This is similar to how minerals like quartz exhibit various colours depending on the presence of other elements.

It’s truly remarkable when you think about it. A vast inland sea slowly evaporates, leaving behind a thick salt deposit. Over millions of years, this deposit is buried beneath layers of sediment, becoming part of the rock record. Eventually, the salt, being less dense and more buoyant than the surrounding rock, begins to rise back toward the surface—just like oil in water or magma in the Earth’s crust. And after this long, extraordinary journey, we harvest it for food, decoration, or even to make salt lamps.

The next time you use Himalayan or other rock salt, I hope you take a moment to appreciate the incredible history this ancient mineral has travelled through time and space.



Our ancient salt

Scenarios are an invaluable tool for helping prepare for major events. Facing a potential disaster requires scientists, government officials, business owners, families, utility companies, and first responders (and more) to plan together. This provides a structured way to anticipate potential challenges and develop effective responses, helping to facilitate of overwhelming process.

A scenario is essentially a planning tool that outlines a hypothetical event, such as a powerful earthquake affecting a specific region.

Scientists construct these scenarios using extensive research on credible future events, drawing from past occurrences recorded in geological evidence (fault ruptures, landslides), biological markers (tree rings), and historical records if a past event has occurred when people were around to record it. By analysing the data, we can forecast what a similar event might look like today or in the near future.

The AF8 hazard scenario here in Aotearoa is one that I look to for a great example of how this process can take place, and how community engagement can be undertaken across a broad region. AF8 models a magnitude eight earthquake along the Alpine Fault in the South Island, a credible event with a 75 per cent chance of occurring in the next 50 years, and with an 82 per cent likelihood of reaching magnitude eight or greater.

Understanding these potential events is crucial, as the severity of a disaster is often determined by how well we prepare. The AF8 scenario doesn’t just examine the earthquake’s shaking; it also considers secondary impacts such as landslides, which could damage roads, disrupt electricity, and even block waterways — leading to flooding.

Once we understand the natural aspects of an event, we can assess its potential impacts — who and what will be affected — and determine proactive steps to reduce or even prevent damage. The AF8 project exemplifies how we are not powerless against Earth’s natural forces. By working together across different sectors of society, we can ensure people are informed and ready to act swiftly. This is a complex, collaborative effort involving many researchers and partner agencies.

Scenarios can be carried out in-person, run as though an event is underway over hours or days, and within or across agencies. This allows us to see what questions we haven’t yet asked, the resources we don’t yet have, and the relationships that need to be in place. It is a safe place to fail and can lead to productive problem solving.

Based on the scenario, further planning and response initiatives can be taken, and in this case, there is the South Island Alpine Fault Earthquake Response Framework. This is a fantastic example of how we can start with science, by looking at rocks as a geologist to understand the world around us, to impactful planning and action.

Yes, these events are daunting—but they are not some mysterious, lurking threat. With knowledge, preparation, and collaboration, we can face them together and greatly reduce the severity and how long it takes us to get back onto our feet.

Planning for a big one

It did not matter how late the hour, or wet and dark the night, or how heavy and muddy the road, Dr MacLeod of Piopio never failed to respond to the call of duty.

William MacLeod was a crofter’s son, born on the Isle of Skye, who rose to become a doctor, qualifying in 1905 at Glasgow. After he came to New Zealand he was registered at Otago’s Medical School and in 1913 moved to Piopio. He possessed the sterling and dependable qualities for which Scottish people were so distinguished and quickly gained popularity as much for his unassuming and friendly manner as for his professional skill.

A doctor had been badly needed in the district. Just the year before harrowing tales of suffering were related to the Waikato Hospital Board by a deputation of King Country settlers. It was stated that nobody, except those living there, realised the dreadful experiences of those from the back blocks. A doctor’s residence, with one room available as an emergency ward, was duly built at Piopio.

From his arrival Dr MacLeod’s self-sacrificing devotion to his duties won him sincere respect and esteem. In 1914 William married Jessie MacLennan at Miss Hattaway’s nursing home in Te Kūiti.

Jessie, who had come out from Glasgow to be married, was well known in Scotland as a singer of Scottish and Gaelic songs. She had taken a prominent part in national singing competitions, and it was anticipated that she would be a decided acquisition in her new home. Within a few years the couple had two daughters, and William continued to be a diligent doctor, particularly during the flu pandemic of 1918.

In late May 1921 William was suddenly taken ill and on the advice of Dr McRae, was sent to Hamilton by the express train to go into Dr Douglas’s private hospital. George Brown, of Piopio, accompanied him to Hamilton.  Two days later William had surgery for appendicitis which appeared quite successful. But two days after the surgery Jessie MacLeod was sent for urgently, William’s pain had not subsided and now there were symptoms of peritonitis. Two more days later a second operation became essential and was performed at 10am, but William died about 4pm. His sudden death was a stunning blow to all who knew him. There was hardly a settler’s home that he had not entered. He was more than a physician to most of the community - he was a friend.

William was buried at Te Kūiti, the funeral procession being the largest seen in the district. The church was crowded, and the members of the Freemasons (of which William was a member), attended in Masonic regalia. A lambskin apron was thrown on to the coffin and the symbolic acacia sprig of immortality placed on it.

