TWO townhouses in Appenzell Drive were damaged yesterday morning when the handbrake failed on a contractor’s truck, sending it crashing into the bottom storey.

The arborists truck had been parked on the steep driveway when the handbrake gave way.

A resident of the property, who did not want to be named, said it happened at 8.15am when the tree was being winched onto the vehicle.

“When they started winching the tree onto the truck, the weight must have been too much, and the driveway was quite steep, so it just came down.”

She said the important thing was that nobody was harmed.

“Thank God nobody was hurt.

“The house can be fixed, and bricks and mortar can be put back together, the main thing is that nobody was hurt.”

It took about an hour-and-a-half for the workers to clean up, including waterproofing the damage.

She was grateful for their effort and had nothing but admiration for the way the situation was handled.

“The owners of the company were fantastic, we don’t blame anybody for what happened, it’s just one of those things that happens. The workers were fantastic, absolutely astounding, everybody was so professional.”

TWO decades of planting are paying off for Jim Robinson and Nikki Slade Robinson, who are slowly converting their Eastern Bay block into a native bush wonderland.

The couple moved onto the three hectare Ohiwa block in 2003, but had purchased and started controlling pest species like gorse from the mid-1990s.

“The property has always had half a hectare of mature forest featuring kohekohe,” Mr Robinson said. “But initially farm stock could get in — the damage was obvious.”

“Fifteen years down the track, our block has closed in and got much more dense. It’s starting to look pretty cool with all the plantings! There’s a lot of mahoe, ti kouka, and flax, which I’ve moved around to establish that first generation covering. It’s ideal now to start getting the kind of trees that’ll last hundreds of years in; we’re ready for the next layer.”

The Robinsons will receive 315 trees from Trees That Count this year, which will be planted in early winter to plug many gaps around the property.

The new trees will sit amongst those personally gifted from friends and family over the years.

“The opportunities through Trees That Count are so accessible for people who have big plans, but not the money to carry it out alone,” Mr Robinson said. It’s awesome that the world is changing to provide opportunities like these.”

A big part of the Ohiwa block project is accessibility, and the ability to enjoy the bush once planted.

To this end, Mr Robinson has built around two kilometres of networking tracks. They’re functional in not only simplifying planting and invasive weed removal (wild ginger, honeysuckle, pampas), but in allowing them, and visitors, to enjoy it.

The fruits of two decades’ labour lend themselves to this kind of enjoyment. “I could walk down to the letterbox now, I’d see two kereru, six kotare, piwakawaka, waxeyes…so much bird life.”

Mr Robinson is frank about his other motivation for the work: “I’m a nutcase! I’m a multi-sporter and runner, so I’ve always used this like training. I love the hard work, it’s entertainment and it’s fun.”

Ms Slade-Robinson, award-winning author of The Little Kiwi’s Matariki and numerous other children’s titles, gains professional inspiration for her books from the bush surrounds.

“The birds and the native bush on our property inspire ideas and feature heavily in a lot of my books. They become illustrative elements — almost all the books have grown out of living on this property.”

The couple have always been native tree enthusiasts, planting at events around Wellington and Mana Island before their move to the Bay of Plenty. They love that their goal to restore their property to native bush is shared by many in the area.

“This whole area has so much happening with planting. If you draw a two kilometre radius around our place there’d be about 10-15 landowners and two care groups planting and trapping. Within a 5km radius, about six care groups planting and trapping, with the Ohiwa Headland Sanctuary leading the way. The volume of stuff that’s happening out there — it’s awesome to see it.”

Mr Robinson is also involved in the Motu Trails cycleway, which each winter has community planting days to restore the coastal environment of Opotiki’s Dunes Trail.

Through this project, he met Trees That Count regional advisor Wayne O’Keefe, who has given advice for the planting on the Robinsons’ land.

“Wayne knows his stuff and he’s an awesome guy. He visited to walk different areas of the property and make species recommendations; he has advised lots of puriri for the birds.”

The restoration of the Ohiwa block is underpinned by a keen environmental awareness. “All you can do is your own little bit,” Mr Robinson said. If you do your little bit and 10,000 others do theirs too, that’ll make a difference.

If there’s a solid two hectares of native bush at our place, that’ll help. None of us can change the world single-handedly, but we can all do our own little bit towards the whole.”

Trees That Count

TREES That Count is a programme of charitable organisation Project Crimson Trust, connecting funded and gifted trees to deserving community groups, iwi, local councils, schools and individuals looking to strengthen their own planting projects.

It is supported by The Tindall Foundation and Te Uru Rakau through the One Billion Trees programme, alongside the many businesses and individuals who are donating through the marketplace.

As part of their new vision to enable pride, prosperity, and people across the Eastern Bay of Plenty, the Eastern Bay Energy Trust (EBET) is announcing a shift in focus away from transactional grants, towards transformational community change and impact investing.

Impact investing is defined as investments that generate measurable social or environmental benefits, as well as financial return.

As EBET chairman Aaron Milne explains, this nature of investing has been part of the trust’s remit for some time – including the transition five years ago to 100 percent ownership of Horizon Energy Group (HEG), in a successful bid to retain ownership and employment in the region.

“The Trust has always had an interest in investing in great outcomes for the Eastern Bay,” Mr Milne said.

“But now feels like the right time to shift our focus more firmly towards creating the maximum possible benefit for the wider community.”

Initially developed late last year, the strategy’s implementation has been accelerated, due in part to the impact of Covid-19.

“As 100 percent shareholder, the trust’s goal is to ensure Horizon Energy Group is well positioned to flourish as the economy recovers,” he said.

“The boards of both EBET and HEG are in alignment on what the path to recovery looks like, and we’re committed to supporting HEG during this process.”

To ensure Horizon’s success post-Covid-19, EBET has agreed to a significantly lower dividend for the coming period – which will naturally see a decrease in the community funding available to the Trust this year.

“Typically we would receive in the region of $6 million in dividend income from Horizon. We do not have any certainty what we will receive from them this year because it largely depends on how the economy recovers and how Horizon are able to position and recover from this.”

