Taranaki Regional Council is to consider pushing ahead on seven agreements with iwi despite the council’s days being numbered under local government reforms. On Tuesday TRC’s powerful Policy and Planning Committee will decide how to boost mana whenua engagement in the council’s work. A report by staff sets out priorities for the council to meet its legal obligation “to ensure mana whenua are meaningfully involved in future planning and decision making.” Ongoing discussion wou

New Plymouth’s zookeepers are offering advice this week on backyard changes to help native species thrive across the district. It’s Conservation Week, with a focus this year on everyday actions to support nature and enhance local environments. Every day at noon until Sunday, Brooklands Zoo staff will talk about native birds and lizards they look after. At 2pm daily the zookeepers will discuss how to attract pollinators to home gardens, and how that helps indigenous crit

New Plymouth councillors have begun fusing their Treaty of Waitangi obligations into long-term planning for the district – in spite of an ACT party councillor saying the move isn’t democratic. A review by Buddle Finlay found New Plymouth District Council should do more to meet its Treaty obligations under the Local Government Act and the Resource Management Act. Despite an overall “very positive” impression, the review found the council could do much more to strengthen relati

Taranaki councils are taking first steps to prepare for the Government’s shake-up of resource management, even before the law changes are passed. On Tuesday Taranaki Regional Council picked two councillors to help set the ground rules for deciding a new region-wide plan and South Taranaki District Council will choose its representatives on Wednesday. The Government says Resource Management Act is too complex and is blocking development. It’s carrying out a massive overhaul wi

An accusation that iwi are deceiving councillors with false history has been rejected as offensive by a New Plymouth committee. Ivan Howe told New Plymouth District Council’s new public engagement committee they needed to learn local history to avoid being hoodwinked by iwi who were “having a lot to say”. “You’ve got the iwi coming in here … and they’re giving you advice – and the councillors they don’t know what the iwi’s talking about,” said Howe. “They’ll tell you what the

Ngāti Mutunga has opened five new houses in Urenui to help whānau get into home ownership and grow their family connections on tribal ground. Tenants will be uri of Ngāti Mutunga – descendants registered as iwi members. They’ll pay affordable rentals for five to seven years, so they can consolidate whānau finances to buy their own home on the open market – freeing-up the house for the next family. Ka Uruora, a housing and finance trust owned by a collective of iwi, will pick

Hapū of Taranaki iwi want their interests along the region’s western coast officially recognised, so they can continue to protect kaimoana when the current rāhui is no longer legally enforceable. A hui at Puniho Pā this week agreed in principle that hapū would apply together for recognition of a collective rohe moana along the entire coastline from New Plymouth to Ōpunakē. The proposal to apply is now with each hapū to endorse, or not. The rāhui has largely held for four year

An industrial waste disposal site in Taranaki has been fined $71,250 for spreading a stink that smelled like poo and pig effluent. Poultry farm waste, slaughtered cow stomach contents, petroleum drilling muds and other waste was trucked to Remediation New Zealand’s site at Urutī northeast of New Plymouth for more than 20 years. Judge Melinda Dickey ruled that council site assessments left no doubt the odour was objectionable, and there were likely offensive smells at times ou

Building the first marae in Ngāmotu New Plymouth for 194 years has begun with a dawn turning-of-whenua by Ngāti Te Whiti. Since colonisation Ngāti Te Whiti has had no place to stand in their rohe, which closely matches the city of New Plymouth. But after years of heartache the hapū of Te Ātiawa is ready to build its marae, overlooking Ngāmotu beach and Port Taranaki and out to sea. Kuia Rita Rukuwai led the multi-generation group that turned the whenua to start the marae buil

Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application. An expert panel turned down Trans-Tasman Resources’ Fast-Track application to mine the seabed off Pātea in a draft decision two weeks ago. Trans-Tasman had till Thursday to respond with fresh evidence before a final ruling, but the Australian company said there was no point and instead quit the Fast-track