Very deep grief was felt in the King Country at the death of their ideal country doctor and his ornate headstone bears the inscription that it was ‘erected by the members of this district by whom he was much loved’.

Piopio's popular doctor

People around the world are often familiar with the most significant eruptions, such as the 1883 Krakatau eruption, which had profound and far-reaching effects. However, there are many stories of volcanic eruptions that have impacted communities globally, yet remain underreported or have been lost to time.

As part of my ongoing work in the Canary Islands, a volcanic archipelago off the northwest coast of Africa, and a region of Spain, I am collaborating with partners at GeoTenerife to help provide locals with insights into their volcanic history. It is crucial that we continue to raise awareness of these historical events and their relevance to present-day communities.

This has led me to explore 18th and 19th-century Spanish eruption accounts. These accounts offer invaluable glimpses into past volcanic activity, which can help us recognise how unrest and eruptions might impact communities. This, in turn, can critically assist with decision-making when a volcano stirs.

One notable example is the 1706 eruption in Garachico, on the northern coast of Tenerife. At the time, Garachico was the island’s largest port and was a thriving town with smaller villages nearby. During this eruption, lava cascaded down the steep slopes into the town, partially filling and damaging the harbour. Despite its relatively small size compared to other eruptions, this event had a profound impact on both the town and the island as a whole.

Constructing a reliable eruption timeline from historical records is challenging. Our modern understanding of volcanic processes has evolved and the terminology we use today often differs from that of the past. For instance, interpreting terms like “smoke” (Is it ash? Gas? Steam? Or something actually burning?) or “fire” (Is it lava?) can be difficult. A deep understanding of volcanic activity is essential to making sense of these descriptions. Additionally, translation errors can further complicate matters. For example, translating “lahar” from Indonesian as “cold lava” is misleading—cold lava is simply rock.

However, these historical accounts also offer us crucial insights into volcanic precursors, especially during times before the advent of modern volcano monitoring.

One colourful account reads:  “tombs could be seen as if they were trying to throw out dead bodies, and in the houses, the roofs began to shake until they gave way. The bells could be heard ringing with heartfelt blows, as if they were ringing in agony…” (Cassares, 1709). Along with other historical eruption accounts, this suggests that seismic activity can be a significant precursor to eruptions in the region.

Other accounts provide a window into the emotional experiences of the people living through these events, such as: “the fearful night continued… in this way, Lord, the great earthquakes originated, with such ferocity that everyone was moved to sadness.”

Learning about past eruptions is essential for preparing communities for future volcanic events. Each volcano presents unique lessons, shaped by its specific landscape, history, and the culture of the people living in its shadow. By examining these stories, we can better equip communities to face the challenges posed by future eruptions.

Deciphering past eruptions

John Robertson

While I have learnt much from two decades of community leadership and public service, what sticks out most is the importance of community pride.

When people have pride in their communities, they feel safe. They see their towns well maintained and clean. They see them busy and vibrant. They see people smile when they pass others on the footpath.

But pride is not something that naturally occurs. Researchers say it comes about from us having a stake in our community, to having an investment in our community’s success - emotionally, financially, or culturally.

Like in Te Kūiti, those who created the Maara Kai Roopu community garden, those involved in Legendary Te Kūiti, those who help at Brook Park.

Like in Piopio, those behind the Piopio Trust, those who help as volunteers to sort out rubbish bin issues, those who keep an eye on the holiday park.

Like in Mōkau, those who manage the Domain, those who support the museum, those who look after the beaches.

Whether in these places or in others, or on marae around our district, those who make an investment in their community build pride.

So too do those who support sport, promote the arts, cultural activities, kapa haka, and events like the shearing championships, the volunteers who support fire and ambulance services, and the service clubs who back community initiatives. They all build pride.

We can all be community champions, doing something positive for our community. Imagine the impact that such a movement involving all of us would have. A safe community. No anti-social behaviours. No burnouts. No drugs. No crime. Just pride.

Councils can invest in amenities that support a proud community. Facilities like the Gallagher Recreation Centre are such an investment. Our current mission to clean up the grandstand at Te Kūiti’s Centennial Park and bring more activities to this park is another.

But Council cannot create pride. Only people can pull this all together, people who invest in community success – emotionally, financially, or culturally.

We are going through a period of anti-social behaviour on some of our streets in Te Kūiti right now. Let’s talk and turn this around.

Without wanting to paraphrase Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, I dream of a time where all in our local communities contribute positively, a time where respect replaces disrespect, where care replaces disregard and where pride replaces shame.

Maybe it’s a dream too far. Maybe not?

Pride and champions

Measuring deformation is an important part of the volcano monitoring toolbox. Deformation is a change in the ground surface or shape, whether that’s up (inflation), down (deflation), or sideways.

Understanding what the cause could be, the uncertainty involved (what we don’t know, or errors introduced by processing the data), and incorporating information from other monitoring techniques allows us to narrow down what might be happening below the surface.