With a diminished pot of funds to draw from, the trust is implementing a highly strategic approach to how and where those funds are dispersed. That means seeking out opportunities for smaller spend that ultimately leads to greater impact and investing in projects that fall under one or more of the trust’s three strategic pillars – community pride, energy evangelism, and prosperous communities.

Impact investing already exists in the trust on a smaller scale, with investments in the local kiwifruit industry, including Opotiki Packing and Coolstorage (OPAC).

Going forward, the Trust will look to increase its local investment footprint. Job creation, innovative ways to benefit Eastern Bay residents, and long-term growth are all set to be major focal points.

The shift in focus is likely to have an effect on funding for some smaller-scale community projects. However, the Trust emphasises that it will be a reduction, not an elimination.

“As and when the Trust’s income returns to normal, we’ll look to resume our usual funding for the Eastern Bay’s many fantastic community groups,” said trust manager Rawinia Kamau.

In the meantime, the trust is looking forward to supporting a new phase of growth for the region – particularly with the upcoming influx of large-scale projects made possible by the Provincial Growth Fund.

The trust believes these projects will lead to a boost in quality of life for Eastern Bay residents, and aims to ensure they not only proceed, but also deliver as many employment and social benefits as possible.

As Covid-19 continues to have a material impact on the local regional economy, the trustees recognise they have a role to play in the coming recovery.

“We also recognise that this particular moment in time may well bring opportunities to change the region for the better,” Mr Milne said. “The Trust has a very unique opportunity to support that positive change.”

EASTERN Bay councils are asking for nearly $120 million from central government to pay for road upgrades across the region.

The $120 million is included in the $755 million requested by the Bay of Plenty as part of a collaborative “Transport Economic Stimulus Package”.

All Bay of Plenty district councils and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council have worked collaboratively to submit transport projects to the Government in the hope of 100 percent funding.

Whakatane Mayor Judy Turner said the projects would bring economic stimulus to the local economy and help the local contracting industry to recover from Covid-19 constraints.

She said where new jobs were created, there would be a focus on employing those who had lost their jobs due to Covid-19.

Whakatane District Council is requesting funding for several projects including safety improvements along Thornton and Wainui roads, where there have been numerous fatal and injury crashes.

Mrs Turner said the council had already submitted the safety improvements to a New Zealand Transport Agency fund but had missed out as it was oversubscribed.

“We often have serious accidents at these sites and neither have a great track record for safety,” she said.

The council has also put forward projects to seal roads in Galatea, Minginui, Te Urewera and the end of Bunyan Road at Piripai.

Opotiki District Council is seeking funding for improvements to Motu Road and the Old Creamery Road, seal extensions and footpath improvements in several locations across the district, maintenance to Road Bridge and vegetation clearing and maintenance around its roadways.

Kawerau, Whakatane and Opotiki District Council have also put forward several cycleways designed to connect the region.

The Whakatane projects total $105 million, Opotiki’s projects million and Kawerau projects $4 million.

Mrs Turner said Whakatane’s projects came in response to the Government’s request for “shovel-ready” projects.

She said the council tried to select projects that would have the capacity to employ people for a reasonable length of time to assist economic recovery as well as ones that provided a direct benefit to the district but were expensive for the community to fund.

She said if the projects were not picked up by Government it would mean they were “off the table” in the short term.

“However, the council will continue to investigate other ways to fund them and prioritise them against other projects as part of our normal planning process,” she said.

Regional council transport committtee chairman Lyall Thurston said the entire package from the Bay of Plenty would not only provide immediate and substantial economic stimulus if funded, but also supported the Government’s objectives for the land transport system.

“The challenges we face in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic are unprecedented in recent history,” he said.

“However, planning for regional recovery brings with it significant opportunities for our growing region. We are well placed to make significant gains and see considerable transport projects realised, something that without the pandemic, may not have been conceivable in the short-term.

“We can expedite the recovery by working collaboratively with each other and with central government.”

The Bay’s traffic stimulus package will now be sent to the Ministry of Transport, Waka Kotahi NZTA, the Provincial Development Unit, the Infrastructure Industry Reference Group and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development accompanied by a letter signed by all regional transport committee members.

Dune hoons hurtling along Opotiki’s beaches are terrifying locals and damaging vulnerable ecosystems.

It’s an ongoing issue and Opotiki District Council hopes new bylaws being brought in later this year will curb the problem.

Opotiki man Andrew Morrison and several of his neighbours are concerned at the vehicles causing “daily damage” to the beach.

The issue is particularly apparent at the Pohutukawa Drive access which, Mr Morrison said, had been “grossly abused” by vehicles flattening an area of dunes and now needed urgent action by the council to rehabilitate.

Mr Morrison said the problem had increased during the nationwide lockdown.

“During the Covid-19 lockdown, there were a number of characters escaping the law and council by driving down the beach,” he said.

“There have been confrontations, I haven’t been involved, but there have been some confrontations.”

He said in recent months, people had driven further along the dunes to secluded areas to camp which had further damaged dunes and the “especially sensitive” dotterel protection zone.

There was also an issue with motorbikes speeding through the dunes and posing a danger to people walking on the beach.

Mr Morrison would like to see the police and council take further action to prevent damage to Waiotahe Beach and its dunes area.

“The truth is that many people are infringing consistently, and many are simply using the beach as a road or racetrack whether for entertainment, to avoid police, to avoid using the highway or whatever reason occurs to them,” he said.

“That is not the same as respectable access for permitted fishing or similar.”

Council planning and regulatory group manager Gerard McCormack said vehicles on beaches were a frequent issue, causing safety concerns and environmental damage.

“For people with young children on the beach, the thought of a fast-moving four-wheel drive hurtling through the dunes is terrifying,” he said.

“In addition, each damaged dune plant raises the risks in these fragile ecosystems, allowing the dunes to blow and be washed away, killing native wildlife and plants.”

Mr McCormack said there were legitimate uses for vehicles on beaches such as launching and retrieving boats and moving heavy fishing equipment.

