Whanganui letters: Council not giving away water assets - yet
15 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
4 minutes to read
The Upokongaro Cycleway Bridge opened last month. Photo / file
Whanganui Chronicle
Water assets
Two former district councillors, Stephen Palmer and Murray Hughes, expressed their concerns (Chronicle, January 11) re the central government Three Waters Programme. Some wording in the reporting was misleading - but I can assure you that the Whanganui District Council has made no final commitment to either joining the scheme or passing over any assets.
Answers to your obvious questions are not forthcoming simply because Government has not detailed the proposals yet.
I do not believe that there is any support at the WDC for either subsidising other councils to install infrastructure or to handover control of the assets to a non-elected board - the example of Auckland s Watercare is not a model that carries much appeal.
Whanganui Year in Review, November 2020: Heavy rain, a new wind farm and a US election
30 Dec, 2020 03:30 PM
4 minutes to read
Debbie Ngarewa-Packer joined Rawiri Waititi in Parliament off the back of the special votes. Photo / Mark Mitchell
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November 4
Ahead of the US Presidential election, the Chronicle spoke to US expats who now call Whanganui home, for their thoughts on where the day might end up.
Lynn Hurst, an artist originally from Kentucky, gathered with friends on the night to watch the results come in. Hurst said that her country was bitterly divided, with even her own family voting along different lines.
Whanganui Year in Review, February 2020: Fires, gas outages and a climate emergency
30 Dec, 2020 03:30 PM
3 minutes to read
Helicopters with monsoon buckets dump water on a fire in Whanganui River Rd in February. Photo / Bevan Conley
February 1 The month of February got off to a blistering start with days of consistent temperatures upwards of 25 degrees across the district creating havoc for firefighters, with a large forest fire appearing near Whanganui River Rd.
The fire started near the road itself, before travelling up a steep bank, burning around 20 hectares of pine forest as it moved. At its peak, around 26 firefighters were battling the inferno, with crews travelling to the scene from Taranaki, Manawatū and Waimarino.