We can measure deformation using high-precision GPS (Global Positioning Systems). Another way is using radar satellites, a technique called InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) that allows us to measure down to millimetres or centimetres of change from space.

After experts process this data, we can then investigate different causes behind the change while taking into account the local geology and hydrology.

One cause is magma movement. If magma is rising towards the surface as an intrusion, it can push the ground upwards and/or outwards. As magma reaches shallower depths the pressure on the magma is reduced (deeper in the crust equals more pressure). At lower pressures gases are released from the magma and they expand, increasing the pressure within the magma and on the surrounding rock, which can cause slight movement of the surface. This is often millimetres to centimetres in scale.

Sometimes this is much more obvious. Leading to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the north flank bulged outwards at about two metres each day. Magma was pushing up into the volcano, erupting with catastrophic consequences on May 18.

Magma rising does not mean an eruption will happen. It can stall and stop, slowly cooling and solidifying into crystalline rock over time. It can remain an intrusion. This process can cause some slow subsidence of the land above it.

Another cause is fluids, like geothermal water. Volcanoes often have geothermal systems because of remnant heat from older eruptions heating water at shallow depths. This water can be rainwater percolating down through the ground, it can also be fluids released from the magma.

Volcanoes can also be in areas with a lot of faults, and they can produce deformation when they move. Faults can move because of processes that have nothing to do with the volcanic system, or they can become active because of magma or fluids moving within the ground.

The ground can also subside when fluids or gas are removed, like magma erupting or the extraction of water or geothermal fluids.

The removal of groundwater in California’s San Joaquin Valley resulted in about 8.5 metres of ground subsidence from the 1920s to around 2015. A single storey room is typically 2.4 metres high. We have seen similar subsidence with geothermal steam extraction in New Zealand. Spread out over large distances, this can be difficult to see just by looking.

The surface itself can also slump because of gravity and instability, or sinkholes can form.

While we think of the ground below our feet as solid and stable, it still moves. This is sometimes very slow, other times very fast, and geoscientists study all aspects of it to understand what has happened, what is happening, and what might happen next.

Understanding deformation

Harley Davidsons were the motorcycle of choice for the Te Kūiti police proving far cheaper than the horse when time was considered.

Their popularity in America was attested to by 49 police chiefs who all spoke very highly of the motorcycle for their work, finding that the Harley Davidson was the most economical, most durable and efficient.

Not as durable though was the Te Kūiti police sergeant’s residence which was noted with disgust to be falling to pieces and without a lick of paint for years.

Ōtorohanga residents were being pestered by an individual who opened conversations by asking in an earnest tone for ‘painkiller.’ He got strong tea in one house, and some quack medicine in another. At one house, though, he quite settled in, and the constable had to be called to move him on. He was described as a drug fiend.

As if this wasn’t enough - potatoes, cabbages, peas, and other vegetables appeared to be the favourite food of a certain cow which was allowed to roam Ōtorohanga streets night after night. People were getting tired of this animal and suggested that the police take action.

The proposal that the Waitomo Caves needed to be more widely advertised was made to the Minister of Tourist Resorts. If the caves were lighted by electricity and full publicity given to the attractions of the district, Waitomo would rank second to Rotorua in popularity. There were great possibilities for making it one of the most popular health and tourist resorts in the Dominion, but the hostel there was in a state of disrepair. Accommodation was only sufficient to allow visitors to stay for one night. The manager and staff did everything possible for guests but they were hampered by the reluctance of the Government to spend money on the buildings. The hostel was beautifully situated and the grounds could be made very attractive. It would not cost a lot to construct lawn tennis courts and croquet and bowling greens at the hostel. There were many people in Auckland who would make the caves a health resort. During the hot weather in the city many would stay at for recuperative purposes if the facilities were available.

A Mōkau farmer installed in his milking shed a device for recording the weight of each individual cow’s milk. The simple part consisted of a face with an index hand similar to that of a clock. Just as the milking of a cow was finished the hand recorded on the dial the weight of the milk given.

The owner swore that the very first day he set up the machine each cow on backing out of the bail immediately turned round and scanned the face of the dial with the greatest interest.

Later on he noticed all the cows in the yard having an argument among themselves, presumably as to which had given the greatest quantity of milk

When police had Harleys

Tom Roa

I wonder how many of us applied for annual leave on the Friday, taking advantage of the Waitangi holiday to turn it into a long Waitangi Weekend.

I suggest that if we’re honest, that will have been how the vast majority of us regard Waitangi Day - enjoying the holiday, aware of the significance – and how can we not be with so much media – mainstream as well as social – attention to events at Waitangi and elsewhere? But I suggest the vast majority of us treat it essentially as another holiday.

The significance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi has been recognised with this holiday. And I know of no adult New Zealander who does not appreciate that significance in recognising the importance of Te Triti in our national consciousness.

For Māori Te Tiriti has long been a discussion point amongst us and other New Zealanders on marae and at Māori events.

I don’t envy the task of the Parliamentary Select Committee in their sifting through the thousands of submissions to them on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. I do suggest that this is merely a continuation of those conversations, unfortunately, in my opinion, a waste of parliamentary resources given that two of the coalition partners have indicated they will not support it through its second reading.