With the council unable to be everywhere at once, it relies on public reporting of such problems.

People can report issues, including details such as registration numbers, dates, times and descriptions, via the council’s Antenno app.

The council has received five complaints in the last year that relate to vehicles on beaches.

Mr McCormack said the prohibition of vehicles from beaches as one of the key submission topics during a bylaw consulation earlier this year. The consultation closed at the end of February and hearings are likely to take place within the next couple of months depending on the Covid-19 national alert levels.

“There was a lot of feedback on the bylaw proposal to further restrict vehicles on beaches, both for and against the proposed restrictions,” Mr McCormack said.

“Those bylaws will go through the statutory process and we’ll have new bylaws operational by August.

He said police were the ones responsible for regulation of dangerous behaviour and illegal vehicle use on beaches. So, if people saw dangerous behaviour like speeding, drink driving, or driving without a licence, they should call the police directly.

Some people have suggested more visible signage to alert people to the consequences of their actions.

But Mr McCormack said from experience signage didn’t last long and was often the target of vandalism.

“Some signs have had more success – the attractive signs that include drawings by our Coast Care children and volunteers tend to be respected, but appear still to be largely ignored,” he said.

The problem isn’t just limited to the Opotiki district with Whakatane District Council having similar issues.

At Ohope, people have moved the large concrete blocks used to restrict access in problematic areas, or simply driven around them to create even more areas of damage.

“I think most readers will appreciate that with many hundreds of kilometres of coastline in the Opotiki District, it would be almost impossible to fence off the whole beach area,” Mr McCormack said.

“Community attitudes could make it very clear to the small minority of people who are dangerous or destructive that the wider community does not want this behaviour. Report it when you see it and council or police can follow through on fines and enforcement.”

IN March, an orchardist couple from Opotiki were on the trip of a lifetime to South America, travelling with two other couples from the town on a tour that took them from the glittering Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Argentina and Peru.

Coronavirus had been appearing in the world news for a couple of months at that stage and when their trip was suddenly cut short, they knew the virus was much more serious than they and others had anticipated.

They had been just about to set out on a pilgrimage high into the Andes Mountains above Peru to see the Incan citadel Machu Picchu when they learned their trip had come to an early end.

The couple were in freefall as their lack of United States visas meant they were sent back to their hotel for a further five days, waving goodbye to the group they had been travelling with.

Four of that group, including the 72-year-old Opotiki man, later tested positive for the virus on return to their home countries.

The Opotiki couple, who have asked not to be named to prevent possible negative flack from some in the community, stayed in their hotel for five days, watching the tourist hub of

Lima become a ghost town presided over by military personnel touting AK-47s.

“It was a clean sweep, and we were made aware of it the next day,” the man said.

“We were all sitting together and didn’t think anything of it, but we had to move inside the hotel away from the windows because if the military saw us in a group, they would come in and tell us we couldn’t do that.”

Once they were given the all-clear to travel home, they were transported to the airport by coach bus with a police escort – theirs being one of six transporting foreigners to the airfield.

“We had to sit on the bus for an hour-and-a-half while they checked everybody’s paperwork, and then we walked across cobblestones for about a kilometre to the airport.”

The group went from Lima to Miami, to Houston and finally arrive back to New Zealand on March 23.

By this stage, the man said he knew something was not quite right and he went to bed that night feeling unwell.

“After being in bed for three days, I knew I didn’t have the flu, I knew it was something else,” he said.

He was tested at the Whakatane testing station on March 26, and three days later received a phone call just before bedtime to say the test was positive, he had the virus.

His reaction? “No surprises there”.

So far, he is the only Eastern Bay resident to test positive for Covid-19.
For a man who has spent his life active, and outdoors, the severity of the illness came as a shock.

“I could feel my body fighting the virus for the first three days; those first few days were touch and go,” he said.

“I was worried that if I went over to the hospital that I wouldn’t come back again … I tried to push that thought to the back of my mind, the only way I could get through it all was to think of the positives.”

It took around three weeks for him to gain the strength to go outside into his workshop as going outside would quite literally take his breath away. Just breathing and moving as normal caused him significant pain.

“What amazed me was how little energy I had. Sometimes I was unable to sit up in bed, the energy just rapidly disappeared,” he said.

“One of my lungs is still not 100 percent but it’s getting better all the time.”

He and his wife only had to travel to Whakatane Hospital twice in the weeks it took him to recover and are grateful for the support they received from doctors and nurses, both in person and over the phone.

“You couldn’t have asked for better [support],” he said. “I was so weak at the start and I had all of these incredible people come to my side.”

He said the phone calls and support he felt from all corners of the community was pivotal in his recovery.

Not used to sickness and immobility, it was focusing on the positives that encouraged him to continue the war his body was waging with Covid-19.

One massive positive was his family.

“My family really got me through, it makes me want to take on life.”

Sitting up in bed, his first steps out of bed to the lounge, the workshop or even back out in the orchard were all milestones in his recovery.

“Looking out my window, there is always something happening in front of me … It was inspiring to sit up in bed and to look out at the view,” he said.

“I saw hawks flying above the cliff … It reminded me I just had to beat it and enjoy my life to the fullest.”

He said he used to fit in 50 pushups before breakfast in the morning prior to contracting Covid-19.

Now, with a clean bill of health and feeling stronger every day, he is already back up to 30.

Much like the ascent to Machu Picchu, his road to recovery has proved challenging, but the view at the end is well worth it.

IN the wake of the impact of Covid-19, the Government is not holding back in its bid to get the economy back up and running again.

Announcing his Rebuilding Together Budget 2020 yesterday, finance minister Grant Robertson outlined how a $50 billion Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund would be made available to extend the wage subsidy, provide free trades training, and give infrastructure a boost.

Employers will welcome news that the wage subsidy scheme has been extended by $3.2 billion, enabling businesses that can prove they have lost 50 percent of their revenues within a certain period to access the subsidy for a further 12 weeks. This is in addition to the $13 billion already spent on the wage subsidy scheme.

