Illegal dumping is rife in Gisborne and across New Zealand as ratepayers constantly foot the bill for waste abandoned on beaches, roadsides, parks and city streets.
A trailer load of rubbish collected by East Coast Ranger Graeme Atkins in July last year
Photo: Supplied / The Gisborne Herald
Gisborne district councillors say local authorities have few options after clearing trailer-loads of rubbish, including mattresses and broken TVs. They can either slap someone with a $400 fine and hope it gets paid, or take the perpetrator to court.
Gisborne councillors are calling for changes to the Litter Act 1979 to give local authorities more tools to deal with fly-tippers .
Gisborne District councillor and DHB board member Meredith Akuhata-Brown
Photo: Rebecca Grunwell / The Gisborne Herald / LDR
Hauora Tairāwhiti board member Meredith Akuhata-Brown, who is also a Gisborne District councillor, said New Zealanders were being asked to take a vaccine that had not been effectively trialled or met any real Medsafe approval .
Medsafe approved the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine prior to it being signed off for use by Cabinet on 10 February.
Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare was not impressed. I am disappointed because we know that as a government and as a health system we ve got a job to work with our communities in respect to Covid-19 as well as the vaccine, he said.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Gisborne health board member posts vaccine misinformation, is reprimanded
9 Apr, 2021 02:49 AM
5 minutes to read
Meredith Akuhata-Brown. Photo / Aaron van Delden
Local Democracy Reporter
A Gisborne health board member has been reprimanded after posting misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine on social media.
Hauora Tairāwhiti board member Meredith Akuhata-Brown, who is also a Gisborne district councillor, said New Zealanders were being asked to take a vaccine that had not been effectively trialled or met any real Medsafe approval .
Medsafe approved the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine before it was signed off for use by Cabinet on February 10.
Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare wasn t impressed.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
But many people in Gisborne and Wairoa say the industry is damaging their pristine environment and ruining communities.
In Tolaga Bay, a small town of about 800 people nearly an hour north of Gisborne, one end of the beach near the famous wharf is almost clear and sandy, with only a touch of wood nearby.
But at the other end, piles of battered and bruised logs still sit.
Diggers are still beside the beach, with caution tape and keep out signs plastered around.
Instead of an easy route to the water s edge down here there are digger lines deep in the sand.
Tipa Mahuta.
Photo: Youtube
The Māori affairs committee at Parliament is hearing public feedback over extended hours on legislation which would uphold council decisions to establish Māori wards after the bill passed its first reading under urgency on Tuesday.
The current law allows the decision of a council to introduce a Māori ward to be overturned by a local poll and only 5 percent of support is needed for a poll to be demanded.
The new bill would ensure local polls can no longer overturn a councils decision, making the establishment of Māori wards easier ahead of the 2022 local elections.