In our backyard here in the Waipā District more and wider conversations have been exploring the significance of the tragedy of Rangiaowhia where I and others assert that in the aftermath of the signing(s) of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the potential of principled prosperity for the signatories of Te Tiriti was being realised.

Rangiaowhia was an agricultural hub which sent produce not only to major townships like Auckland, New Plymouth and Wellington nationally, but also internationally to Sydney, England, and even to the goldfields of America. Indeed, the very first sacks of flour from the very first mill at Rangiaowhia were sent as a gift to Queen Victoria.

Pākehā tradespeople were welcomed by the Ngāti Apakura and Ngati Hinetū leadership in the later context of the second Māori King’s assertion that his friends came from all corners of the globe. They were the honest tradespeople, the shoemakers, the carpenters, the blacksmiths and the bakers of bread. Their contribution to the prosperity of Rangiaowhia was much celebrated by the hapū and iwi of the district as well as their visitors from other iwi who bore witness to the very important contribution of these people to the affluence enjoyed there by all. So much so that the newcomers took wives (and husbands!) from the local population and adopted their language and customs, partnering with Ngāti Apakura and Ngāti Hinetu to mutual benefit.

But then the empire-builders followed the norm of that time which was with the waging of war for building empire. Cooperation, collaboration with the people who were already in that space didn’t fit with that model.



 

Waitangi Day - and Rangiaowhia

Misinformation is not new. Sometimes confusion reigns and wrong information is innocently shared. Sometimes tabloids make clickbait headlines that are wildly misleading, so you visit their website, and they make money. Now we also have people on social media posting misinformation for likes in stressful and even dangerous situations. This situation is so urgent that I wrote about the topic online last week.

I am following the situation around Santorini, where there is real danger to people experiencing frequent earthquakes. This is a situation that is truly impacting communities and there is a risk that something worse may happen, like a larger, more damaging earthquake.

Now that we have AI and much more convincing fake videos to contend with, we must be even more cautious and sceptical, especially if we are viewing something on social media. So how can we tell?

Firstly, who is the source? Is it a trustworthy agency who checks facts? Is it an expert or trusted local - or someone who tends to post a lot of dramatic videos for likes with captions containing all caps and hyped-up language?

There seems to be a race to be the first to post about an eruption these days. The desperation to go viral might have something to do with it.

Does something seem off about the video? Is the colouring wrong? Does something about the physics, like water behaviour, seem a bit weird? Is the colouring saturated or a bit unrealistic? If there are people, is their behaviour odd? Are features blurred? AI generated images can get things wrong, like adding the wrong number of fingers. Are people responding as you would expect them to during an eruption?

There is a term ‘uncanny valley’ that refers to feeling ‘off’ when looking at something that isn’t quite real. Go with your gut and check again.

Looking at the landscape is important. Santorini is a very recognisable island with steep slopes and the classic white buildings. Some people have shared a video of Whakāri with a gas plume.

EuroNews used reverse image search to identify our backyard volcano was standing in as a fake.

I’ve even seen an old computer-generated simulation of an Auckland volcanic field eruption shared with claims of It depicting past eruptions at other volcanoes in very different landscapes. That was made back when it was obviously not real… if you take the time to look.

What else is in the image or video? Is everything to scale? Make sure there isn’t any strange blurring between objects, or any areas that look too smooth or air brushed.

Is there any text? There might be repetition of words or bad spelling if there is.

Sometimes it just takes slowing down and taking a few seconds before sharing something online, but it is getting trickier. We can point out when something isn’t right in the comments so that others can see it too.

In hazardous situations we all have a role to play in making sure we are sharing good information.

We might be all the way over here in Aotearoa, but people being impacted by these events can see what’s posted online and this can cause very real distress.

Volcanoes and fake views

Katrina Christison

As the heat of summer is in full swing here are a few jobs that I find enjoyable at this time of year

Watering - I can’t stress enough the importance of deep watering at this time of year, when watering your garden it is best done before the heat of the day or later afternoon when the sun is going down. A long deep water once or twice a week is so much better than a fast water everyday. The importance of deep watering is that it encourages the plant roots to grow down in search of water. Short fast watering only wets the surface therefore encouraging the roots to grow up and this means the plant will dry out a lot faster as the deeper the roots go the cooler the soil is.

Picking - Deadheading when flowers are over on your plants encourages your plants to flower again & improves the plants energy as it’s not trying to set seed and can put its energy into new flowers & growth. I like to pick them when they are at their best and give away to friends. If you let a few flowers set you can collect the seed for free plants for next year.

Weeding – If you keep on top of your weeds and don’t let them set seed you will have less weeds in the future. Doing a little bit of weeding often will make all the difference.

Remember mulching your garden makes weeding even easier as the weeds roots are usually only in the mulch.

Analysing - While weeding, watering or dead heading you can also be analysing your garden and making notes of what is working and what is not. In the heat of February some plants might not be planted in the right place either their soil requirements might be to dry for their liking or they might need some respite from sun. Write down what you notice so that you can move them around in Autumn, so they thrive next year. Take note of which plants are doing well with the hot dry Summer, and you could either divide these in Autumn to drift more though your garden or start a wish list of plant to buy come planting season.