Another $1.6 billion will be available in the fund to provide free trades and apprenticeship training, $1.1 billion will help get Kiwis into environment-focused employment and $3.3 billion goes to infrastructure.

The Government says it wants to see employment back to pre-Covid-19 levels within two years and the economy growing by next year.

It forecasts 138,000 jobs being saved and a rise in employment by 200,000-plus over two years. The aim is to see unemployment levels drop to 4.2 percent by 2022.

The $50 billion Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund in a nutshell:

• $3.2 billion for extended wage subsidy scheme
• $1.6 billion for free trades and apprenticeship training
• $3.3 billion infrastructure spending
• The delivery of 8000 new public houses
• $200 million to extend food in schools programme to up to 200,000 children
• $1.1 billion for environmental-based jobs
• $400 million recovery fund for tourism industry
• $900 million to support Maori and $195 million for Pacific people.
• $800 million disability services boost
• $20 million hardship fund for struggling tertiary students
• Defence Force spending of $1 billion and $1.2 billion for KiwiRail
• $55 million foreign aid spending
• $20 billion left in the fund for future needs.

FOR the third consecutive day, New Zealand has no new cases of Covid-19, while there are only 86 active cases.

This means New Zealand’s combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1497, of which 1147 are confirmed and 1411 people have recovered from Covid-19.

Two people remain in hospital – one each in Auckland and Middlemore hospitals. Neither are in ICU, and there are still 16 significant clusters. There are no additional deaths.
On Wednesday, laboratories processed 6568 tests, bringing the total number of tests completed to 209,613.

Health authorities advise on the first day of alert level 2 that people should continue to keep their distance from each other when out in public.

They have also urged people who are unwell to stay at home and if they have cold or flu symptoms to call their doctor or Healthline immediately and get tested.

Members of the public have also been asked to keep social gatherings to a maximum of 10 people at once.

THE first on-farm clearing sale utilising an innovative hybrid auction platform delivered a “fantastic result” for Galatea farmers Shaun and Kelly Bicknell this week.

In a successful first, NZ Farmers Livestock ran an on-farm hybrid auction supported by both online and on-farm bidding capability.

In an auction that ran smoothly, with much online bidding particularly for the top end of the herd, the sale saw a 100 percent clearance at prices reflecting the quality herd.

More than 50 farmers around New Zealand registered to bid in Tuesday’s auction with more than 80 attending in person.

Around 30 percent of bids were made online and 20 percent of the lots (mainly top end) were purchased by online buyers.

Top prices achieved were – cow $9600; heifer $6600; and yearling $6100. The average cow price was $1975.

Mr Bicknell said the prices were “bang on with what he hoped for and the online bidding really fuelled the sale, adding a degree of competition.

“We’re currently going through the trucking dockets and stock are going all over New Zealand to farmers who were able to ‘attend’ thanks to the online component.

“We’re very happy, the sale couldn’t have gone better under the circumstances. NZ Farmers Livestock were fantastic – now it’s just a matter of getting the stock (whose origins go back to Shaun’s grandfather) off the farm and on to their new homes,” he said.

The sales comes after the farm was recently sold, having been in the Bicknell family for three generations.

The herd of 240 high genetic dairy cows owes its origins to Mr Bicknell’s grandfather, Shaun, and after him, his father, John, who has since retired to Papamoa.

While leaving the farm, Mr Bicknell is staying in the industry embarking on a new career as a livestock agent.

Local NZFL agent Michael Conwell said he was grateful for the Bicknells support and confidence in the new selling platform.

“This is a top herd, and it was clear that the online bidding was a popular option and helped the great result.

“At Covid’19 level three and given the farm location, some buyers preferred not to attend, but were able to buy today thanks to the online platform.”

NZFL general manager Bill Sweeney said the hybrid auction platform was developed to meet urgent farmer need under Covid-19, “but it is clear that it will change the game for the whole range of on-farm livestock selling and I am confident more farmers will take it up”.

“Online adds buying power to livestock auctions and will suit a growing number of buyers.

“This is a powerful clearance sale tool, but it is also going to add demand to stud sales, and I am keen to take it there too.”

MATA Beer’s newest brew is not only made in the Eastern Bay, but the hops are grown here and are mostly of a variety developed by a Whakatane horticulturalist.

The Mata Tasting Room opened yesterday with full table service and a new one-off pale ale made with fresh hops on the menu.

The brewery’s Tammy Viitakangas likens brewing beer with fresh hops to cooking with fresh herbs from your own garden instead of using dried herbs.

“Fresh hop beers do taste a bit different from your usual hop beers, which is why a lot of breweries like to make them. You get a grassy kind of fresh flavour,” Ms Viitakangas said.

“The hops that all breweries usually use is dried and pelletised, because fresh hops have such a short life. But a lot of breweries make a fresh hops brew once a year when the hops are being harvested so it’s quite a special thing.”

Ms Viitakangas said fresh hops were very hard to come by in New Zealand. “Traditionally, the hops have all been grown in Nelson, where they have a bit of a monopoly on the whole market.

“The hops normally get trucked up to Auckland and then you’ve got to drive up to Auckland to collect your fresh hops and you’ve literally got to use them straight away. Pretty much within 48 hours of picking the hops in Nelson we would have the hops inside the tank.”

So when Awakeri couple Rob Franklin and Hilary Sheaff approached Ms Viitakangas about growing it locally, she was quick to say, “yes, please”.

“Rob and Hilary contacted me about 18 months ago and asked whether we would be interested in brewing a beer using locally grown hops, if they were to plant some.

“I think they had kiwifruit growing on a property that they were going to pull down, but they knew that hops grew in a similar way. So that gave them the idea, rather than wasting the growing structures that they had, whether they would grow something else in that space.

“I put them on to Dan Boyce, who I’ve known for years, who actually created a new hop variety. I thought it would be cool to use some of his hops, potentially, which they ended up doing, but Rob and Hilary have also planted some other hops varieties suited for making fresh hop beer. We took their whole crop.”

