Paula Walsh is proud of Te Awamutu and wants to keep the town beautiful.
However “taggers” have other ideas and aren’t painting the best picture of the Waipā town.
Walsh and other citizens are reigniting the Keep Te Awamutu Beautiful (Ktab) group.
“The main reason for re-starting the group was the graffiti or tagging on the side of the Postie (formerly Postie Plus) building on Arawata St,” new Ktab coordinator Walsh said.
“It’s one of the first sights visitors are greeted with as they enter Te Awamutu. “I’d been in touch with Postie last year - the headquarters and the people in the shop – but to no avail. It was very frustrating.
“It turns out there was a new
landlord and she’s very happy for us to do something about the graffiti.”
Ktab have gathered to overcome the spray-painted chaos.
They want to keep Te Awamutu and Kihikihi inviting for visitors and residents alike.
“Over the summer, there was a spike in tagging. That started to make people more aware,” Walsh said.
“Māori ward councillor DaleMaree Morgan contacted me, as my husband Shane had told her how passionate I was about the subject.”
Morgan organised a meeting in the Burchell Pavilion.
Walsh, Te Awamutu Business Chamber representative and iSite manager Harriet Clune, CommSafe community safety officer Mandy Merson, Aaron Karam from Team 7, Sandra-Lee Bryant from the Get
Out Escape Rooms and several other people with Te Awamutu interests attended.
“We got a little bit of background on why the tagging is happening and what’s going on within a community and within people’s lives that makes them want to tag,” Walsh said.
“We decided we needed to create a tag-busters team. We found out where all the tagging was, the extent of it and how we could perhaps go about it.
“Property Brokers, Stone Real Estate and Chris Graham from Te Awamutu Boxing Academy were happy to get on board too, while Mitre 10 Te Awamutu will donate paint and painting tools for the cause.”
Walsh entered, and won, a competition run via Te Awamutu accountants Varntige.
The winner gets six staff members for eight hours of work within the community in midApril.
“That gave us all a boost. After we’ve identified the main spots, we should get all the graffiti covered within those eight hours.
The Keep New Zealand Beautiful honorary chief executive Wayne Gazley has also been helpful to the cause, providing high-vis and marketing collateral for awareness.
“It’s always exciting to have new groups starting and even better to see previous groups rejuvenated with fresh committed volunteers,” Gazley said.
Te Awamutu Kihikihi Community Board will also help.
“When there’s graffiti, the
community can message our Facebook page and we’ll get it painted out as soon as possible,” Walsh said. Everybody can help with their
Bringing beauty back
eyes, ears and work with us when they can. Many hands make light work,” Clune said.
“We don’t want tagging in our town. It needs to stop.”
Paula Walsh and Harriet Clune (right) are passionate about the look of Te Awamutu.
Photo: Jesse Wood
The Keep Te Awamutu Beautiful group is being resurrected.
Photo: Jesse Wood
The missing people of Long Covid
Beard takes governor’s role
By Chris Gardner
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By Fiona Charlton
March is Long Covid Awareness Month, and across Aotearoa thousands of people are quietly living with a condition that continues long after the initial infection has passed.
Long Covid is now an ongoing part of life in New Zealand – effectively endemic, much like seasonal flu – but its long-term impact is often underestimated.
For many, Covid-19 is a short illness. But for a significant number, symptoms persist for months or years. Fatigue, breathlessness, cognitive difficulties, immune disruption, and post exertion symptom worsening can make even simple daily tasks challenging.
These are not rare or distant stories. They are happening here in our community, to people who were previously active, working, socialising, and contributing to community life.
These are the “missing people”– the ones who used to be in our gyms, workplaces, sports clubs, schools, and volunteer groups. They want to return, but their bodies no longer respond the way they once did.
One of the most misunderstood aspects of Long Covid is how it affects the immune
On the beat
system and the body’s ability to recover from exertion. Many people push themselves too hard, too soon, not realising that careful pacing and rest can be important in the early stages of recovery. Without appropriate support, symptoms can worsen and become long lasting.
This is not about fear. It is about awareness, compassion, and understanding that Long Covid is a recognised post viral condition that can affect anyone — including people who were previously fit, healthy, and highly resilient.
As a Te Awamutu local and facilitator of a small social support group for CCI Support, I see firsthand how many people are struggling quietly. Our focus is on empowering people on their journey to wellness and helping them reintegrate into community life at their own pace.
This month, I’m asking our community to look for the missing people. They are still here – they just need us to see them.
• Fiona Charlton is the President of Complex Chronic Illness Support and Anzmes - the National Advisory on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and associated conditions.
Do the paperwork
Buying and selling a vehicle is something that most people will do a few times in their lives. Do you know what your responsibilities are around this? Failing to have correct details for the registered owner of a car can lead to a myriad issues and inconveniences. You must tell the New Zealand Transport Authority as soon as a vehicle you own changes hands. This may be if you’ve sold it, gifted it to someone or disposed of it. To lodge this with NZTA, you will need your driver’s licence, the registration plate and the name and address of the person or company to whom you sold or gave the car. The buyer needs to do their part too and it is a good idea to check via NZTA that the change of ownership has gone through before letting them drive away. If correct ownership details have not been lodged with NZTA and the car comes to the attention of police, it may be issued with a ‘blue sticker’. The driver/owner is thereby given 24 hours to update the ownership information. Failure to do so can result in the vehicle being impounded.
