Bay Buzz

BayBuzz is a vibrant magazine and online platform that connects with Hawke's Bay's top-tier and most active audiences.

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Heretaunga water group shows promise

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

Irrigators drawing upon the Heretaunga aquifer and waterways are unifying in a new lobby group, Heretaunga Sustainable Water (HSW). Initially motivated by frustrations with the HB Regional Council’s implementation of new water allocation rules, growers are moving toward a more comprehensive long-term agenda regarding water use and security for the central part of the region.
Ahuriri Regional Park … on the right path?

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

The Napier City Council recently completed consultation on its draft ‘Masterplan’ for the Ahuriri Regional Park. Ultimately what’s at stake is whether the Ahuriri estuary continues to be a dumping receptacle for industrial and urban stormwater and agricultural run-off or is rescued as an ecological treasure. NCC has represented its plans as foremost an environmental and recreational project, but even those two positive objectives can collide.
Matt Lawson becomes CEO of Wairoa Council

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

Mayor Craig Little says “Good for Wairoa!” Matt takes his new position 1 July. First a bit of background on Matt, well-known in the HB local government community, then his comments to BayBuzz follow. Matt was born and raised in Napier and completed his schooling at St Johns College, Hastings.He commenced practice in Napier in 1991 having completed the degrees of Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Laws at Otago University.
Opportunity for change

2 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

Here’s the biggest issue in the upcoming election season: TRUST. Trust between our communities and their representatives has eroded significantly. The hundreds of comments and emails BayBuzz receives confirm this—ratepayers are frustrated, angry, suspicious, and demanding accountability. Our current BayBuzz poll (releasing later in June) reveals deep voter dissatisfaction with council performance.
Lifting the fog at HBRC

2 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

Former HBRC Chair Rex Graham has been battling his former council over lax enforcement of seasonal burning bans … specifically the burning of orchard waste. Graham has supplied numerous photos over recent weeks to press his case. HBRC either writes these off as fog or says they can’t find the sources. Basically, they’re saying Graham is blowing smoke. So, is it innocent fog or harmful smoke?
“Export is the heart of our beating lives”

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

In Hawke’s Bay, we don’t make wine, raise beef cattle and sheep, milk dairy cows, grow apples and squash, or harvest pine trees to meet the food and fibre needs of our region, or even the wider population of New Zealand. We produce virtually all of this stuff for overseas consumers. So let’s get real, they – not you and I – are our masters when it comes to both the price paid for our production, and equally importantly, the acceptable conditions in which that production occurs.
Watching the sprinklers

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Tom Belford

And watchdogging our councils. In ‘another day at the office’, BayBuzz recently received a concern from a council employee that the the sprinkler systems intended to protect collections (and lives) at both MTG and the under-construction HB Regional Museum Research and Archives Centre were not able to function properly – it was alleged water pressure was too low in both cases. So, we inquired of Napier City Council, present custodian of the valuable artifacts.
Beware of rates relief saviours

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Michael Fowler

Like many local authorities in New Zealand, Hastings District Council (HDC) has faced inflationary cost increases. These financial pressures were exaggerated by Cyclone Gabrielle’s February 2023 visit. HDC covers 5,229 square kilometres, in which Cyclone Gabrielle damage destroyed nineteen bridges and culverts, caused hundreds of major slips, with 161 additional bridges needing repair. This damage was said to be around $1 billion.
Jenny Dobson, Queen of Redness

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Yvonne Lorkin

You’ve no doubt heard of the Ice Queen, and you’ve possibly heard of the Queen of Darkness, but you may not know that right here in Hawke’s Bay we have our own Queen of Redness. She’s Jenny Dobson. It’s a well-deserved, monarch-like moniker following her legendary achievements making fine reds in Burgundy and Bordeaux from the late 1970s before moving back to New Zealand in 1996.
A waste minimisation plan to lead the way

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Dominic Salmon

Napier City and Hastings District councils are set to unveil their latest plan for tackling and reducing waste while future proofing the region, and it’s impressive. Dealing with the waste our communities produce is a core service funded by the rates we pay, so it’s important residents understand and support the goals and activities designed to reduce the need for waste disposal.