 

Summer maintenance

A very important part of volcano monitoring is understanding seismicity, meaning earthquakes or vibrations that move through the Earth that we sometimes feel at the surface. Most volcanic earthquakes are too small to be felt by us, but seismometers record them and capture valuable information.

Geophysicists are the experts who study these phenomena and untangle the sometimes very complex signals to unravel clues about what is going on below the surface, using their expertise, experience, and technology. Just to be clear, I am not one of these experts.

When there is an increase in seismicity at or near a volcano, an important start is figuring out what the cause is. Is it volcanic or not? It could be magma, fluids, gases, or faults. Volcanoes are often located in areas with plenty of faults, so earthquakes could have nothing to do with the volcano itself. They can also be produced by shallow geothermal activity, which is likely what those in Taupō were feeling a few weeks ago. When they are near the surface and close, they can feel more intense.

If something is moving below the surface, it could be magma, fluids, or gases. Fluids can be a mix of water and other components like CO2 that are released from magma. It can take time and hindsight to work through the signals to understand what caused them.

Earthquakes can be classified into types, given a magnitude, and a location including depth. Here is a very simplified guide.

Volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes occur when rock breaks. This can be through faults moving because of tectonic forces or migrating magmatic fluids and gases putting stress on them from a distance, or magma and gases breaking rock as they move.

As magma, fluids (magmatic or hydrothermal), and gases move through cracks they can produce long-period (LP), very-long-period (VLP), or low-frequency (LF) earthquakes. This can be a sign that magma is on the move, but not necessarily.

Tremor is a continuous seismic signal that can indicate that the volcano means business with magma moving or an eruption is even underway, or that there are so many earthquakes that it’s hard to distinguish between them all.

Keep in mind that many processes can produce signals at once This includes ‘noise’ at the surface like animals or human activity, or other natural processes like wind, landslides or waves. We need our seismologists around to figure it out!

Since seismicity is a normal part of being a volcano, active or not, it’s important to know what the “background” or usual level of activity is so that we know when something is changing. Incorporating other data such as gas or deformation (movement of the surface), also helps to clarify what’s happening down below.

While these earthquakes are usually small, they can also be very harmful, especially when people live close to where they are originating. As Taupō has seen in the past, seismicity during volcanic unrest can be damaging even without leading to an eruption. Shaking can cause building damage that can result in injuries, or trigger landslides, which can sometimes even lead to a tsunami. It is always important to be prepared and know what to do in our volcanic areas, so be sure to visit getready.govt.nz for more.



 

When volcanoes shake

The term “natural disaster” is a bit outdated. We have natural hazards, sure, but disasters don’t exist without us, and they are made worse by poor planning, decision making, and preparation. If an identical eruption occurred in the middle of absolutely nowhere versus in the middle of a city, the first is not a disaster and the second is. An important part of reducing harm is understanding risk.

“Risk” is a word we use a lot in our everyday lives. Potentially silly decisions can be risky. We can be at risk of health complications. When it comes to hazards like eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis and floods, risk has quite a specific and complex meaning.

The basic equation often used is Risk = Hazard x Exposure x Vulnerability. This gives us the likelihood of harm and damage from a specific hazard (like a tsunami) in a place depending on what and who is potentially in the way.

This is where the natural hazards interact with us, and where we have the power to reduce how much they harm us as individuals and communities.

Disaster risk reduction is a critical component of helping society deal with the hazards that come our way. An important method or framework is the 4 Rs of disaster management - Reduction, Readiness, Response, and Recovery.

The hazard is not to be managed (most of the time) – the planet will stay active, and we must respect the processes that shape it, but we can change the other aspects of the equation.

We can take steps to eliminate risk. This could be physically moving things out of the way, like raising a bridge above where it could be damaged by a lahar, or making sure people don’t build houses in areas more likely to flood through land use zoning.

Where we can’t eliminate it, we can reduce it. One example is designing buildings to stay standing during an earthquake.

We can make sure we are ready through education, early warning systems, and evacuation drills. We can empower people to know what to do and when. We can reduce how vulnerable we are by strengthening key aspects of society that keep us running, like communications, power, and transportation.

We have learned a lot about how to respond to a hazard or disaster, which by nature are complex, evolving, and challenging situations. We can make sure our emergency responders, and our emergency management/civil defence agencies have the resources they need to help us. We can ensure that funds can be rapidly made available for those who need it.

Following earthquakes and cyclones we have seen how difficult and long the recovery process can be. We keep learning from each event, and make sure that when we rebuild, we do so stronger and more resilient.

This isn’t a ‘four steps and we’re done’ process, it is a continual cycle. We learn more about the hazards, our society evolves, and a changing climate can make some hazards more intense. We keep adapting. We also forget over time that these events can happen to us, and we drop the ball, repeating mistakes of the past.

Learning from disasters

Comer Board had not heard the sound of wood chopping from his companion Edwin Stevenson for some 10 minutes when he went to investigate. 