If you don’t change over the ownership details when selling your car, you will
keep receiving any future fines or tolls attributed to the vehicle registration, sometimes long after you have ceased to be the one driving it. While there is a process to be able to transfer liability for those fines to a new owner, it is one the need for is easily avoided.
In addition, only the registered owner of a car can officially report it stolen or authorise uplift after an impound. This means things can get tricky when records aren’t up to date. In short, getting things right at the start can save a lot of hassle later.
In a good news story this week, the owner of an e-scooter stolen from Wilson Street, Cambridge was happily reunited with it last week. A swift investigation led to the identification of a Hamilton offender and the scooter’s subsequent successful return to the police station, with an accompanying letter of apology.
Finally today, and further to last week’s column, we continued to investigate, and hold to account, youth involved in Cambridge car crime from recent weeks. Please continue to be vigilant around car security.
Warren Beard from the Cambridge Lions Club has been appointed district governor elect for Lions District 2021..
Beard’s term will begin in July and he succeeds Te Kūiti’s Louise Fielder.
A total of 58 Lions Clubs and 14 Leo Clubs across the Waikato, King Country, and Bay of Plenty, covering communities from Mt Maunganui to Raglan make up District 202L.
Beard’s first act after being formally made governor at an international convention in Hong Kong in July will be to host a club president’s dinner, probably in Rotoroa.
Beard, who has lived in Cambridge with his wife Julie since 2017, will ask the clubs in his district to raise funds to assist with the treatment of diabetes.
His slogan will be “act with pride”.
It will be the first time in about 15 years a member of Cambridge Lions Club has been made district governor.
“It’s pretty good,” the 71-year-old retired correspondence course teacher said of his appointment.
“For Cambridge Lions it’s a huge honour.”
The district is one of New Zealand’s most active, with Lions supporting a wide range of community service, youth development, and fundraising initiatives.
Beard, who advocated a share, care, serve approach to his presidency of the Cambridge club, will work alongside cabinet secretary Alan Taylor of Te Awamutu and cabinet treasurer and past council chair Arvind Raman of Hamilton.
Beard joined Reporoa Lions 34 years ago when he was a teacher and his principal was seeking funding for the school.
with Senior Constable DEB HANN
Guide awards
Waipā girl guides and leaders were among those honoured at a recent regional gathering in Hamilton. Totara Awards – the guides’ highest honour – went to Julie Wards of Te Awamutu, who also received a 45-year service bar, and Hayley Thomas of Cambridge. Te Awamutu’s Hayley Wards received a Fern Award. Te Kaiārahi awards went to Nina Sardelich (Cambridge Guides), Nerissa Blair (Te Awamutu Pippins) and Christy Bond (Te Awamutu Brownies) and an Arataki Award went to Stacey McNickle of Cambridge Rangers.
Enterprise shown
More than have 240 secondary school entrepreneurs from the greater Waikato have shared startup ideas with business professionals at Wintec as part of The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme regional Spark Tank event.
Neighbours talk
Waipā District Council is liaising with its neighbours on global risks raised by the World Economic Forum. The forum found multilateralism was in retreat, economic risks were intensifying, technological risks were growing, societies were on the edge, environmental concerns were being deprioritised and a new competitive order was emerging.
AI warning
Waipā councillor Aidhean Camson says delaying the application of generative artificial intelligence technology in council is a bad idea. The council’s risk and assurance committee heard from internal assurance adviser Hare George how its response to February’s extreme weather event had temporarily disrupted work on generative artificial intelligence. “Anything we do to push gen AI out to the right is a bad idea. Don’t kid yourself that isn’t already here. I can tell you, with other hats on, that there is already work being done through the generative AI that is massively shortcutting the level of effort that you need,” Camson said.
Screening: ‘we’re working on it’
By Viv Posselt
Health Minister Simeon Brown has apologised to prostate cancer sufferers for being unable to fully answer their questions or offer promises around improved diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Brown conceded that New Zealand lagged behind many other countries in the early detection and treatment pathways offered, but said he was active in lobbying for changes to be made.
He was speaking at a Cambridge Primary School meeting hosted by the Cambridge Prostate Cancer Support Group last week
Also present were Hamilton-based urologist Shiva Nair, Auckland-based Prostate Cancer Foundation chief executive Peter Dickens and Taupō MP Louise Upston. With around 4000 new cases and about 700 deaths annually, prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers to affect men in this country.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation and other groups have lobbied successive governments to introduce a pilot prostate cancer screening programme along similar lines to screening programmes offered for breast, cervical and bowel cancers.
Brown said there was a real need to increase screening opportunities for prostate cancer. Challenges included limited access to MRI facilities and skills shortages in that area.
“Both are needed in terms to enable us to roll out national screening trials. I am sorry I don’t have answers or promises I can give you at this stage, but I want to encourage you by assuring you we are working on it.”
Brown said some of the work being done on his five key Health New Zealand priorities were positively impacting patients generally, and were starting to achieve targets.
However, waiting lists for MRI screening across the country remained too long, and this was one of the key challenges linked to the introduction of a national screening programme for prostate cancer.
He said work being done by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and volunteers for organisations such as the Cambridge Prostate Cancer Support Group, was important in spreading the message about prostate health.
“The health care system deals with what happens at hospital level, but it is often the work done by the foundation and organisations such as yours that plays such a critical role, and that the government can’t often do,” he said.
Mental help on canvas
By Jesse Wood
Lee Samuel has found a way to use creativity to support the mental health of people with disabilities while making art accessible.