Mr Boyce is an award-winning amateur brewer in his own right, having won the Australasian amateur brewing championships in 2008. The self-employed gardener, horticulturist and co-director of Rangiora-based hop breeding company Monhopoly said the main variety of hops that was used in Fresh Hop Hands was Tangerine Dream.

“It is one that I developed a few years ago. There are two other varieties in there, but in smaller amounts. There’s probably about 70 or 80 percent of Tangerine Dream. Fresh Hop Hands showcases it quite well. It showed through quite nicely.”

Harvesting was done on March 1, by hand with a crew of about a dozen volunteers of family and friends of the growers.

Mr Franklin said he was very pleased with the Fresh Hop Hands beer Mata had produced with his first crop of hops. “It might take a few more tastings to be sure but I’m sure there won’t be any shortage of volunteers for that.” However, it was still too early to say from this experimental first harvest whether hops growing would be a good industry for the Bay of Plenty.

“At this stage it is looking really good,” he said. “Over time we might identify some unique characteristics of hops grown in the Bay of Plenty or we might find that, yield-wise, they perhaps do better than they do down south, which would make a good case for making it a Bay of Plenty industry.

Mr Franklin said that New Zealand hops was quite special.

“New Zealand owns property rights to grow our own varieties plus they grow here well because of the lack of disease. Any brewer you talk to around the world, their eyes light up when you talk about New Zealand hops.

“From what I’ve found in my research New Zealand hops are really in demand. New Zealand breweries often struggle to get New Zealand hops. We could easily sell what we grow three times over.

“The hardest part of hops growing is all the infrastructure around it. You essentially need a packhouse for every hop plant, to both separate it from the vine and also drying it and packing it. You need to do it in really good time so you can’t take it anywhere else to do it.

Because we don’t have any of that specialist equipment at this time, it will be a huge investment if we do go down that path.”

“So, our only real option at this point was to make a fresh hops beer, which meant we had to get it off the vine and down to the brewery on the same day.

Mr Franklin said it was early days yet as it took about three years for hops plants to come to their full potential, although the plants could keep producing for as long as 100 years.

He expects to see a yield 10 times as large next year.

“We were a little bit late off the mark last year when we planted them so this coming year the plants should be that much stronger, and also they develop different characteristics as the plant matures.”

Ms Viitakangas plans to make a fresh hops brew every year, though each year’s beer will likely have a different style, making Fresh Hop Hands very much a one-off. Because it was the first crop, there were only enough hops for one batch, about 800 bottles. “It has a beautiful, fresh citrus character,” Ms Viitakangas said.

Ms Viitakangas said she was delighted to be able to open The Tasting Room yesterday. The closure during Covid-19 had been “terrifying from a business perspective”, but the brewery had been able to sell some beer throughout the lockdown through a click and collect service and by delivery.

“She said the brewery had been able to operate since level four because beer manufacturing was classed as an essential service by the Government, so they had still been able to do contactless deliveries. However, it had only been a small fraction of usual sales. They were fortunate not to have to dump any beer, as the larger breweries had.

“We brew smaller batches, so our beer is turned over quite quickly and always kept quite fresh that way.”

“We’ve had really good support from the locals, I must say. We’re absolutely rapt that they have supported us through these tough times. It’s actually more important than ever that people support their local businesses, because they just will not survive without it.

COVID-19 may cause Kawerau, and the wider Eastern Bay, to lose out on some of its favourite events.

Kawerau Mayor Malcolm Campbell has questioned how Kawerau can continue to hold its popular events given the state of the events industry following the lockdown.

Kawerau is well-known for providing some of the region’s top events including Kawerau Christmas in the Park and Woodfest, which always draw huge crowds to the district annually.

At this week’s regulatory and services committee meeting, Mr Campbell said he wasn’t sure Kawerau could continue to hold these events given some of the suppliers “might not be around” by the time they occur.

Councillors also heard it might be difficult to secure event funding as traditional funders such as the New Zealand Community Trust and the Lion Foundation have lost their revenue streams and have stopped taking applications, in some cases not honouring pre-approved grants.

Mr Campbell said he appreciated the situation funders were in, but it did not alleviate the challenges going forward for the council with regard to “big ticket” items.

“It may be pertinent that we start to make some calls earlier rather than later,” he said.

“I see some other places have postponed or cancelled events for the next 12 months and I think it’s time that we had that discussion. There’s some stuff there that may be impossible; if there’s no funding I don’t see any reason for us to be busting ourselves only to find there’s no funding at the end of the track.

“I think there’s going to be challenges right around the country on this one.”

Mr Campbell has suggested the council put its energy into something it has some control over.

Events and venues manager Lee Barton said the New Zealand Events Association had provided the council with a “survival strategy” it had created to salvage the future of events in New Zealand.

The association circulated the strategy across the sector for feedback before submitting it to the Ministry of Economic Development for consideration.

He said the association had asked the Government to consider an immediate extension of the 12-week wage subsidy.

It had also asked for a support package of $800,000, which would include $100,000 to create event sector specific guidelines, a $50 million stimulus and recovery fund to be portioned out to local government, and $10 million to inject into major events for the domestic market before the international market can be tapped into.

In the past Kawerau has been a “major beneficiary” of grants for events that draw in international visitors such as the World Rafting Championships and the Trail Ultra Run.

Mr Barton said the sector felt guidelines for events, including everything from community events to huge concerts, had been lumped into the “gathering” classification, which didn’t represent the events sector adequately.

“That was one of the biggest bugbears,” he said.

“Which is why they want an expert to recommend sector specific guidelines we can all have a say in.”

Mr Barton said the Minister for Racing, Winston Peters, had announced this week that the racing sector would receive a $72.5 million emergency support package.

“So, if the racing industry can receive $72.5 million, I would be very optimistic the events sector would receive funding,” he said.

“The really pleasing news is the events sector sits under the Ministry of Economic Development, which it didn’t before, so now we have a really strong voice … so it’s a watch this space type of thing.”

Councillor Sela Kingi suggested a council workshop to discuss the commitment required for upcoming events and whether the council can continue to meet those requirements.

