July 23 2024
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Direct democracy in Dargaville u by Andy Bryenton
The first public meeting hosted by the Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents group saw a large number of citizens gather at the Northern Wairoa Boating Club last Wednesday, with the health of the Northern Wairoa River top of the agenda.
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“We are united by a deep love of our town and its surrounds,” said DRR chair Rose Dixon, opening the meeting. Sharing that sentiment were a crowd of locals leaving standing room only for latecomers, as well as representatives from local governance authorities. The Northland Regional Council’s Geoff Crawford and John Blackwell fronted up to discuss the issues, as did the Kaipara District Council’s Ash Nayyar and Pera Paniora. The first subject broached was the sedimentation of the Northern Wairoa River, and how this process is changing the flow of the watercourse, leading to fears of flooding. John Blackwell, local NRC representative and part of the Kaipara p A packed house at the Northern Wairoa Boating Club for the recent inaugural public meeting of the Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents group Moana Remediation committee, conceded that the river is changing funding to battle the grass, and that he, the contamination. One possibility, a longwith sandbanks appearing. However, with support from local ACT MP Mark closed brick works, was posited, though he presented information suggesting Cameron, had petitioned Associate it was decided that further tests were that the flow capacity of the river is the Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard necessary to pinpoint the source and same. This did not diminish the fact that for funds to keep up the fight. Half of the expand testing to include soil. Drinking the changing course, deeper in some original funding had been given, but Mr water in Dargaville was also tested, with places and shallower now in others, is Crawford said he believed that this would results proving safe and positive. Resolutions were made by an open impacting the riverbanks in Mangawhare, eventually be withdrawn, too. Next, discussion turned to the pollution vote to undertake this further testing, where residents expressed their fears for flooding, citing a drainage system that’s found in local waterways, especially the asking for the council’s help in the matter. very high concentration of aluminium, at Furthermore, it was resolved that the DRR often overwhelmed. Also mentioned was the matter of many hundreds of times the permitted group would petition all parties involved in Manchurian ricegrass, an invasive weed, level, in Dargaville’s Tunatahi Stream. the maintenance of the Northern Wairoa which is narrowing the channel. NRC This watercourse, largely covered, flows River to explore the option of dredging chair Geoff Crawford confirmed that between Tirarau and Gordon Streets, and the channel to mitigate flood risks and the coalition government had slashed speculation was rife as to the source of changing flow patterns. ¢
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