The art tutor and disability support worker, and many volunteers, organised the second annual Canvas Project exhibition at the Te Awamutu Library community room earlier this month.
Artists from Ōtorohanga, Cambridge and Hamilton and Te Awamutu and beyond picked up a free 15cm-by-15cm canvas from either Te Awamutu Library or a Hamilton library branch and returned it upon completion.
“One of the biggest things that we struggle with in New Zealand is getting mental health support. But when there’s a disability involved, there’s another barrier,” Samuel said
“With my job as an art tutor, I can offer a creative outlet. But even then, there’s a barrier because it can be quite expensive for people to attend art classes and workshops.
“I wanted to do something that was accessible for everyone in the community, which effectively is supporting the mental health of people with disabilities.”
In early March, the canvases were exhibited and put up for sale at $20 each.
Funds raised go back into running the project again each year.
“A portion has been allocated to purchase canvases for the next round of The Canvas Project, ensuring we can get the 2027 round underway in November without a hitch,” Samuel said.
“A large amount goes toward covering the costs of running the exhibition. The biggest expenses are venue, panel and Eftpos hire.”
Funds have also been set aside to produce sales catalogues for the 2025 and 2026 exhibitions.
A total of 260 pieces of art went on display this year, up from 144. Out of those, 96 artworks were sold, 36 more than last year.
The project raised $1970, including additional donations.
“We hope to use some of the funds
to create more opportunities around the project, including running workshops for people who would like support creating artwork for the exhibition,” Samuel said.
“We are also looking at developing online resources that people can access to help guide them through the creative process.
“In the future, we hope to create paid opportunities for people with disabilities to be involved in the project.
“But keeping it free and keeping it accessible are the two most important things.”
Samuel is grateful for the support shown by people across the Waikato and King Country.
“It’s been really good. It’s not just a Te Awamutu project.
“It started with Te Awamutu
Library and this year we had all the Hamilton library branches on board as well.
“Getting into Cambridge Library as a pickup and drop off point is one of the goals for next year.
“I think they’ll be keen. But we still need someone to go and drop the canvases off there each week.” Samuel is “hugely appreciative” of all the volunteers that make the project possible.
“I’m the person that runs it all but we’ve also got many volunteers helping behind the scenes with planning, ideas and future development,” Samuel said.
“Every one of these people supports the cause of making art accessible and using creativity to support the mental health of people with disabilities in our community.”
Funeral Director: Jim Goddin
Simeon Brown
Helper Lee Samuel at the Canvas Project exhibition in Te Awamutu.
Photo: Tatiana Brennan
HOW YOUR LINES CHARGES SUPPORT A SAFER, STRONGER WAIPĀ
Have you looked at your power bill and wondered what ‘fixed charges’ cover? Often referred to as lines charges, these are the costs of delivering electricity across the local network to your home, farm or business. They help pay for the poles, wires, transformers and substations that keep power flowing. While your electricity retailer sends the bill, that fixed-charge portion is passed on to Waipā Networks to help maintain, operate and improve the local network.
With electricity costs under pressure, we know any increase matters. Line charges help cover the work required to maintain, operate and upgrade the Waipā network so it stays safe, resilient and ready for growth across our district.
HOW YOUR DOLLAR WORKS
Here’s a simple breakdown of what line charges help fund and why it matters to you.
Tree trimming
Our Waikato Tree Services crews work yearround to keep vegetation clear of power lines. Trees and other vegetation are responsible for around a quarter of unplanned outages in Waipā each year, particularly during severe weather. Proactive trimming helps reduce the chance of outages, protects property, and keeps people safe when conditions are at their worst.
Fault crews
Keeping the power on takes people. Our skilled fault crews are on call 24/7, responding to everything from localised faults to largescale outages. They’re often working in difficult conditions to restore power across the region as quickly and safely as possible.
New poles and lines
As Waipā continues to grow, we’re upgrading and strengthening the network to support new homes, businesses and industry. Replacing ageing equipment and building extra capacity helps reduce the risk of faults, improve resilience in severe weather, and support more connections safely.
Smart technology
From real-time fault detection to modern grid systems, we’re investing in smart technology that helps us spot issues sooner, respond faster, and plan upgrades better, improving reliability now and into the future.
Community-owned, community-focused
We’re owned by the Waipā Networks Trust, which means we operate for the benefit of our communities, not external shareholders.
Your line charges support the day-to-day running of the network and the long-term investment needed to keep it safe and reliable. Because we’re community-owned, any surplus can also be returned to customers through the Trust.
“Every cent is carefully spent to keep your electricity safe, reliable, and ready for whatever tomorrow brings.”
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE GRID
Our team are your neighbours, friends and whānau. They’re the people working in the rain, the heat, and sometimes in the early hours of the morning to keep Waipā switched on.
Much of their work happens behind the scenes, but the impact is felt every day. Line charges help fund their training, equipment and safety, because when they’re protected, so are you.
WHY IT MATTERS
Transpower manages the national grid, while Waipā Networks is responsible for the local lines, poles and equipment that deliver electricity safely and reliably to homes, businesses, and farms across our region. Alongside maintaining what we have, we’re strengthening the network to help Waipā handle storms, support growth, and adapt to changing energy needs.
Line charges help us:
• Support growing communities and local businesses
• Respond quickly to faults and minimise outages
• Prepare for and respond to extreme weather
• Support local jobs and skills
• Invest in community well-being
• Build a smarter, more sustainable network for the future.
