Domestic & Commercial Wiring Installation & Repairs Appliance Repairs Heat pumps 24 Hour faults callout
Your Local Electrical Experts 29 King Edward Street, Motueka Ph (03) 528 9071 Email: motueka@laserelectrical.co.nz
www.motueka.laserelectrical.co.nz
Wednesday 13 March 2024
MenzShed get to work
Parklands hit the pool
Page 6
Page 20
Driver licensing stress ELISE VOLLWEILER Learner drivers from Motueka and Golden Bay are travelling as far as Westport and Ashburton to sit their restricted and full licences, as they contend with long wait times and cancellations at closer testing centres. Residents have been vocal about their frustration at having delays of several months before the next available spaces at testing centres. They are also questioning why Motueka no longer has a testing centre of its own, to reduce the backlog that causes stress and uncertainty for those who are attempting to sit their licences. However, New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) says that although they are training new staff to relieve the backlog, they can not commit to a timeframe for when Motueka might once again have its own testing centre, or whether it will happen at all. Motueka’s Bec Lucas-Bryan’s story is similar to those that many people shared with The
SEE PAGE 7
Parkland School’s Ryla Ferrier and Ahria Wheeler, 8, get stuck into a hot chicken pasta salad which is provided through the Ka Ora, Ka Aka Healthy School Lunches programme. Photo: Elise Vollweiler.
School lunch loss would be ‘devastating’ ELISE VOLLWEILER The removal of school lunches would be “devasting” for some of the students who rely on the service, says Parklands School principal Andrea
Smith. Parklands School has been onboard with the Ka Ora, Ka Ako Healthy School Lunches programme since May 2021. It was introduced by the previous government, and currently provides free,
healthy school lunches to more than 230,000 children – about a quarter of all school students across the country. It reaches 1570 students across 10 schools in the Nelson/ Tasman area.
The programme is now under review by Associate Education Minister David Seymour, who says he is looking to cut funding by up to half.
SEE PAGE 2
RENTAL PROPERTIES WANTED Guaranteed Service Competitive Rates A step ahead in Property Management
LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED
guardianmotueka.co.nz