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Skywork co-owner Miriam Stevenson (pictured at the Skywork base in Warkworth) says her company was more than capable of carrying out the LiDAR survey for Auckland Council.
Skywork gutted by council contract snub Rodney residents weren’t the only ones feeling annoyed by a helicopter flying back and forth over their properties in December and early January. Skywork Helicopters was also irritated by the chopper whirring overhead, but for a different reason – it wasn’t one of theirs. The helicopter belonged to Christchurch Helicopters and was carrying out a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) survey on behalf of Auckland Council and the
University of Canterbury to capture data to be used for improving flood resilience. Co-owner of Skywork Miriam Stevenson says her company could have done the LiDAR survey work if they had known about the job or been contacted by the council (and invited to tender). “It’s a massive contract and it’s very disappointing not to be used – we’ve done this sort of work before, and we’re totally capable of it. Our pilots have all the
experience and skills required to do it. “These are the types of jobs that help local businesses stay in business. We employ local people, pay rates and often provide other services. “We’re the ones that get called out to do the storm damage work like in Cyclone Gabrielle. For firefighting, we’re on call 24/7. So it was a bit disappointing when you go to work and you’ve got another helicopter flying over you.”
Stevenson says there’s probably a couple of other helicopter companies in the Auckland region that could have been asked to do the survey without going to the South Island. “The camera mounted on the helicopter used for the LiDAR surveying is owned by the university. “So the council has obviously established a relationship with them from doing other work, which is quite common. But I think continued page 2
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