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOUR LINE CHARGES ARE WORKING FOR WAIPĀ?
To understand what’s changing and when, visit our website for the latest information on pricing and the work programme it supports. You can also explore our 100-year history, meet the people behind the power, and see how community ownership makes a difference.
If you’re worried about power costs, your electricity retailer can help you check available plans and support options.
Follow us on social media to see your lines charges in action.
Hundreds farewell matriarch
By Viv Posselt
There was barely standing room at Sue Storey’s funeral at St John’s Church last Thursday as devoted family and friends took stock of the passing of an icon.
Those in the know wore ties, tops or scarves in shades of her favoured pink or cerise; and in a
nod to a woman who was anything but beige, the same colour flowers sprawled across her casket.
Susan – or Sue as she preferred to be called – was many things to many people. Wife to New Zealand Dairy Board giant John Storey, adored matriarch to the family they shared, loved friend to so many, the ‘lipstick queen’ to one
son who said she never felt dressed without applying her favourite shade, one remembered by all for her legendary cooking prowess and hospitality. A woman known for her elegance, intelligence, gutsiness and the warmth that enveloped everyone she met.
As she left at Waikato Hospital on March 13, family came from far and wide, signalling her role as the glue that held them together, sharing a meal of her prized chicken pasta, knowing she was in the rain that gently fell.
Sue was just over a week shy of her 85th birthday when she passed. She had been married to John for 61 years, supporting him and the family they raised, often almost single-handedly.
“My off-farm activities, directorships and more… they all became a large part of our life,” he told those at the service. “I would have achieved none of it without someone like Sue at home.”
Sue was born in Auckland in 1941, one of three Clark girls whose forebear was the founder of Hobsonville’s clay industry. Her own parents went to Wairoa, and when they struggled to give the girls the schooling they preferred, her father grew a large crop of potatoes to fund their entry to Nga Tawa School. Sue loved it. She enjoyed most things, with the exception of cross-country,
flourished academically and left as the school dux. Then it was off to do a commercial course before working as an executive assistant for a doctor at Waikato Hospital.
John met Sue at a social at the Piarere Hall, which no longer exists. She was dressed up for the annual ski club get-together, he was post-rugby in a well-worn shirt and corduroy trousers, looking slightly worse for wear.
The spark was struck, and when John asked if he could take her home as the last dance was called, she said, ‘I came on the bus and I’m going home on the bus’.
He liked her spirit. “She never dropped her standards from then on.”
They wrote weekly as Sue travelled abroad, but when it emerged that two young Danes were showing undue interest in her, John contrived an overseas trip that allowed him to join her.
An evening at an Oscar Peterson concert, a hockey game and a weekend away at a frozen-over Lake Niagara, followed by another reunion in the UK sealed the deal.
Soon after they returned to New Zealand, they got engaged and married a short time later.
“After a short honeymoon, this lovely city girl was thrust into the demands of farming,” John said. She rose to that challenge, he added, and to the arrival of their
children with great aplomb. They travelled the world together for leisure, and occasionally Sue joined John on his business trips. In between and over many decades, they made wonderful family memories with friends in the Coromandel’s Matapaua Bay.
Sue’s many years in the Te Awamutu area were remembered for her willingness to immerse herself in community life, her support of numerous organisations and groups and loyalty to her friends, and her tennis and walking groups.
John said Sue’s farewell at St John’s held special meaning. It was there that their firstborn, Sarah, was baptised 60 years ago –the first christening in that church. It is also the sister church to the old St John’s, which itself is a sister church to St Paul’s at Rangiowhia, one with strong links to the Storey family for over 150 years.
A young Sue Storey.
Sue and John Storey.
Waipa Workingmens Club
Set apart
By Karla Rose, Zion Church
Between flooding, homelessness, addiction, abuse, illness, the economy, and even the inevitable realities of aging, there are people all around us who are carrying a heavy burden around each day.
The Bible has a lot to say about how we treat people.
It asks us to consider others (Phil 2:4), be encouraging (1 Thes 5:11), use our special gifts and abilities to serve (1 Peter 4:10), participate with joy in celebrations and with grief over disappointments (Romans 12:15), work alongside (Eccl 4:9-10), help carry each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2), forgive (Eph 4:32), and to treat others how we would like to be treated (Matt 7:12).
I think we can all agree that treating others like this is good. It’s so good in fact that people who don’t know, or don’t want to know God follow these instructions too, sometimes even more successfully than Bible believing Christians.
We can see it all around us as the community rallies around those who continue to be affected by the aftereffects of the recent flooding. So the question is, how is, or how should, a Christian’s behaviour be different?
what crushes them and present them with a life full of passion and purpose.
The gift that comes from sharing God along with the limited portion of love we carry, rather than only giving what we personally have available for the day, is two-fold.
First, we are sharing an unextinguishable source of love, support and protection, and second, we aren’t left to carry the burden of caring on our own.
That means that when the load we are helping someone else carry grows too heavy, when we inevitably have a bad day and can’t do what we intended to, when we fail to listen, or find ourselves unable to treat people with kindness and understanding, God is there.
God can be trusted to help our friends and neighbours carry their loads while simultaneously pulling us back into alignment with Him so we have what we require to serve again.
