Nelson Weekly
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Wednesday 26 April 2023
Mason a man of a thousand Last Posts JACK MALCOLM For the past 25 years, Mason Robinson has been the man performing the last post for the region. He estimates he’s played the ode thousands of times, saying it’s never lost any of its significance any time he performs. Having played the cornet since he was four years old, he was always drawn to the bugle, he says. As a fifth-generation member of the Blenheim Municipal Band, he was given special dispensation as a 15-year-old to join the airforce to play in their band. “It was only because we were at Woodburne (already),” he re-
Mason Robinson performs The Last Post at a memorial for Boer War veterans last year. Photo: Jack Malcolm.
members. For six years in a row as a high schooler, he travelled to Picton in the army convoy to perform at ANZAC remembrance services. “It shaped my enjoyment, that brass banding. “Back in those days, I was just on my own. Definitely now, I think ‘why am I here and what they did’.” Historically, The Last Post was used in wartime to signal that the final sentry post had been inspected, and the camp was secure for the night. It’s also used as a final farewell for military funerals and has become an important part of the ANZAC See Page 4.
Nelson loses $15 million of government funding MAX FRETHEY
Local Democracy Reporter
Nelson will miss out on $15 million of government funding following the changes made to the Three Waters reform. The funding was part of the $2 billion Better Off financial sup-
port package that was planned to be distributed among the country’s local councils to support community well-being. The first tranche of $500 million, from which Nelson City Council received $5.18 million, hasn’t been affected. But the second tranche – com-
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prising the remaining $1.5 billion – has been withdrawn, meaning council won’t get the additional $15.54 million it had been allocated. “The loss of any government investment into our region is obviously disappointing, particularly a significant sum like $15.54 mil-
lion,” says acting mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens. But he adds that council was yet to explore how that funding would be used and so council planning and projects are “largely unaffected”. The Three Waters reform involved the creation of four water
services entities that would take over management of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater. Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough were originally planned to be in an entity
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