The two young men were working on a ridge on the Hauturu Road, Waitomo in May 1905.  Edwin and his brother had leased the bush section for grazing cattle and were new settlers in the King Country, having recently arrived from Manawatu.  Edwin, 23.  and Comer were cutting down trees to form a cattle track when the ridge went silent.  To his horror Comer found Edwin dead under a fallen tawa.  It appeared he had been felling the tree which had another tree leaning against it, and as soon as the support was removed the leaning tree uprooted and fell.    

The journey out to a bush camp was a rough one, Edwin having to be carried on a makeshift stretcher three miles over steep country.  He was then put on a sledge and taken nine more miles into Waitomo.  Heartbreakingly, his mother, who was on a visit from England, was in Waitomo when her son was brought in.

An inquest was held at Te Awamutu and a verdict of accidental death returned. Edwin was taken to Hamilton by train and was interred there, several of his mates from Waitomo being present.  There were bitter complaints over the actions of the police after Edwin’s death.  They had been unwilling to render the assistance which was usually expected from them.

Edwin, from Essex, England, had arrived in New Zealand aged 18 on the Gothic in 1899. His brother James followed two years later.  His remaining siblings – four brothers and one sister – immigrated to Canada and America during the late 1890s.

Five years later, in 1910, Karl Johansen, 63, was working with Mr Hunt's party felling bush on Mr Vickery's place at Waitomo. A loose branch fell on Karl. He was stunned, but partially regained consciousness.  Karl deteriorated and it was obvious to his mates that he was in a very serious condition.  A stretcher was improvised, but the track was so rugged it was impossible to carry him to Mr Vickery's house.  It was decided to carry him by road into Waitomo, a distance of about six or seven miles.  The roads, though, were in a dreadful condition and the task gruelling. 

Dr Fullerton of Te Kūiti was telephoned for.  He was attending another patient at Piopio, but was able, with the assistance of a Māori guide, to get across country quickly and arrived before the stretcher party came into view at the Waitomo accommodation house at about 8pm. Karl had weakened on the road and the doctor could give no hope.

An inquest found Karl came by his death through the limb of a tree striking him. In Karl’s’ case the value of the telephone in the back-blocks was demonstrated, for if a messenger had had to ride in and take back a doctor, he could not possibly have been in time to do even the little that was possible. 

Clearing bush: a heavy price

It was encouraging to see opinions expressed in the King Country News last week on the possible merger of Waitomo and Otorohanga District Councils. Opinions from “it’s time” to “more details please” to “a larger merger” to “let’s pause”.

My views are well known. I am in the “it’s time” group. It no longer makes any sense for our two King Country councils to duplicate administration and pass costs onto ratepayers the way we do.

Our District Plans should be combined, saving millions of dollars of costs for ratepayers as revisions take place every 10 years or so, let alone confusion and costs for tradesmen, farmers and developers who work across both districts.

Our Annual and Long-Term budgets should be combined, saving the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually required to prepare and audit this work.

And the overheads of our councils should be reduced through a merger.

Elected members and staff in local government know that restructuring is on the way. Some is happening now through shared services. These are sensible small steps. Other organisational restructuring is being forced upon Councils by legislation, like the way we deliver water services.

We can wait until we’re forced to merge. This is the reactive approach. I favour a proactive approach, where stakeholders most impacted - residents and ratepayers of both districts – initiate, design and manage the process.

A merger of our two councils would be straight forward. Amalgamation of a larger group of councils is complex and politically challenging. Auckland’s required a Royal Commission and support from both Labour and National.

How would we achieve a merger?

I recommend that we develop a Local Bill and progress it through Parliament. It would provide for the merger of our two councils, effective from Local Body elections in October 2028. Work on the bill could be guided by a steering group of local leaders – business, community, farming and iwi.

There would be transitional provisions in the bill to address differences between the councils, such as rates, assets, debt and infrastructure needs. Locals would have input through council engagement processes and through the parliamentary submission process.

October 2028 seems a long way off. Public sector restructuring takes time, as does getting a bill through Parliament. But the timing fits well with the pending water reform.

Let’s begin the process to shape our own future. Merging our two councils makes sense in so many ways.

Why two goes into one

There have been plenty of harrowing and emotional stories coming out of the LA fires disaster. Videos of people reuniting with, or helping, pets really pull the heartstrings, bringing forward thoughts of how I would cope if my cats went missing during a fire. For many of us, animals are part of our families and we love them dearly.

Animals are an important consideration for disaster preparedness, and if we fail at this it can also endanger human life. The most significant risk factor for people failing to evacuate is owning a pet, especially for people who don’t have children. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005, emergency shelters did not allow pets and 44 per cent of non-evacuees who chose not to evacuate did so because they refused to leave pets behind. An estimated 50,000 to 150,000 pets died.

Psychological trauma can occur when people are forced to leave them. One study found that pet loss is a significant predictor of post-disaster distress. Conversely, having a pet can also reduce stress and promote lower levels of post-traumatic stress disorder. Health care workers, who are desperately needed in a disaster, may also refuse to work if their pets are not safe. Additionally, disease spread is also higher through non-evacuated animals.