• Plenty of off street parking
• Plenty of
• Rafters Restaurant
• Delicious Food By Rafters
• Full TAB Ser vice
• Full TAB Service
• Gaming Lounge
• Gaming Lounge
• Pool and Snooker Tables
• Pool and Snooker Tables
• Dartboards
• Dartboards
• Courtesy Van
• Members Draw Nights
• Kids Zone with gaming consoles and foosball table
• Live Entertainment • Courtesy Van
• Meat Raffles
• Covered outdoor dining area
Members Draw Nights
• Meat Raffles
• Venue Hire at discounted rates
• Range of Social and sports groups available
The only answer I can think of is God. While any human can offer love, a Christian also has the ability to introduce them to the God of the universe, a protector and provider with the most tender and compassionate heart, with shoulders broad enough to carry any and every load they might bring Him, who will love them when they are unlovable, who will fight for them when not even they can fight for themselves, who can free them from
As we get to know Him, He grows us and guides us, so that even at our worst we will, eventually, learn to make love our default. We weren’t designed to carry crushing loads, we were designed to function in community, to serve and support each other with our special gifts, all while allowing our creator to grow and stretch us, increasing our capacity and softening our hearts so that we can treat people the way He does, and the only way to do that is to grow our relationship with God, learn who He is, who He says we are, and listen when He tells us to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in.
• Best place to watch sport
• Multi areas to view sports channels at once
• Covered outdoor dining area • Venue Hire at discounted rates • Range of Social and sports groups available
Privately positioned on a rear site, this charming 1947 Art Deco unit is one of just three on a cross-lease title. Recently refreshed, the interior features new paint and carpet, repairs to the lounge wall, and the removal of the internal fireplace, creating a clean and inviting living space. This delightful gem offers two generously sized bedrooms, and a spacious bathroom complete with both a separate bath and shower. A central hallway runs from the kitchen to the front door, opening out to a private garden. The open-plan kitchen and dining area flow seamlessly through French doors into the lounge, enhancing the sense of space and comfort. Filled with character and natural light, this welcoming home is the perfect retreat at the end of the day. The site includes shared driveway and garaging areas, with clearly defined spaces for each unit. This unit has its own parking at front, along with a backyard that offers the potential to be fully fenced for added privacy. Fresh, appealing, and ready for its next owner, this property is an excellent choice for firsthome buyers, downsizers, or savvy investors.
Act quickly - homes like this attract strong interest.
Contact Vayle to arrange a viewing.
ON SHAKY GROUND
battles
By Janine Krippner
How we support each other contributes to the strength of our communities. What does this have to do with hazards and disasters? Stronger communities respond and recover better, and this includes caring for our most vulnerable.
It is always a good time for a reminder that we have no idea what is going on in other people’s lives, so it is best to simply act with kindness and compassion. We live in a world where people are emboldened by being awful to others online, and this can seep into everyday life.
As someone with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which for me means symptoms including pain every day, I know all too well how one can appear happy and healthy on the outside but is facing an invisible battle.
Christie Reiser, a scientist and one of my closest colleagues and friends, lives with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS. This is the most painful condition known to humankind, also called the suicide disease for reasons that you can probably imagine.
Essentially, what is a 10/10 pain for a normal person, doesn’t touch what people like Christe go through daily. If you were to amputate a toe or finger with no anaesthesia, that pain is less than what they live with. In fact, she is looking to get her leg amputated with the hope that it helps, even though that is not a guaranteed outcome.
functioning. She is also a project manager, overseeing difficult projects with her own team. Additionally, she is a helpful and present friend.
have no idea that she struggles with this disease every single day. Some nights she
ends up in the ER because of the risk of accidentally overdosing on pain medication when a flare happens.
When pain gets that severe, she cannot stop it on her own.
To simplify a complex journey, this began with a simple trip that tore a ligament in her ankle.
This set off a string of events, including ankle surgery, that led to surviving with this. This can happen to anybody.
Like with many chronic illnesses, there is still no understanding of how this disease works. What is known is that this involves damaged nerves, causing severe nerve pain that can have implications for the entire body.
Because Christie lives in the USA, the cost of surviving is incredibly high. After insurance, it costs her $2,000-$3,000 a month for medications and necessary care. She has upwards of around 20 medical appointments per month due to the controlled substances that keep her alive, side-effects of those drugs, and fighting to find some way of reducing the constant pain.
What people who don’t live with pain or
TALKING ECONOMICS
Bring the bulldozer in
By Peter Nicholl
The economic news in the last few weeks has been depressing.
Earlier in the year the media was full of stories about finally being able to see signs of an economic recovery in New Zealand. Some of these signs have proved to be false and others have been trampled on by recent global events.
It was revealed recently that the growth in our GDP in the December quarter was only 0.2 per cent - below most commentators’ expectations. It was also lower than our population growth so that on a per capita basis our GDP actually fell.
More recently, war started again in the Middle East. All forecasts regarding economic growth and inflation have had to be put into the shredder. People are redoing their forecasts but with two important variables, how wide the war will spread and how long it will go, highly uncertain, these forecasts will be hopeful ones at best.
But what should worry politicians and people in New Zealand is that our anaemic economic performance in the December quarter was not caused by the war in the Middle East – it predated it. It also came in a period when the things that often drive New Zealand’s economic growth were actually
Yet the New Zealand economic car didn’t even get out of first gear. Clearly, there are one or more brakes involved that slowed the car. What is the biggest brake on the New Zealand economic car? It is our lousy productivity. This is not a new problem here.
