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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Sandra Hazlehurst looks ahead

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

Thursday night BayBuzz reported Sandra Hazlehurst’s announcement that she would not be standing for re-election as Hastings mayor. Friday we caught up with the Mayor for a chat about her decision and what next. It’s four months too soon for a valedictory, but here are some initial observations.
Flying the flag – at a cost | BayBuzz

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Damon Harvey

What it really takes for Hawke’s Bay’s top sports teams to compete on the national stage. “Black white, all right! Come on the Bay! Got the team together, ready for the fight, Give it all we’ve got to give, we know we’ll get it right.”These lyrics from Come on the Bay, written by Hammond Gamble in 2007, were created to unite fans of the Hawks basketball team, the Magpies rugby side, and Napier City Rovers (NCR) football club.
How to make a bacon and egg sandwich in under six months

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Ian Thomas

[As published in May/June BayBuzz magazine.]It’s the farmyard ménage à trois: Sultry oozing egg yolk married with a salty, crisp rasher, pressed into the enticing embrace of a fresh bun. The trio of temptation, textural and flavourful perfection, an unqualified triumph, made more so in our household by the knowledge we made it ourselves, from scratch.
Which is the worst council?

1 week ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Paul Paynter

In Wellington and even Christchurch the mayoral races are heating up and I love it. What you want to see are new faces, new ideas and the possibility, no matter how delusional it might seem, that competent and efficient councils could emerge. Here in Hawke’s Bay is seems that few want the job and that’s disappointing. I hear rumours of a couple who are fearful of the poison chalice.
NCC to cut staff … enough?

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

In today’s stressed economic climate, for the most part the only people who oppose cutting our councils’ staffs are the employees who might lose their jobs. But to those looking on from the outside, it seems the cuts cannot be draconian enough. Take the current Napier City Council staff ‘restructuring’ as an example of the challenge faced by all councils.
A development strategy with no teeth?

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

After very extensive background work that began in early 2023, on 19 May the Napier-Hastings Future Development Strategy Joint Committee adopted its Strategy for how residential, commercial and industrial land development (i.e., growth) should occur on the Heretaunga region over the next ten years. At which point the plan must be reviewed. Note the italics on ‘should ’ … I’ll come back to that.
Good Port results, but cruises down

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

Napier Port released its half year FY25 results this past week. Virtually all good news:Operating income of $78.1m represented a 10.6% gain over first-half last year. Net profit after tax up 40.8% to $20.2mHalf year dividend of $12m was announced, with 55% of that going to HBRC/HBRIC. Will spend $25-$29m in FY25 on capital improvements, from dredging to breakwater repair to asset replacement. Or $40m p.a over next three yearsHere are some graphs telling the story.
Heading to amalgamation?

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

[As published in May/June BayBuzz magazine.]Within Hawke’s Bay’s five councils, the dirtiest word one can utter is ‘amalgamation’. That’s particularly true of elected councillors; rumour has it that at least some council senior staff, operating in the trenches, feel otherwise. In any event, a number of forces are at work that might put amalgamation back into play for Hawke’s Bay, whose voters roundly defeated the proposition ten years ago.
Climate crisis update

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

[As published in May/June BayBuzz magazine.]In looking at New Zealand’s response to climate change, it’s instructive to compare the actions of the Government to some of our biggest corporate players. Alongside all other nations, the NZ Government is responsible for setting the country’s official emissions reduction target – the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) – a procedure established under the original Paris Agreement.
What the doctor ordered?

3 weeks ago | baybuzz.co.nz | Brenda Newth

[As published in May/June BayBuzz magazine.]Hospital waiting lists are in the news, with Health Minister Simeon Brown choosing to outsource more elective surgeries to private hospitals in a bid to reduce waiting lists. How does this play out in Hawke’s Bay’s health sector? Who are the players, and what are they doing? Is outsourcing good, or does it create problems?