Farmers could be made to shut off dairy cattle and eventually beef cattle from waterways.
The Government’s Next Steps for Freshwater consultation document proposed to bring in a national regulation that means stock cannot enter streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands.
In the consultation document, Environment Minister Nick Smith and Minister for Primary Industries Nathan Guy said excluding stock from a water body could improve water quality, step up its suitability for recreation and as a habitat for fish.
The proposed exclusion would apply to dairy cattle on milking platforms from July 1, 2017.
These were cows milked daily during the season, as opposed to dairy support land that included farms where dairy cattle were dried off and wintered. It was planned the exclusion would be extended to dairy support stock, beef cattle and deer by 2025. Sheep and goats would not be covered as they did less damage to streams and rivers.
The areas covered by the exclusion were plains and lowland hills with slopes of four to 15 degrees. Farmers would need to put up permanent fences unless there was a natural barrier preventing stock from getting to the water.
Public submissions on the consultation can be made to watercomments@mfe.govt.nz by April 22.
(The Nelson Mail, Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016)
The sale of the Suburban Club in Nelson’s Tahunanui Drive to a secret buyer for an undisclosed price has secured its future for 12 months, but it will be sharing its buildings.
Neither club treasurer Ben Douglas nor the Bayleys agent who handled the sale, Doug McKee, would say anything about the purchaser or the price, citing a strict confidentiality agreement.
(The Nelson Mail, Thursday, March 24th, 2016)
The Nelson City Council is to stay in the crematorium business but hasn’t quite made up its mind to drop pets and stick to humans.
The issue was discussed at Thursday’s council meeting and there is a chance for more public feedback before councillors finally choose.
Councillors confirmed that the council would keep the Wakapuaka crematorium, and approved the urgent $120,000 relining of the main cremator.
But the other four parts of the community services committee’s recommendation — to drop plans for a $150,000 pet cremator, to increase fees, to promote the council’s private cremation services and to keep pet cremations going until a commercial operator sets up — were left to ‘‘lie on the table’’ until the next monthly meeting.
This will allow for more feedback from funeral directors, veterinarians and the public.
Chief executive Clare Hadley said the responses had also shown concern at the likelihood of crematorium fees increasing when the subsidy from pet cremations ended.
This showed that in 2014-15 there were 240 human and 639 animal cremations at Wakapuaka, charged at $500 per human body and between $35 and $200 for a pet.
There are two diesel cremators, one of which is used for humans and pets.
The council has the only crematorium within in the Nelson city boundaries. Two in the Tasman district are privately owned.
Fifteen of 52 councils around New Zealand operate crematoria, and Nelson’s charges are second lowest after Whakatane’s $470.
Top price is Dunedin’s $855.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, March 26th, 2016)
A division of diverse Nelson group Gibbons Holdings has been revealed as the buyer of the Nelson Suburban Club and its large commercial site in the seaside suburb of Tahunanui.
Group chief executive Scott Gibbons confirmed the sale in a statement on Thursday.
The cash-strapped club and the Bayleys agent handling the sale, Doug McKee, had earlier said they were bound by a strict confidentiality agreement.
Gibbons confirmed it was Gibbons Property that bought the land and buildings.
He said the company had provided the club with a 12-month lease and would support it ‘‘while they work through a process to secure their long-term future’’.
‘‘It is possible the club could remain on the site long-term, albeit with a reduced footprint.’’
This opened up possibilities for the development of a multi-tenanted site.
Gibbons said the club was moving into about half of the current building over the next few months.
On Wednesday club treasurer Ben Douglas said the sale was a very good result for the club, which has been battling debt ever since an ambitious expansion plan combined with falling membership and revenue to send it into the red.
The club’s debt reached $2.7 million and it was in a precarious financial situation. Douglas said club membership at around 3500 was ‘‘pretty good’’.
(The Nelson Mail, Saturday, March 26th, 2016)
"Go to Heaven for the climate,
Hell for the company".
Mark Twain