It has been our major economic problem for decades. But no Government in the last 20 years or more have addressed it in any serious way. Indeed, the predominant policy focus has been to add more and more costly rules and regulations that stifle initiative, add costs and drive our productivity backwards.
When I was working in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) the then High Representative Paddy Ashdown with a great deal of public fanfare set up a Bulldozer Committee to eliminate unnecessary and redundant regulations. I was a member of his Bulldozer Committee.
It didn’t actually work very well in BiH –but it was a good idea. New Zealand needs to take a bulldozer to the enormous load of costly rules and regulations that are imposed on private sector businesses and citizens in
MAKE YOUR MOVE.
Retirement where the living is easy.
Arvida in Te Awamutu has its last available two and three-bedroom ridgeline villas with views to Mt Pirongia and Mt Kakepuku, these are priced from $1,295,000 (licence to occupy)*.
Add to this the brand-new clubhouse and resident workshop underway, featuring a dining area, library, pool, gym, bowling green and outdoor fire and you have a retirement lifestyle worth making a move for. Now’s the time to get in touch.
Book a private tour.
Arvida Whai Mauri Ora is situated at 319 Manaia Road, Te Awamutu. We’d love to show you around and answer any questions you have. To book your tour, call Juliet on 07 444 4023.
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Artist Impression
Briefs…
In the finals
Cambridge housing development
Peake Mews is a finalist in the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards, in the Community and Affordable Housing Property Award category.
Track work
Contractors were scheduled to start repairs on the Kakepuku Mountain tracks this week.
They have also visited Sainsbury Road Reserve near Pirongia and options are being considered to safely reopen the reserve. Many other tracks on Mt Pirongia closed following February storms opened last weekend.
Kiwi head south
The first 10 of 40 Sanctuary Mountain kiwi have been taken to Karioi Rāhui, a 5300-hectare ecological project in southern Ruapehu. The birds were released into the care of Ngāti Rangi at Rangataua, near Ohakune as part of the national kiwi repopulation strategy.
Wallaby shock
The urban discovery of a body of a dama wallaby – with a joey in its pouch - in Frankton early this month has raised concerns the pests are being treated as pets. Waikato Regional Council biosecurity officers have responded by canvassing the Frankton neighbourhood asking residents to report wallaby sightings.
Tamahere looks at race plan
By Mary Anne Gill
There were plenty of questions - and a fair bit of unease - when the Waikato Thoroughbred Racing greenfield proposal came before the Tamahere community on Sunday.
The development now has a potential home, artist renderings and a hall full of neighbours with questions, concerns and plaudits.
The multimillion dollar Greenfield development south of Hamilton is intended to replace the Te Rapa, Cambridge and Te Awamutu racecourses and, at the request of potential funders, the Cambridge Harness Raceway.
There is even a proposal to investigate moving New Zealand Bloodstock’s Karaka Sales Centre as three quarters of the horses sold there are from the Waikato and the company’s owner Sir Peter Vela lives near the new site.
If approved, it would reshape not just racing in the Waikato, but daily life for those living closest to it.
Kevin and Rosemary Whyte have lived in Tamahere for 20 years. They are not antiracing. In fact, he is part of a harness racing syndicate and understands the industry well.
But standing on a quiet rural road and imagining race day traffic is another matter.
“I’m struggling to see how you get everything in there,” Whyte said.
“We’ve got corners, we’ve got older residents, and we’ve got roads that simply weren’t designed for that level of use.”
He is not opposed to development in principle. Tamahere has changed steadily since they arrived and will continue to do so. But traffic, access and safety are the issues he keeps coming back to.
“You put that level of traffic in and it multiplies everything,” he said.
For Moira Haddrell, whose property sits directly opposite part of the proposed development, the concerns are more immediate. She is part of a newly formed neighbourhood committee representing residents on Pencarrow, Hooker and Duncan roads - the properties most affected by the proposal.
“It’s all happened very quickly because of the fasttrack requirements,” she said.
That process, enabled after the project was deemed to be of national interest, has compressed timelines and sharpened anxieties. Haddrell said residents were clear they wanted engagement to be genuine, not a boxticking exercise.
“We can’t move our houses. So, we need to know how noise, lighting, drainage and construction impacts are going to be managed. If lights are on at 5.30 in the morning and horses are working the track, that affects us.”
At the same time, she can see the potential upside.
“If it’s done as well as they saywith highquality landscaping and architecture - it could enhance the area. I’m not opposed to that,” she said.
“I’m opposed to neighbours being an afterthought.”
Project director Steve Bramley is used to these conversations. He has delivered more than 50 community facilities across New Zealand and is currently overseeing the redevelopment of Hawke’s Bay Racing’s new $80 million Flaxmere complex.
He sees the Waikato project as an eight-to-10-year build, not a quick win.
“There’s a lot of work to do. But there’s also a lot of keenness to get this through.”
The proposal is being advanced under the fasttrack approvals regime. Waikato Thoroughbred Racing is preparing to lodge its referral application next month. It
is also now considering whether harness racing could be incorporated into the site as part of the national Project Stamina review of racing infrastructure.
That has added another layer of complexity and concern for neighbours already grappling with the scale of what is proposed.
For now, the conversation continues. More meetings are planned.
Information is being shared and Tamahere residents are weighing the promise of a worldclass facility against the reality of living next door to it.
As one resident put it quietly after the meeting: “If it’s coming, we just want it done right.”
Tamahere’s Kevin and Rosemary Whyte of Tamahere have concerns over traffic, access and safety.
Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Rugby roller-coaster on film
By Jesse Wood
No Tears on the Field is an unscripted story of pioneers, triumph, loss and passion in the world of women’s rugby.
A pre-release screening of the Taranaki-made film was held at the Regent Theatre Te Awamutu last week.
Producer and director Lisa Burd said there were certainly tears while making the documentary.
The movie highlighted the commitment involved in Taranaki women’s club rugby and the backstories of several players, including the top international women’s sevens try scorer in history Michaela Brake (nee Blyde).
Burd and Tukapa women’s player (now Stratford)
Atalya Fakavamoeanga were
there to meet viewers and answer questions following the film.
“Thanks a million for coming. It means the world. We took three years to make this film. I hope you love it. It’s a bit of a roller coaster,” Burd said.
“I’m born and bred in Taranaki; it was a good excuse to showcase your province. Te Awamutu is similar in a way, without the mountain.”
The movie was made in association with Madmen Entertainment and their New Zealand theatrical sales manager Gorjan Markovski was there to MC the Q&A. He posed questions to Burd and Fakavamoeanga before opening the floor to the audience.
“I’ve played with and
Get Gardening
The last of the summer crops should now be getting harvested so it's time to clear out the spent plants and replenish soil by adding compost. Replant the vege garden with winter staples, including broccoli, cabbage, spinach, silverbeet, cauliflower, celery and leeks. It is a good idea to rotate brassica crops each year. Try to plant a legume or root crop where you had brassicas last year, this helps to minimise nutrient depletion in the soil. Freshen up the flower garden by adding pansies, polyanthus, primulas, poppys and violas. There is an abundant range of varieties and colours. It’s a great time to get blueberries, feijoas and citrus planted too. Now is the time to give your citrus, berries and fruit trees some fertiliser, they will treat you next season for it. Happy gardening!
against all the girls on the film, and I’ve met some of my best friends, my lifelong friends there as well,” Fakavamoeanga said.
“You’ve got a family on the field, you’ve got a family off the field, and you get to play your favourite sport together every week.”
Burd provided insight as to why she chose the subject – even though she’s not a rugby enthusiast.
“I was working for the Taranaki Daily News and I was told to go photograph these girls playing rugby. I didn’t know that was still going on,” Burd said. “I was taking photos and this woman was running straight at me - she was just not going to stop.
“I clicked a photo and I
just knew I needed to know more about how she got to be so strong and resilient. I needed to know what went on behind the scenes.”
As Burd tours around the countryside with her movie, she also takes a better understanding of farmers and of women in rugby.
“You see behind the scenes in the farming world and then girls rugby - what a good combo,” Burd said.
“I went on a quad bike and got behind the scenes in the countryside - 100 hours later, we got the 90 minutes out of the way.
“It’s a good little story about grassroots rugby that needs to be told. This is a good platform start the ball rolling with a bit more support for the girls.”
Magic round for Waipā
By Jesse Wood
Leamington and Pirongia both recorded wins on Saturday as the Waikato Club Rugby division 1A season got underway at FMG Stadium Waikato.
The magic round at the stadium saw five games across two days. Ōhaupō had a week one bye. Leamington and Suburbs were the first teams of the season to clash.
The Waipā side recorded a 29-19 win over the Flagstaffbased club – a welcome start for the returning head coach Wayne Bootten. Drew Bootten, Robert Day and hooker Liam Rickwood crossed the chalk for Leamington. Day added a conversion and four penalty goals off the boot for a 19-point haul.
In the next game, Pirongia come out on top in the battle of the mountain men. They beat Taupiri 24-12.
The white and black hoops scored four tries to
two in the first match of their 150th year. Ōhaupō prepare for their first games this weekend, hosting Taupiri while Leamington is at home to Te Rapa.
All division 1B teams all kick their seasons off this Saturday too.
“I know that watching all of the other teams at the Super Round last week has got the boys excited to get our season underway, especially with our first game being at home,” Ōhaupō head coach Connor Larsen-Cross said.
“We had a good preseason with some challenging fixtures along with welcoming in some new faces, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how that all comes together on Saturday.”
Leamington’s colts beat Eastern Suburbs 33-19 in a preseason encounter.
Hautapu, Kihikihi, Te Awamutu Marist and Te Awamutu Sports teams’ competitions are yet to start.
Walker celebrates
Paris Olympic Games riders Leila Walker and Rico Bearman claimed the elite titles at the BMXNZ National Championships in Te Awamutu at the weekend.
Cambridge’s Walker earned her second national elite title with three straight wins in the three-moto format which mixed the best elite and under-23 riders.
She grabbed the holeshot in all three motos and was never threatened.
Walker finished clear of fellow international elite rider, Megan Williams (Rotorua) and Te Awamutu’s Baylee Luttrell and Cambridge’s
Brooke Penny who won the under-23 national honours.
“I was super-pleased to put down some good laps, feel good on the bike and enjoyed the amazing crowd so close to home too,” said Walker.
A busy year looms – she has some UCI World Cups in June in Europe, the world championships in in Brisbane the following monoth – and Olympic Games qualifying late in the year.
North Harbour’s Bearman headed off a trio of under-23 riders, Finn Cogan (Cambridge), Jesse Green (Christchurch) and Jack Greenough (Cambridge).
Wilson second
Two 30-something mountain bike legends showed that class is permanent as they dominated the Cycling New Zealand Cross-country Championships in Rotorua at the weekend..
