STUART SMITH MP for Kaikōura stuart.smithmp@parliament.govt.nz 0800 STUART
Wednesday 2 April 2025
Sav’ loving star in town Page 4
Funded by the Parliamentary Service. Authorised by Stuart Smith MP, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.
Backing the birdsong
Girls Ignite
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Riverlands’ chlorination risks tainting wine industry WILLIAM WOODWORTH
Ashley Nally, Nicky, Bella and Louis Strong, and Rachel Black holding some of the 238 Love Grace Handbag Appeal donations from across Marlborough. Photo: William Woodworth.
‘Overwhelming’ response for handbag appeal WILLIAM WOODWORTH An annual appeal in memory of Grace Millane has shown Marlborough’s willingness and generosity to support local women in their most desperate times The ‘Love Grace’ Handbag Appeal provides support for women by providing handbags full
of essential items that Women’s Refuge’s across New Zealand and the UK give to women fleeing domestic violence to provide a sense of normality. The experience of organising Marlborough’s donations, cleaning handbags and filling them with essential items has been a bittersweet one for Nicky
Strong, and her children Bella and Louis. “238 bags for Marlborough are a fantastic response on a nationwide scale, let alone for somewhere with our population”, Nicky says. “Donations started off slow for the first few days, but the last weeks have seen the donations
Blenheim’s only locally owned & operated
just take over our house – it feels a bit empty at home now. “Whether it’s just bags, just toiletries, or already made bags, we’ve just been the middlemen collecting from drop points “The Wairau Valley ladies group dropped heaps off, Jane from
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Wine Marlborough and the Marlborough District Council have told central Government that chlorinating Riverlands’ town water supply risks irreparably damaging the wine industry and regional economy. Representatives from both organisations, agree that the unique local water supply issue has national and international repercussions for the region’s economy, due to chlorine activating the fungus that causes ‘cork taint’ – a musty sock smell and taste – in wine. The Riverlands town supply links to 30 homes and 10 wineries at the Riverlands and Cloudy Bay Business Parks, which see more than half of the country’s wine flow through its tanks. Wine Marlborough’s Marcus Pickens and Ruth Berry, Marlborough District Council’s operations and maintenance engineer Stephen Rooney say leaving the water supply unchlorinated is the only economically viable option for the wineries at Riverlands and Cloudy Bay Business Parks. “Cork taint from the corks only impact the odd bottle, and the reaction from the New Zealand wine industry
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