Monday, 28 June 2021, 3:45 pm
Waikato District Council has
formally adopted its Long Term Plan. With the vision of
liveable, thriving, and connected communities guiding its
decisions, the Council now begins implementing its 10-year
budget and plans.
The decisions include a confirmed
general rate increase (based on capital value) of 6.5% for
the 2021/22 year (down from a proposed 9% increase),
followed by 3.5% increases in the following two years. These
came after lengthy consideration by Councillors to balance
the needs of a growing district, with what people can
afford.
The financial strategy in the Long Term Plan
balances affordability with increasing expectations and
growth by maintaining existing assets and modernising
Monday, 28 June 2021, 2:00 pm
Deputy Health and Disability Commissioner Kevin Allan
today released a report finding a pharmacy and pharmacist in
breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services
Consumers’ Rights (the Code) for failures in relation to
dispensing medication to a teenager.
The teenager was
prescribed sumatriptan for migraines. The pharmacist
mistakenly dispensed another medication, sertraline, which
is used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder,
panic attacks, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The error was discovered over six months later by the
teenager’s school nurse.
The Deputy Commissioner
considered that the pharmacist did not check the dispensed
medication adequately. The pharmacy failed to undertake an
Councillors gave their
approval for consultation to begin on 28 June, running until
28 July 2021.
Natasha Tod, Group Manager Strategy,
Growth & Recovery says during the engagement phase
earlier in the year Council staff heard from the community
on a range of issues around kept animals.
“We heard
from the community that most people were comfortable with
the rules in the current Bylaw however did want some tweaks
and additions to reduce health and safety risk, and in the
prevention of nuisance.
“We now want to seek
feedback on our draft 2021 Bylaw to ensure that the proposed
revisions reflect the needs of our community,” Ms Tod
Monday, 28 June 2021, 4:16 pm
Rotorua Lakes Council’s 2021-2031 Long-term Plan sets
some “mammoth” undertakings to address unprecedented
challenges and move the district forward, Mayor Steve
Chadwick says.
The Long-term Plan (LTP), which sets
out what the council will deliver across the next 10 years
and how that will be funded, will see investment into the
district totalling $749 million. More than half of that
($424 million) will be into core
infrastructure.
During a Full Council meeting today to
make final decisions on the LTP and set the rates for year 1
of the plan (the 2021/22 financial year), Mayor Chadwick
said this LTP was vastly different to its predecessors and
Monday, 28 June 2021, 4:18 pm
Mt Ruapehu, 28 June 2021: Well-honed first responder
skills are crucial for the Mt Ruapehu team and they recently
spent a week up the mountain refreshing their team work
before the winter season gets into full swing.
About
50 patrol and lift operators, and the maintenance team,
pushed through some challenging scenario drills to ensure
that they’re ready for the winter season ahead.
Andy
Hoyle, RAL General Manager Safety & Environment says,
“A wide variety of incidents can occur on the ski areas
each winter season so we aim to prepare our team to handle
them all. These range from a lift evacuation through to