In the elite men’s race, Cooper moved into the lead on lap three after a challenging pre-race but from there was never threatened, going on to win in 1:30.55, to be 1:24 clear of 2023 national champion Matthew Wilson from the Te Miro club. His clubmate Kayley McMillan won the women’s Under-19 race and Harley Bell was second in the men’s Under-19.
Atalya Fakavamoeanga and Lisa Burd at the screening at the Regent Theatre Te Awamutu. Photo: Jesse Wood
Summerset Cambridge Village Centre Open Weekends
Summerset Cambridge offers a relaxing, resort-style retirement in a vibrant and growing village. The grand village centre is now open and residents have been loving their resort-style facilities, from an indoor pool to a café, residents’ bar and hair salon.
So if you have been wondering, like most of Cambridge, what the stunning new building at Summerset is, this is your official invitation to take a tour around our new facilities and range of homes available, from villas and cottages, to serviced apartments and care suites.
Come along to one of our official Village Centre Open Weekends on 21 & 22 March or 28 & 29 March and see for yourself why the community is absolutely buzzing. Love the life you choose.
Village Centre Open Weekends
21 & 22 and 28 & 29 March, 10am - 2pm
Summerset Cambridge 1 Mary Ann Drive, Cambridge 07 839 9482 | summerset.co.nz/cambridge
Across 1. Expectorate (4) 4. Dispute the truth (6)
Pursuant to Section 46 of the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987 notice is hereby given that:
The following meeting was cancelled in February 2026Thursday, February 19, 2026 Pirongia Ward Committee 4.00pm Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
The following emergancy and extraordinary meeting took place in February 2026Monday, February 16, 2026 Emergency Council 2.30pm Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
Thursday, February 26, 2026 Extraordinary Pirongia Ward Committee 4.00pm Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
DAIRY grazing available for R1 and R2 heifers. Call Aaron on 027 388 3881
WITHERS, Brian
VAN DE STEEG, Susan
The following meeting was cancelled in March 2026Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Road Closure Sub-Committee 8.15am Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
The following meetings will be held in April 2026Wednesday, April 1, 2026 Strategic Planning and Policy Committee 9.15am Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 Workshop and Briefings Day 10.15am Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 Service Delivery Committee 9.15am Council Chambers 101 Bank Street TE AWAMUTU
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Tuesday, April 21, 2026 Cambridge Community Board 6.00pm Cambridge Service Centre 23 Wilson Street CAMBRIDGE
Tuesday, April 28, 2026 Te Awamutu and Kihikihi
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Thursday, April 30, 2026 Pirongia Ward Committee
The details of this meeting including the subject matter and resolutions can be found on the council website under the Meetings and Agendas page. All
Steph
FOR SALE - Inversion Table $100 ono Ph 021 250 8573
PLANTS FOR SALE FOR SALE
PIRONGIA TOPIARY
Open Fridays 10am-4pm 132 Sainsbury Rd Pirongia OR Phone Susan Ranstead 0274 176 379
Wednesday 1st April 2026 10am Entry: $4 on arrival Waipa Workingmen’s Club
Speaker: Donna Wilson Topic: A journey from Northern Hawkes Bay to Waipa Library Supervisor.
In memory of Brian Withers as one year passes since you left the earth on 30th March 2025… and when I breath my last, I can only hope that I have filled your soul with love, as full as you have mine, so much so, that we will always be a part of one another…and should you ever find yourself missing me, just take your hand and place it against your soft, beating heart, feel the love I have placed there, and remember me…I’ll be holding you still, until we meet again… forever loved and remembered by your family
PIRONGIA MARKET
Email jim1@xtra.co.nz or ph Jim 027 366 5842 Pirongia Community Centre, Crozier St Sunday, March 29 9am - 1pm
Everybody Welcome More info phone 07 870 3223 PUBLIC NOTICES
Last Sunday of every month
Everdina – Passed away peacefully at San Michele Home and Hospital on 23rd March 2026, aged 66 years. Loved daughter of the late Dirk & Flo Van de Steeg. Sister and sister in law of Steven, Julie, Les & Helen. Caring aunt of her nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. A service for Susan will be held at Alexandra House Chapel, 570 Alexandra St, Te Awamutu on Friday, 27th March 2026 at 11:00 am followed by private cremation. The service will be livestreamed please email for link - office@ teawamutufunerals.co.nz. All communications to the Van de Steeg family, PO Box 137, Te Awamutu 3840.
Te Awamutu Funeral Services, FDANZ
BEDFORD, Nancy (Margaret) – Passed away on the 13 March 2026 at Burt Sutcliffe Ryman Home Birkenhead. Aged 90 years. Beloved wife of the late Bruce dearly loved mother and mother-in-law to Cheryl and the late Albert, Kerry and Franna, Diane and Pat and the late Lyn and John. Cherished grandmother, great grandmother and great great grandmother. Privately cremated. She was generous, loving, kind, capable, positive, gutsy and fun. Lovely memories will last forever. A classy lady and a wonderful person who will be sadly missed.
SNELL, Alan Thomas (Mātua Alan) –
Unexpectedly passed away at home on Wednesday, 18th March 2026, aged 72 years. Devoted, and muchloved father of Mary, whom he adored. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. In accordance with Alan’s wishes, a private farewell with family and friends has been held. Messages to the Snell family may be sent c/- 262 Ohaupo Road, Te Awamutu 3800 or left in Alan’s online tribute book at www.rosetown.co.nz. “See ya later alligator.”
