Media Releases

December 2002

Waitakere City votes $10,000 for PAM spray legal opinion
18 December

Huia water again safe to drink without boiling
18 December

Share sale proceeds to repay debt
16 December

"Boil Water" Notice
16 December

Civil Defence Rescue Volunteers Acknowledged by Council
12 December

Huge turnout to Christmas gift-making extravaganza
9 December

Local garden competition a “blooming” success
3 December

18 December

Waitakere City votes $10,000 for PAM spray legal opinion

Waitakere City Council tonight agreed to pay $10,000 towards obtaining a legal opinion from Sir Geoffrey Palmer about whether the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s use of the Biosecurity Act is legal.

MAF has used the Biosecurity Act to override opposition to aerial spraying of Waitakere City and parts of Auckland City, to eradicate the Painted Apple Moth.

However, one of the pressure groups opposed to aerial spraying – the Stop Aerial Spraying network (SAS) – has retained Sir Geoffrey – a former Prime Minister, New Zealand’s leading constitutional expert and partner in the law firm Chen Palmer.

Waitakere City Council has long lobbied for better health services and treatment of its citizens’ concerns and tonight, following a request from a delegation of groups opposing the aerial spraying, the council agreed to meet the costs of obtaining Sir Geoffrey’s initial opinion. 

The Council also left open the possibility of further financial assistance in the new year.

Mayor Bob Harvey says that the Council has very deep concerns about the health issues of spraying and MAF has indicated that it was prepared to offer a better health service, but it was still determined to spray.

“They have made that perfectly clear. It’s a bit like being in a war zone. MAF is determined to spray no matter what – so in light of the great public anguish, it is appropriate for us to obtain an opinion from the top constitutional lawyer in New Zealand,” he says

“We’ve been told that we don’t have any choice on a number of things to do with this spray. We’ve been told we can’t stop the spray because of the Biosecurity Act. Well we’ll see if an independent expert agrees.

“We’ve warned MAF repeatedly that the public won’t stand for this and if they don’t take a much more user friendly approach they will have a revolt on their hands. My council backed this decision unanimously and we are very pleased to support the community. It’s good for democracy in New Zealand,” he says. 

For more information contact us.

18 December

Huia water again safe to drink without boiling

People in Huia can now drink their tap water again without boiling it.

Waitakere City Council this afternoon cancelled the boil water notice, first issued on Sunday, after three successive tests showed that contamination in the water has now gone.

The cancellation of the boil water notice has the approval of the medical officer of health.

A notice will be circulated to all households in Huia tonight.

The cause of the problem was that water had leaked into the village reservoir, where a seal between two concrete panels had cracked.

This had allowed bacteria to enter and contaminate the water. The bacteria have been killed with chlorination, the network has been flushed and temporary repairs are being carried out to the repair the leak. 

A permanent repair will be carried out early in the new year. In the meantime, testing of the water will be doubled as a precaution.

“There was never a serious problem but we have taken a better safe than sorry approach,” says Tony Miguel, manager of Ecowater Solutions, Waitakere City’s water unit.

“I want to thank the people of Huia for their patience and support,” Mr Miguel says.

For more information contact us.

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16 December 2002

Share sale proceeds to repay debt

Proceeds from the sale of Waitakere City Council’s United Networks Limited power shares will be used to repay debt.

The decision to use the $56,353,589 sale proceeds was made by the Council’s Finance and Operational Performance Committee at its meeting last week.

The Committee also looked at several other options, including creation of new investment portfolios, funding of new initiatives, operational spending, distribution to ratepayers and loans to community organisations. 

Committee Chair, Councillor Janet Clews, says the most prudent financial management strategy is to repay debt as it matures and to offset the requirement to borrow funds in the short term.

“That strategy provides the Council with an interest saving of over $4 million, reduces pressure on future borrowing ratios and does not introduce additional financial risks to the Council’s treasury portfolio,” she says.

“Any sensible homeowner would do the same if they came into a lot of money. They’d pay off the mortgage.”

For more information contact us.

16 December

"Boil Water" Notice

About 250 households in Huia Village, on Waitakere City’s west coast, have been advised to boil water until further notice, after a low level of contamination was discovered in the local water supply.

While the problem is thought to be minor, the Medical Officer of Health, Dr Virginia Hope has requested that people boil their water until the exact cause of the problem has been tracked down.

Routine testing discovered the problem which is at the lowest level of contamination. 

Tony Miguel, manager Waitakere City Council’s water supply operation, says that while the problem is thought to be minor, the cause is still unknown and the council is operating on the principle of being “better safe than sorry”.

Mr Miguel says the possible sources for the contamination are a treatment station operated by Watercare Services Ltd, or a reservoir and supply pipes operated by Eco Water.

The system will be thoroughly investigated and the Boil Water notice will not be cancelled until Eco Water is satisfied that the problem has been remedied.

Note: For the following you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer in order to view and print this document.  For help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful Tips.

Updated Notice 17 December (Size 8K)

For further information contact the Medical Officer of Health via the Auckland District Health Board, phone (09) 262 1855.

12 December

Civil Defence Rescue Volunteers Acknowledged by Council

Waitakere City now has some of the highest trained Civil Defence workers in the country.

After a year of evening and weekend work ten rescue volunteers have earned their National Urban Search and Rescue Responder (USAR).

This means that Waitakere and the Auckland Region now have a recognised team of volunteers trained to assist emergency services in a building collapse and urban rescue environment.

The group were formerly recognised by the Waitakere City Council at its November meeting, when Mayor Bob Harvey presented the team members with their USAR certificates.

The team’s achievement resulted from a joint training programme with the North Shore Light Rescue Team. 

Team members were required to achieve a number of NZQA qualifications. These included Co-ordinated Incident Management Systems skills, USAR Awareness and Civil Defence Light Rescue theory and practical examinations plus and advanced first aid qualification.

Not satisfied with their USAR qualification, the team have also trained as a welfare centre and Emergency Operating Centre response group. The team’s senior leader Norm Shaw has recently revalidated his National Light Rescue Instructor’s qualification and five other team members are currently undertaking a Light Rescue Instructors Course at the Whenuapai Air Base.

A number of the team are also members of the Auckland Land Search and Rescue response. 

Team members are:

• Norm Shaw
• Michael Sprague
• Corey Neal
• Robyn Butler – Larsen
• Oliver Hutton
• Bruce Carr
• Sandra Bluck
• Leigh George (Bill) Morley

9 December

Huge turnout to Christmas  gift-making extravaganza

3 December

Local garden competition a “blooming” success

Keen local gardeners have worked away for months to get their gardens in prize-winning condition for this year’s Waitakere City Garden Competition.

For many, the hard work was rewarded at the prizegiving ceremony at Mitre 10 Westgate last night.

More than 140 entries were received for the annual competition’s 13 categories, which cater for gardeners of all ages and gardens of all types and sizes.

Waitakere City Council sponsored the school categories, helping to contribute prizes and certificates of participation for the pupils.

Photographs of participating gardens can be viewed in the foyer of the Waitakere City Council Civic Centre (6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson) and at Mitre 10 stores at New Lynn, Henderson and Westgate.