“We just need to be prepared,” she said.

Mr Campbell said he was feeling optimistic about domestic events but would not “hold his breath” on international events as people tended to fly-in and fly-out for these and would be unwilling to self-isolate for two weeks beforehand.

The committee agreed to hold a workshop on the future of events in Kawerau next week.

WHAKATANE singer Eve Lyford is happy to have her feet on dry land again – especially Whakatane soil.

The singer recently arrived back in the Eastern Bay after two weeks in isolation in a hotel in Auckland.

Prior to that she was stuck for months aboard the Grand Princess cruise ship off the California coast after an outbreak of Covid-19 aboard the ship.

Ms Lyford, who is known for her roles in many shows in Whakatane, including a lead role in Mamma Mia last year, was living the dream aboard the Grand Princess where she was a production singer.

However, the ship’s cruise around Mexico, Hawaii and then San Francisco was cut short when one passenger died, and other passengers began falling ill with Covid-19. The ship was forced to first dock in Oakland California in early March and then later berthed off San Francisco where passengers were allowed to disembark but just under half of the 1100 crew were kept onboard.

The ship was carrying 3500 people from 54 countries.
“It’s a huge relief to be home; as far as I’m aware the reason I was able to get back was because the CDC [Centre for Disease Control and Prevention] changed their minds yet again; because our ship got onto it so quickly with our quarantine and sanitisation process we were then allowed to fly commercially.”

Ms Lyford’s last two weeks aboard the ship were spent quarantined in her cabin.

“It’s extremely hard seeing how America have treated people on the ship throughout this time and I really feel for those still out there,” Ms Lyford said this week.

She said only crew were left on the ship after the passengers disembarked when the ship reached California.

“We were able to dock roughly a week after we found out what was going on, to disembark passengers and some crew, and I got off after 55 days of not touching land.

“The remaining [people] on my ship are the South Africans as they are currently unable to get home, plus the 100-crew manning team. “

Ms Lyford said she was unsure of her plans now.

“I will probably need to get a job in the meantime before the ships get up and running again.”

She said she wasn’t the only Kiwi going through the ordeal on the ship and had a good friend, Craig Lough, who was a very talented production dancer from Christchurch.

“We went through everything together, we quarantined in Auckland and then when I left for Whakatane he flew to Christchurch.”

• Exams shifted back to give extra time for study

NCEA students who may be worried about the impact the lockdown has had on their learning have been given a slight reprieve with their end-of-year exams being shifted forward.

While this will help, one Eastern Bay principal says schools are facing the biggest achievement challenge they have ever seen and may have to do things a little differently to what they have done in the past.

NCEA exams have been moved from a November 6 starting date to November 16, allowing another week for teaching, learning and internal assessment in term four.

The Ministry of Education and New Zealand Qualifications Authority have also extended the submission date for subjects which require students to submit a portfolio, such as design and visual communication, from October 28 to November 12, giving students more time to prepare.

The requirement for NZQA verification of level one and two visual arts portfolios will also be waived, allowing students more time to complete their portfolios and teachers more time for marking.

The delay to NCEA examinations means students will now finish on December 9. An amended examination timetable is available on NZQA’s website.

NZQA is also consulting with Universities New Zealand on whether there should be changes to the requirements for university entrance this year, owing to the disruption of Covid-19.

Whakatane High School principal Martyn Knapton said all schools would be facing achievement challenges.

“We have had seven weeks away. We have year 11, 12 and 13 students who have had varying levels of engagement, and this is the message that has come across from all principals across the country.

“Every school is going to be looking for ways in which they can support the students to get the best out of the next two terms or so.”

Mr Knapton said the changes to exam dates and art portfolio submissions were a “reasonable response”.

But he added; “We have lost seven weeks of traction with some of our young people and so pushing the moderation, marking and submission date by two weeks doesn’t relate to the size of the gap the students have had off, so that is a challenge.”

He said the NCEA qualification was globally recognised so no one wanted any changes to the qualification that would impact its quality.

“For all schools the problem of achievement is going to be bigger than we have ever experienced before … I think schools are going to have to look differently at solving that problem.

“We will have some quite intensive mentoring that will help put into place some action plans for each young person.

“Probably the most important thing is to come from a student’s perspective; work alongside the student and their family and find out what the most important thing in terms of pathway for that young person.

“If they are going to go to university let’s find out what is important in terms of a pathway for that young person. If they are going into the trades and they need level two, what is the way we can work alongside our young people to do that.”

Another challenge for teachers is that with the shift in exam dates. Examiners may have to mark papers into the Christmas holidays.

Trident High School deputy principal of academic programmes Adrienne Scott-Jones said it was a relief they had the extra and it should reduce student anxiety.

“The news that the art portfolios deadlines had been shifted too is great as many students did not have access to the materials they needed and therefore during lockdown their progress has been limited.

“I think the focus of the whole of term four will inevitably shift and our approach will be for using the term effectively for senior students’ achievement.”

FOR the past seven years Whakatane has been a home away from home for American general surgeon Bill Longo and his wife, Maureen.

Yesterday, the couple headed home to the States unsure of what they’ll face and when they’ll be back.

“More people have died from COVID at Middlesex Hospital in Connecticut where I used to work, than the numbers who’ve died across New Zealand. That’s quite unsettling,” he said.

“We are apprehensive, we know we’re leaving a safe haven and not really sure what it’ll be like back in the States.”

The couple arrived in Whakatane in 2013 having never been to New Zealand.

Dr Longo had accepted a locum general surgeon position at Whakatane Hospital but said he didn’t know anything about the place or the people.

“In the first week here, I knew I’d picked the right place and that I’d never work in the US again. The people have been fantastic, we were accepted right away; right off the bat plus the work life balance is so much better.”

What was initially meant to be a short-term position has ended up being several, resulting in 10 trips to and from America in the past seven years, mostly covering leave of permanent staff.

In New Zealand, it is quite a common practice for doctors to come from overseas to fill short-term positions and most work at several hospitals across the country. But in Dr Longo’s case, he only worked at Whakatane Hospital.

