Council meetings November / December 2022
| Council Meeting | Thursday 24 November 2022 | 1pm |
| Council Meeting | Thursday 8 December 2022 | 1pm |
Image: Peter Kurduligia on Flickr
Council and Community News – November 2022
16 November 2022
Welcome to the new Council
On 27 October 2022 the new Westland District Council met for their first Council meeting of the triennium. The Mayor and each Councillor made their formal declaration under the Local Government Act to undertake their duties on Council. An inaugural meeting is where the Council complete the administration that allows them to govern, including adopting a Code of Conduct, Standing Orders and resolving on their remuneration.
A video of the meeting is available on Council’s Youtube Channel.
Council will begin the process to fill the extraordinary vacancy in the Northern ward later this month.
Image: Katrina Thornley Photography
Back: Cr Donna Baird, Cr Ashley Cassin, Cr Reilly Burden
Report issues with Snap Send Solve
Download the Snap Send Solve app to your phone and quickly and easily report issues to Council.
If you are out and about and see anything that Council needs to fix all you need to do is:
- Open the app – it uses GPS on your phone to find your location.
- Confirm where you are.
- Select the issue from the drop-down menu.
- Take a picture if you want to.
- Fill in the details on the form and press ‘submit’.
It couldn’t be simpler!
The app then sends an email to Council’s customer service centre and the team input the information into a service request.
Get the Snap Send Solve app from the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (Apple), register your email address and you are ready to go.
Bruce Bay Sports Day
It was a stunning South Westland day to bring the folks out to the Annual Bruce Bay Sports Day on 23rd October 2022.
The Village Green was set up with activities for the kids to let loose. There might have been a stray wet sponge aimed at brothers, a colourful Bouncy Castle and of course, gorgeous face painting among the activities enjoyed.
Surrounded by spectators, the wood choppers were keen and competitive. Chips were flying from both young and older, heaving their sharpened axes with amazing accuracy. Great entertainment for all.
By midday, the crowd were enjoying a great steak sandwich from the BBQ or a bite to eat from the kitchen. A number of cakes in both the adult and kids’ Cake Baking Competition showed how creative the community are and all cakes and cupcakes were sold off at the Auction (before they melted in the sun).
This year, we were kindly sponsored by Te Whatu Ora, Community & Public Health. The last few years have been less than easy for a number of locals and businesses. So instead of asking for donations from our loyal sponsors, we were able to ‘give’ this year and offer them a koha. The infamous raffles were drawn, with many people winning fantastic prizes from Fudge Basket to Adventure Packages.
The crowds left and as it turned to evening the band turned up and started tuning in. The bus arrived from Fox Glacier and the party started! ‘Undercover’ kept the crowd going all night, thrashing out popular songs with a variety of instruments… the Sax and Flute were amazing. Once again, a lovely supper was provided by the kitchen helpers to keep everyone nourished.
A huge thank you to all that organise, rally together the impossible, make, bake and give of their time to make the event possible for all those children & their families to enjoy spending time together.
Text and Images: Wendy Hines, Bruce Bay
Ages 5 - 13 years old
Summer Reading Challenge 2022
This summer, make a splash and dive into great books!
Earn 10 Badges by logging reading minutes and completing two fun activities to be in the draw to win prizes. Check out the library’s website for more information.
Website update
User-friendly LGOIMA response page
On our website we publish many of our responses to requests that people make under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act (LGOIMA). We have recently updated the page and categorised the information by the different activities that it falls under.
Topic categories include 3 Waters, Community, Land and Buildings, Compliance, Rates, and many more.
Take a look at the page to find out what questions we have been answering lately.
If you are interested in making a LGOIMA request, check the response page first as the information you want might already be there. If it is not already available you can find out how to make a request here.
Submissions to the Review into the Future for Local Government
The Review into the Future for Local Government was established in April 2021 by the Minister of Local Government as an independent, two-year Ministerial Review. The Review Panel (the Panel) comprises of Jim Palmer (Chair), Penny Hulse, Gael Surgenor, Antoine Coffin, and Brendan Boyle.
The purpose of the Review is to identify how our system of local democracy and governance needs to evolve over the next 30 years, to improve the wellbeing of New Zealand communities and the environment, and actively embody Te Tiriti partnership.
The Review into the Future for Local Government has published its draft Report, He mata whāriki, he matawhānui. The draft report poses recommendations and key questions to shape a more community-focused, citizen-centred local governance system.
Submissions and feedback on the draft report are welcomed and encouraged. Read the report and supporting documents, and make your submission online. Submissions are accepted until 28 February 2023.
Online public seminars about the Panel’s work will be held in February 2023. Find out more here.
Information from the Department of Internal Affairs – Review into the Future for Local Government
Supporting International Fraud Awareness Week
Fraud costs organizations worldwide an estimated 5 percent of their annual revenues, according to a study conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations analysed 2,110 occupational fraud cases that caused a total loss of more than $3.6 billion.
The seriousness of the global fraud problem is why Westland District Council is participating in International Fraud Awareness Week, 13-19 November 2022, as an official supporter to promote anti-fraud awareness and education. The movement, known commonly as Fraud Week, champions the need to proactively fight fraud and help safeguard business and investments from the growing fraud problem.
Westland joins hundreds of organizations who have partnered with the ACFE, the world’s largest anti-fraud organization and premier provider of anti-fraud training and education, for the yearly Fraud Week campaign.
Even though fraud may not seem to be very relevant in a small place like Westland District, it is not only large corporations or wealthy individuals who are at risk of fraud. Many small businesses are affected and there are different scams that target individuals through technology that people need to be careful of falling victim to. We hear every day about emails and text messages that look like they come from legitimate organisations but are from scammers who are trying to steal people’s money.
For more information about increasing awareness and reducing the risk of fraud during International Fraud Awareness Week, visit FraudWeek.com.
Safe Digging Month
November is safe digging month, which is supported by beforeUdig and the utilities that use the service to provide maps and safety information on the location of their underground services.
Each year around 15 people suffer life changing injuries or worse, after coming into contact with electricity or gas. On top of that major inconvenience can be brought to homes and business with the loss of key services following a strike to underground cables or pipes when digging. Whenever you are digging, no matter if your job is big or small you must follow the Five key rules of safe digging in order to avoid striking and damaging an underground cable or pipe. You can download a simple guide to safety and lodge your enquiry for free at www.beforeudig.co.nz
Five Key Rules of Safe Excavation