New Plymouth’s new mayor has promised more financial filleting after winning almost unanimous support for a budget revamp that halves this year’s rates rise. Mayor Max Brough met his self-imposed five percent rates cap and convinced all but one councillor to back his changes to the annual plan. “If you thought this was easy today, you should see me filleting fish.” A cheery 'Mayor Max' thanked the room, flanked by the outgoing chief executive Gareth Green and deputy mayor Mur

A promise from New Plymouth's mayor to cap rates will mean cuts to road and drain maintenance, a slow-down in projects and an extra $20 million in borrowing. Despite multiple budget cuts, New Plymouth District Council’s day-to-day spending would still increase, eating up the previous council’s budget surplus. New mayor Max Brough campaigned on restricting rate increases to inflation-plus-one percent. Contenders warned of deep cuts to works and services, greater debt, or both.

Community energy lobbyists say a Liquified Natural Gas terminal in Taranaki must be built far from homes to protect locals from the risk of catastrophic explosions. The Government plans to build an import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Taranaki to fill the gap left by the region’s emptying gas fields. Port Taranaki nestles alongside New Plymouth's western suburbs, Ngā Motu Marine Protected Area and the adjacent Tapuae Marine Reserve. (Te Korimako o Taranaki) Mini

An Australian bid to mine the South Taranaki seabed is dead in the water, say local leaders. In a draft decision, the Fastrack Authority turned down TranTasman Resources’ (TTR) application to mine the seabed off Pātea, just outside the 12-mile limit.

Ngāmotu’s council is poised to tell the Government its resource management reforms are muddled, with unknown costs for ratepayers and risks to Māori interests. New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) staff have drafted a submission on two new Government laws for Planning and for Natural Environment, which would replace the Resource Management Act (RMA). Councillors will debate the submission at an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday. It says the new laws include: - unfunded manda

Taranaki has missed a chance for a fresh look at farmer representation on its environmental watchdog, says a regional councillor. After being briefly ousted, Federated Farmers won back a seat on the Taranaki Regional Council (TRC) committee that looks after awa and oversees pollution and consent breaches. Farm-lobby councillors failed to prevent the culling of the lobby group from TRC’s Operations and Regulatory Committee in November. https://www.thepost.co.nz/.../farmers-rep

A drive to boost voting by Māori is essential ahead of November’s election, say two Taranaki leaders at the annual Rātana celebrations. The Rātana Church is marking the birth of founder Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana at his namesake pā just south of Whanganui. Thursday’s agenda was primarily spiritual as iwi paid tribute to significant people who’ve died in the past year. But the pouwhakahaere of Taranaki’s Te Tōpuni Ngārahu said politics was always relevant as TW Rātana had spoken

Motorists can again drive north on the highway from Taranaki which re-opened overnight after being closed for five days, adding hours to travel times. Just before midnight traffic started flowing again on State Highway Three to Hamilton and beyond. The highway had closed between Ahitītī and Urutī just after midnight on Friday morning for five days of 24-hour construction on the route. The closure added almost two hours to the journey for whānau who travelled the winding Forgo

Whānau can get some relief from Christmas stress with free buses across Taranaki on the two days before the big event. Drivers can also park more cheaply in Ngāmotu through the holiday season, with half-price fees into January and a carpark building free for two hours. All city and regional buses will be free on December 23 and 24, with no pūtea or Bee Card needed. Taranaki Regional Council says it wants to give whānau an affordable, convenient way to get around on the busies

A plan to downgrade community input on disability and aging issues in New Plymouth is tokenistic, condescending and would cost the district money, advocates say. For nine years the Age and Accessibility Working Party (AAWP) was a channel for disabled whānau and older people to give New Plymouth District Council advice on things like accessibility, universal design, and positive ageing. The working party was swept away in the new Mayor’s drive to make NPDC’s structure more eff