KAIUKU TURNS ON THE CRAYFISH!
Last week winter had returned with a vengeance and last Friday was no exception during my trip to Wairoa with cold southerly winds and showers! Never the less it was great to be out of Parliament, back in the real world!
The morning was spent in the Wairoa electorate office with a range of very different constituent meetings – First up was Ian Redshaw and Garth Forbes representing the Wairoa PHO (Primary Healthcare Organisation) to discuss the long awaited Black Street Dental Clinic. You’ll be pleased to know that these men are working hard for this clinic and for their community. Both are passionate to see the facility completed but have been met with a range of barriers as they’ve proceeded through the process. I agreed to try and find a way through the bureaucracy so that this much needed facility can get underway. I’ll be meeting with the new CEO of the HBDHB this week and the Centre will be on the agenda.
Other meetings during the morning were of a personal nature, but once again allow me an opportunity to catch up on the concerns of the community and to generally stay in touch. One meeting voiced continued concern at the changes to funding of Adult Community Education.
At 12.30pm I set off for Mahia Peninsula for the formal opening of the first Weather Radar to serve the East Coast – Hawkes Bay region. This is a valuable addition to the MetService infrastructure making Mahia the first new radar site since the early 1990s when the first weather radars – in the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury areas – were completed.
The radar looks out 300km into the Pacific, and its view over New Zealand extends from East Cape, across the central North Island and down to the Tararua district.
The Government has supported MetService’s investment in the radar because of the benefits it will bring to the region. Seeing rain patterns over the region in so much more detail than before will improve forecasters’ understanding of our local patterns, and help improve warnings and forecasts. In particular, the radar makes it possible to introduce a severe thunderstorm warning service for the East Coast – Hawkes Bay area. This new service commenced from Sunday 1 November and should be of huge benefit to farmers, fishermen, and holiday makers; all dependent on an accurate weather forecast.
I was fortunate to join a very resilient group of locals to open the station. Thanks to Will Coop for hosting me for the day and to Met-Service staff who treated us to a fascinating tour of the facility. Following the opening we all headed down to Kaiuku Marae for a powhiri and a kai. There is no doubt Kaiuku provide legendary hospitality. After crayfish, paua and deepfried schnapper I was in heaven. Kia ora Kaiuku mo te kai. Kei te pai rawa koutou!
Last week winter had returned with a vengeance and last Friday was no exception during my trip to Wairoa with cold southerly winds and showers! Never the less it was great to be out of Parliament, back in the real world!
The morning was spent in the Wairoa electorate office with a range of very different constituent meetings – First up was Ian Redshaw and Garth Forbes representing the Wairoa PHO (Primary Healthcare Organisation) to discuss the long awaited Black Street Dental Clinic. You’ll be pleased to know that these men are working hard for this clinic and for their community. Both are passionate to see the facility completed but have been met with a range of barriers as they’ve proceeded through the process. I agreed to try and find a way through the bureaucracy so that this much needed facility can get underway. I’ll be meeting with the new CEO of the HBDHB this week and the Centre will be on the agenda.
Other meetings during the morning were of a personal nature, but once again allow me an opportunity to catch up on the concerns of the community and to generally stay in touch. One meeting voiced continued concern at the changes to funding of Adult Community Education.
At 12.30pm I set off for Mahia Peninsula for the formal opening of the first Weather Radar to serve the East Coast – Hawkes Bay region. This is a valuable addition to the MetService infrastructure making Mahia the first new radar site since the early 1990s when the first weather radars – in the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury areas – were completed.
The radar looks out 300km into the Pacific, and its view over New Zealand extends from East Cape, across the central North Island and down to the Tararua district.
The Government has supported MetService’s investment in the radar because of the benefits it will bring to the region. Seeing rain patterns over the region in so much more detail than before will improve forecasters’ understanding of our local patterns, and help improve warnings and forecasts. In particular, the radar makes it possible to introduce a severe thunderstorm warning service for the East Coast – Hawkes Bay area. This new service commenced from Sunday 1 November and should be of huge benefit to farmers, fishermen, and holiday makers; all dependent on an accurate weather forecast.
I was fortunate to join a very resilient group of locals to open the station. Thanks to Will Coop for hosting me for the day and to Met-Service staff who treated us to a fascinating tour of the facility. Following the opening we all headed down to Kaiuku Marae for a powhiri and a kai. There is no doubt Kaiuku provide legendary hospitality. After crayfish, paua and deepfried schnapper I was in heaven. Kia ora Kaiuku mo te kai. Kei te pai rawa koutou!