The dangers continue, with an estimated 80 per cent of people returning to evacuation areas prematurely doing so to rescue a pet.

I mentioned last year that my friend Danni Molisee could not evacuate prior to the first hurricane that impacted Tampa, Florida. She managed to evacuate for the second hurricane, but it broke her heart leaving two missing pets behind. One kitty was found, and she still goes back with hope for the other. Pets became ill from the polluted waters that came from the storm surge. She says it is tragic seeing posts from people saying they are looking for fosters for their pets because of difficult living conditions.

There can be very real consequences when we don’t take our pets into account and community safety can be impacted. I have discussed the steps we can take to prepare (you can look up “Pets and disasters” from 2023), such as having a plan and knowing where your items like carriers, pet photos, food, and any medications are for a quick getaway.

We also need larger plans in place for when evacuations are needed. Plans for places people can go with pets, or a safe place for pets to stay with the right care. It is also important to have places without animals for those with allergies.

After Katrina, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (Pets) Act of 2006 was established in the US, and Animal Evac New Zealand has been working towards changes.

What is clear is that preparation needs to happen at different levels, from within the home, in our communities, up to our leadership. As with so many aspects of disaster preparedness and resilience, we are not powerless and there is so much we can do to help ourselves and our loved ones big and small.

Planning for pets

Supplied

Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good reignited the debate over local body mergers last week – and suggested Waitomo and Ōtorohanga districts as two prime examples. The story, our page one lead last week has drawn a significant response, including one from former Waitomo News publisher Frances Rawlings who raised the issue recently in an opinion piece.

Time to navigate

In last week’s issue of the King Country News Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good made pertinent comments about the issue of local body amalgamations.

He suggested Waitomo and Ōtorohanga should be “the first off the block”. He acknowledged Waitomo mayor John Robertson as supportive but Otorohanga mayor Max Baxter not.

At the last round of amalgamations, Ōtorohanga was also led by a mayor from the northern border and held a similar attitude – an orientation towards Te Awamutu as their shopping centre is, perhaps, not surprising.

Mr Good also cited poisonous parochialism that could scuttle any logical and sensible plans, stating many have developed cosy, comfortable, monopolistic attitudes and relationships.

Do these comments have a familiar ring with some of Ōtorohanga’s decisions through the years?

Certainly, Waitomo’s invitation to share Sport Waikato personnel with Ōtorohanga was rejected. Likewise when Waitomo set up the Enterprise Development Agency and again extended an invitation for Ōtorohanga to participate it was rejected. When Ōtorohanga businesspeople approached the BDA for assistance, they discovered no funds were available to help Ōtorohanga people.

Both instances struck as short-sighted and foolish at the time. Toxic attitudes have been evident in some quarters in the past.

While not a council responsibility, Ōtorohanga Medical Centre’s reluctance to join with Te Kuiti Med Centre and take advantage of the testing and hospital facilities there strikes as another example of short-sightedness, denying locals access to health expertise, convenience and cost-savings in some circumstances.

Certainly, both councils have moved on – but have they moved far enough?

The current duplication of all costs and salaries is a continuing burden to rate payers of both districts.

Our towns and districts are of a similar size and population. The business, social and sporting connections between the two districts are stronger than with any neighbouring district. Ōtorohanga is recognised as the gateway to the King Country, the historic homeland of the Maniapoto Iwi - character worthy of greater elevation.

In many respects our communities complement one another. Where one is weak, the other frequently compensates – and vice versa.

Surely our districts can work together co-operatively to achieve better outcomes for all - including ratepayers.

The challenge will be navigating through these differences, recognising, respecting, accommodating and valuing each other. It will require care, consideration and compromise. John Robertson has the knowledge, skills and experience to help bring about this change – which I believe is overdue.

Frances Rawlings

Ōtorohanga

Get the details

My understanding is that Ōtorohanga District Council is comparatively efficient. I would like to see the King Country News print a table of the Waikato and King Country council’s relative performance. This could include debt per ratepayer, last year’s rate increase, projected rate increases and other pertinent facts that all rate payers can easily understand.

Scale does have advantages. However the Tatua dairy company, albeit having advantages from the old Dairy Board days is a shining example of a small company out performing its larger rivals. Unfortunately the Westland dairy company didn’t succeed. No matter the size good leadership is crucial.

Dean Brogden

Korakonui

Cutting can save

As a ratepayer I am concerned with the annual rate increases compounding year after year. The budget blowouts on projects are mindblowing, Council estimates have been way below the final cost, such as the monstrosity of an overhead bridge replacement in the middle of town used by a few people. Amalgamating local body councils with representatives from each area of Waikato may be the way forward, as a way of reducing costs of excess council buildings and councillors. If Auckland can govern 1.8 million people with 21 local councils, Waikato should surely manage with several local councils instead of 12 councils.

Denise Te Momo

Te Kūiti 

Press pause

What follows is my personal opinion only. The conversation around amalgamation—merging councils like Waitomo and Ōtorohanga  - has surfaced again. While the potential benefits of amalgamation might be worth exploring in the future, now is not the time.