“It never ceases to amaze me just how appreciative the patients are, even when their post- operative outcome is uncertain. To tell someone they have cancer and in the same conversation they show gratitude and thank you for the surgery, is mind blowing every time.”
There are not many places across New Zealand the couple have not visited.
Mrs Longo, who’s an artist, has also turned her hand to writing a blog ‘Travels with Mr. Bill’ capturing their adventures across the country, enticing family and friends to visit as well.
Dr Longo is now ready to retire with golf, strumming his guitar and more travel being what he had planned, however, the latter remains uncertain in today’s Covid world.

WHAKATANE artist Mike Moloney has been able to take a lighter look at the Covid-19 lockdown over the past weeks.

Moloney has produced a series of cartoons taking a “gentle dig” at people who have found themselves in the most unusual of social circumstances during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Moloney said the cartoons emerged from what he saw happening around him.

“There was no plan to do cartoons, the idea was to get stuck into some serious artwork during this time, as things are piling up,” Moloney, who would like to hold a local exhibition sometime soon, said.

“But for some reason the absurdity of the situation got to me. I think one could say, coming from South Africa, I have seen crazy social circumstances, but what I saw here, and I think most people can agree, is the most bizarre social behaviours, parameters or circumstances that society had to adhere to.

Moloney said the area that most interested him was “where common sense meets bureaucracy”.

“And that is what those drawings depict, that interface, the drawings speak for themselves.”

Surprisingly, as a keen surfer, Moloney hasn’t done on a cartoon on all the angst the ban on surfing has caused.

“I definitely had some in mind,” he laughed.

In his cartoons, Moloney has created an interesting character – George.

“George just appeared, he is your archetypal laid-back Whakatanian with his gum- boots and who likes to go fishing.”

Moloney, who has spent most of his working life in the field of creating museum exhibitions, said he had some other cartoons brewing featuring George.

The cartoons are a gentle dig at people who maybe see themselves as “good” or better than others.

“Okay, this situation is for the greater good, but here we are suddenly social distancing, we are not touching each other, we are crossing the street when people come near us. Even our dogs are not allowed to interact.

“And then you have all these people dobbing each other in. So suddenly you go from a normal society to the very model of a little totalitarian state and you can see how totalitarian states come about – because people are so ready to be ‘good’ citizens.”

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JUST a month after since received the earth-shattering news that no mother is ever prepared to hear, Barbara Kinley’s car was stolen and written off in the middle of the night.

Her 16-year-old son Ethan drowned while snorkeling on a school trip just days before the country entered a nationwide lockdown, and with extraordinary strength, she said goodbye to him with a funeral planned in alert level two.

With New Zealand moving swiftly through the lockdown stages, Ms Kinley had hoped that once people were permitted to move around the country freely again that she would be able to time out and go on a road trip.

However, her white Honda Accord was stolen on April 23, removing any hope she had for time away.

All she wanted from the written-off vehicle was the angel that dangled from her rear vision mirror.

Close friend and fellow church member Darnell Rumbal knows the struggle Ms Kinley is having and has started a Givealittle Page to provide her with some financial relief.

“Her and her other son need a vehicle for mobility, and wanted to have some freedom, but this person decided they needed her car more than she did,” Ms Rumbal said.

The vehicle was insured, but after the excess and premiums Ms Kinley was left with just $1600, not enough to buy a safe and durable vehicle replacement.

She also needs funds to pay for a headstone and memorial for Ethan, which will cost upwards of $6000, and needs to be paid six months in advance.

It is all putting pressure on a mother still battling with grief.

Ms Rumbal said many people in the community had expressed their gratitude at being able to provide tangible relief for Ms Kinley and her family.

“She has suffered so much, it’s time for the blessings to rain down on her,” she said. “The support for her has been fantastic, she’s really just such an amazing lady with a heart of gold.

“Everybody that I’ve spoken to has said something like, ‘yay, now we can do something to help her’,” Ms Rumbal said.

The tragedy of Ethan’s death rocked the community, and since then they have sent thoughts and prayers, however, Ms Rumbal said this was a way to make that support tangible.

Just after Ethan’s funeral the country went into alert level four and she had not been able to visit his grave. She said keeping her distance had been very intense.

Ms Rumbal said Ms Kinley had been overwhelmed by the amount of support seen on the page with 97 donors and $4112 raised in just under a week.

“She has been at a loss for words, the page really took off and she’s so overwhelmed and grateful.”

Other community groups such as Kawerau Future Leaders have been supporting Ms Kinley as well, through community nominated care packages.

“We just thought, how can we show our support, after all that she has been through.

“She has been so strong and amazing and the support that everybody has given her really pulls at your heart strings.

“I’m a mum of four and I can’t believe what she is going through,” Ms Rumbal said.
People can donate to the page at: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/shes-lost-so-much-lets-get-her-mobile-again .

THE atmosphere in Whakatane’s central business district yesterday could best be described as a peculiar combination of pre-Christmas shopping bustle and Soviet Russian queuing.

Support for local businesses was on most people’s minds as The Strand was crowded with people who were clearly overjoyed to be out and about and able to walk into any retail store other than a supermarket. Luckily the mood was positive as patience was required where queues of over 25-to-30 people trailed along the street from some stores.

A lot of the queuing was due to the need for social distancing though some places clearly had more customers than they normally would. Larger businesses such as banks had security guards at their front doors while smaller businesses had a sign-in book and hand sanitiser to negotiate before heading inside.

The Spark shop was noticeably busier than normal, with customers queuing across the entire width of Wharaurangi.

Though banks have been opening one day a week during alert level three, the queue outside BNZ was long, but moving efficiently.

The Warehouse had the longest queue of all the businesses, with people walking out the door with purchases from fishing rods to clothing.

Paper Plus, which runs both a Lotto counter and the Postshop service was particularly busy, with owner Graham Dennis frantically directing customers to fill in their contact details at the door before directing them to the counter they required.