Yes, amalgamation could deliver cost savings across districts, but these savings are speculative and unquantified at this point. Meanwhile, our council staff are already stretched thin, dealing with central Government’s shifting policies, major weather events, and the day-to-day responsibilities of serving our communities.

Consider the challenges we face. Three Waters - initially, Waitomo District Council stood to benefit from Better Off Funding, securing $3.5 million with the promise of another $10 million. However, government policy changes eliminated this funding. The new Local Water Done Well policy now requires councils to present new options for delivering drinking and wastewater services, with stormwater likely excluded.

Meanwhile, Te Kūiti has experienced two major flooding events, prompting essential upgrades to our stormwater systems, and we’ve discovered a significant backlog of sludge in our wastewater ponds. Additionally, a $9 million water resilience project for Te Kūiti approved by the previous council is underway.

Infrastructure and Roads. Our Waste Management Team is managing landfill uncertainty and navigating now-rescinded government requirements for food waste collection. Cyclones Dovi, Hale, Gabrielle, and winter storms caused extensive damage to rural roads, which added to repair burdens. Legislative reversals on speed management have turned simple tasks into complicated exercises, while forestry-related road damage persists.

Financial Strains. Our Finance Team had to create two separate Long-Term Plan models to account for the uncertain future of Three Waters assets while also managing endless calculations and adjustments for other ongoing projects.

Our Chief Executive is juggling all this alongside the usual demands of running the council for our community. Through it all, we are trying to keep rates as low as possible. Our council could look very different once the future of our drinking and wastewater services is resolved.

Let’s focus on tackling the considerable challenges already on our table.  Once these are navigated, we can revisit amalgamation with greater clarity and a more stable foundation. For now, let’s press pause.

Janette Osborne 

Te Kuiti 

Time to talk

In response to last week’s front page story -  for years now, the idea of merging councils, especially Waitomo and Ōtorohanga, has been discussed without any positive outcome. Surely it is now time to do some serious talking and decisions to make this happen for the future of our communities.

I am sure every rate payer in this town (Te Kuiti) got a huge shock when opening their rate demand last week. Especially the whopping hike in our rates compared with last year. I could understand it going up perhaps $100 or so, but our increase was $627. What?  The same day we also got a memo from our power provider to say their costs are also going up in March.

When does it stop... or at least slow down? Wages, and certainly pensions don’t go up much and a dollar can only stretch so far.

Te Kuiti needs more growth to help spread the costs and rates, but potential home and business buyers are not queuing to invest in our town when rates like ours are now over $5000 a year. It’s too expensive to live here.

A positive and sensible solution is urgently needed. The amalgamation of the councils would appear to be a good start in the right direction.

Jan Crosland

Te Kūiti

Letters to the Editor

During its last meeting, Waikato Regional Council was required to consider a political statement for submission to the Treaty Principles Bill Justice Select Committee. 

However, councillors only received the submission on the afternoon prior to the council meeting (instead of the usual five working days).  

The public were also short-changed by this manoeuvre - the document was not made available for public scrutiny until the day of the meeting. 

The submission, moved by Stu Kneebone and seconded by Noel Smith, was written by council’s iwi relationships team, not councillors. Warren Maher, chair of the Policy and Strategy Committee, declared his frustration at the poor procedural process, and the short notice councillors were given to consider the document. As a result, councillors Maher, Cookson, Dunbar-Smith, Hughes and I voted against the submission, and councillor Downard abstained.  

The submission’s introduction says  “thank you for the opportunity to submit on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Waikato Regional Council (WRC) opposes this bill and advocates for its abandonment. The bill seeks to eliminate the principle of partnership with iwi and hapū, undermining the foundations of co-governance, co-management and collaboration.  

This submission reflects our council’s commitment to upholding the Treaty of Waitangi and fostering robust co-governance and co-management partnerships with iwi and hapū.”  

In my opinion, this was a staff submission, not a council submission. A political statement supported by eight of 14 councillors (including both Māori ward members) – is certainly not consensus. Yet the document was submitted as if all of council agreed to it. My request to have the vote outcome included within the submission, for clarity, was rejected, and therefore the inferred support for the document was misleading and deceptive.  

The eight councillors who supported this ratepayer-funded submission –  Kneebone, Smith, Clarkson, Storey, Strange, Nickel, Mahuta and Hodge - have effectively used council as a political soap box to progress personal points of view. Support or oppose the Act Party’s bill, this was never the business of council as a whole.  

As councillors, we’re instructed not to submit on political issues, to be seen as keeping an open mind. Once our position has been publicly declared, we’re told, predetermination excludes us from voting on those issues.  

Already this term, Chris Hughes has been excluded from voting on Long Term Plan decisions because of personal submissions made earlier in the year.  

Are those councillors who spoke to and supported this submission now excluded from voting on similar issues?  

Presenting late agenda items and addendums appears to be a tactic used when council is required to consider controversial issues. Section 46 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 states that agenda items must be publicly available at least two working days before the date of the announced meeting, preferably more.  

This is not the first time controversial issues have appeared late on the council agenda. Let’s hope it’s the last.  

 * That is my personal view. 

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