Julie Jukes, at Rositas fashion store made the process into a competition by getting people to fill in cards they could drop into a bowl for a draw to win a $100 voucher.

While the Beacon were there, Teresa Gradon and Roslyn Peach from the Whakatane Information Centre were in the store shopping for new winter uniforms for the centre’s staff. “We are most absolutely doing all our shopping locally,” Ms Gradon said.

Trudy Enckevort from Too Pretty said customers had been very loyal, and local businesses had put competitiveness aside to support one another.

“Even local retailers have been buying from each other. I had one regular customer phone me during lockdown saying she had been looking on a website of one of the labels I carry, Radicool Kids, and did I have a particular item in the size she wanted. When I said yes, I did, she asked me to put it aside for her. It was so lovely that she bought it through me, because she could have just ordered it online from the website.”

Cafes were doing a roaring trade, despite the physical distancing restrictions, requiring them to space tables a metre apart and the need for full table service.

Javaman Café had both their indoor seating service as well as the takeaway window they have set up during lockdown operating.

Owner Tony Edelsden said he wanted to keep the window open because he didn’t want to make people go inside the store if they weren’t comfortable.

He had a very strict policy about customers filling in the contact tracing form before coming inside, although customers with smartphones had the option to scan the QR code instead.

He said after all the effort and expense Javaman had gone to during all the Covid 19 levels, he was disappointed to see that not all businesses were being as careful.

He said it was wonderful to have customers back in the store.

“Though we have been operating our takeaway window for a few weeks the café has felt so empty. It is Just great to hear all the chatter and see all the smiling faces.”

Meanwhile, in Kopeopeo, it seemed people were happy to queue for over an hour for a long overdue haircut.

THE Eastern Bay’s specialist youth mental health service says mental wellbeing should be front of mind as students head back to school this week.

Glenda Gillgren who leads the child and adolescent specialist mental health team, Voyagers, Te Kaumoana o Ruamano in Whakatane said despite the unsettling times most of their clients and whanau had coped well.

“While the lockdown hasn’t worked for everyone, for some families we’ve been supporting, the feedback has been that having more time to be together and do things has led to an improvement in their child’s behaviour.”

The team has been keeping in touch with clients via the phone and online using apps such as Zoom.   She said this had its pros and cons.

“By connecting online or via the phone we have noticed a drop in the number of people missing their appointments, probably because it’s convenient, they haven’t had to travel and they have more time on their hands.”

But she said face to face communication was always preferred when it came to assessing underlying issues impacting on someone’s wellbeing.

“There are signals you pick up that something is not quite right when you’re with someone that is fairly difficult to detect online or on the phone.”

The Voyagers team includes nurses, psychologists, visiting psychiatrists, social workers, an occupational therapist, a health and wellness coach plus two amazing administrators.

The team support around 175 clients covering rangatahi and maternal mental health.

Ms Gillgren said social anxiety was quite a common issue for the teenagers they would see.

“As school goes back we are expecting that to have an impact.”

“It’s something we should all be mindful of; there will be a period of adjustment as they move from the home bubble back to school some will be resilient, for others it will be a struggle.”

NEW ZEALAND has only 56 probable and confirmed cases of Covid-19 cases still active, with no new cases reported today.

This means New Zealand’s combined total of confirmed and probable cases remains at 1499, of which 1149 are confirmed cases of Covid-19.

A total of 1433 people have recovered – which is 96 percent of all confirmed and probable cases.

Two people are in hospital – one each in Auckland and Middlemore hospitals. Neither of these patients is in ICU.

We still have 16 significant clusters, but there are no additional deaths to report.

The total number of tests completed to date is 230,718.

Tonight the director-general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2020 World Health Assembly, which is being held virtually and will focus on Covid-19. The entire meeting will be live streamed for anyone who wants to view it.

“I’m looking forward to hearing from the WHO director-general, Dr Tedros [ Adhanom Ghebreyesus], on his thoughts for the future efforts around Covid-19 globally, as well as hearing from other countries on the important themes in their responses both to date and in the future,” said Dr Bloomfield.

New Zealand is co-sponsoring a resolution on Covid-19. The purpose of the resolution is to agree on future areas of work specific to Covid-19 that Member States, the WHO and other organisations should deliver in unity, such as fair access to vaccines.

“At a time of global crisis around a public health issue, it is critical that countries come together, and the COVID-19 resolution aims to do exactly that. Such solidarity will ensure we respond collectively to global situations like a pandemic, which it is in every country’s interests to do. “

There is general agreement amongst WHO members on the issues outlined in the resolution and it is expected to be adopted unanimously.

Dr Bloomfield has also commented on church and faith-based gatherings.

“There has been fantastic support from churches and faith-based organisations right through levels 4 and 3 and they have been incredibly supportive because they have been wanting to help protect all New Zealanders.

“I know many people, including those of faith, want to move as quickly as possible to increase the size of these gatherings; I know how important it is for people to be able to practise their faith together.

“The policy intent for gatherings is clear in the alert level two framework. This includes that the current maximum number of people who can gather is currently 10, and this applies to both private and public gatherings including church and faith-based ones. This number is one of the specific issues being reconsidered by Cabinet next Monday.”

ALTHOUGH there are no new cases of Covid-19, the number of confirmed cases has increased by four.

These cases are people who returned to New Zealand from the Greg Mortimer cruise ship in April and who had all tested positive for Covid-19 in Uruguay. They were classified as being under investigation while the Ministry of Health was awaiting information from Uruguay to avoid them being double counted by the World Health Organisation.

The ministry said the cases have now been confirmed as they were not reported by Uruguay to WHO. All four have recovered.

That means New Zealand has 1153 confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 350 probable cases, for a combined total of 1503. However, 96 percent – or 1442 people have recovered from Covid-19.

Two people are still receiving hospital-level care, while there are no additional deaths.

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield participated in the World Health Assembly on Monday night where there was strong support for global cooperation in the response to Covid-19.

The WHO director-general announced he intended initiating an independent evaluation of the Covid-19 response to make recommendations to improve national and global pandemic preparedness in light of the pandemic.