News 12 Ashburton Guardian
www.guardianonline.co.nz
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
■ RURAL REAL ESTATE
In brief
Local farm listings scarce Despite Mid Canterbury dairy property prices marching up, listings are scarce, says a local rural real estate leader. PGG Wrightson Real Estate’s Mid Canterbury sales manager Robin Ford says the value of the region’s dairy farms reached new heights in the recently completed spring selling season. “While the rising milk pay-out is driving sales activity, a tight supply of listings has elevated values. “Farms have changed hands for between $50,000 and $54,000 per hectare, unshared, an increase of $5000 per hectare in the past 12 months. Dairy grazing farms, with spray irrigation, are currently trading between $40,000 and $45,000 per hectare, while foothills properties with 1000 millimetres per annum rainfall, are fetching between $25,000 and $30,000 per hectare,” he said. As a consequence of this unsatisfied demand, dairying also prevails as the major influence on the market for Mid Canterbury arable farms. “With few crops promising sub-
stantial returns this season, any property with cropping soils is in demand for dairy. Values for sprayirrigated properties with cropping soils presently sit between $40,000 and $45,000 per hectare, while dryland cropping farms are between $29,000 and $38,000,” he said. However, Mr Ford says a cropping farm’s capacity for conversion to dairy may not always be such a major consideration when it sells. “While this trend seems set in stone, and dairy’s ascendency is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, dairy conversion may not automatically be the best option for every arable farm that is offered to the market, and each property needs to be considered on its merits. “With consent from Environment Canterbury required for nitrate leaching, which can be high and difficult to gauge on arable inputs, some farms may be easier to consent in dairy use, rather than as arable farms, and therefore worth more converted. However, each farm is likely to be different in this respect,” he said.
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The Maori Party is seeking talks with retired boxer David Tua to discuss the possibility of his standing for the party at the next election. But it had better get a hurry on. While Tua told the Herald he was more than happy to have talks with the Maori Party, he was also happy to sit down with Mana and the Conservatives. “I’ll sit down with anyone. Anyone and everyone ... I’m not going to close the door on anyone.” A Mana Party worker had already made a preliminary approach but the Conservative Party had not. - APNZ
Taser use rises
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Three members of New Zealand’s delegation will not be able to attend Nelson Mandela’s funeral last night, after the South African Government imposed a strict two-person limit. Heads of state have been told they are allowed to take one additional person to the official memorial service in Johannesburg. Prime Minister John Key has decided to take Leader of the Opposition David Cunliffe to the funeral, his office confirmed. A spokeswoman said the same rule would be applied to all countries, including the United States. - APNZ
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Two-person limit
One night sleeping in a tent in a public park was enough to land several housing offers for homeless mother of three Nellie Hunt. Ms Hunt and her children aged 16, 11 and 9 moved into a tent in Christchurch’s Waltham Park on Monday after being evicted from their rental property. In spite of being on Housing New Zealand’s “urgent” list since her landlord served 90 days’ notice in September, Ms Hunt said she had been unable to find suitable accommodation. She wanted to stay in the Waltham area because her children were at school and it was handy to where she worked as a bakery assistant. Yesterday the city council offered her a four-bedroom house in Gloucester Street and Waltham landlord John Beattie visited the park to offer the family a three-bedroom house close to her former rental property. A city council spokeswoman said Ms Hunt applied for a council-owned social housing unit and was assessed as having a “high housing need”. She was shown a unit in Gloucester Street at social housing rates of $260 a week. Ms Hunt said she preferred Mr Beattie’s property because “it’s just down the road from where I was living”. The council property in Gloucester Street was “a beautiful house, but just a little far away”. Ms Hunt was grateful for the huge support she has received since her plight was aired in the media, including offers of food, money and even camping gear to help make her temporary accommodation more comfortable. - APNZ
Police have released detailed data on Taser use since 2009 showing officers are using the weapon more often, but also resolving more incidents without discharging the probes. The data also showed serious injuries from Tasers had been rare, and were caused by people falling after having been Tasered. Since March 2010, when the device was rolled out to all police districts, Tasers have been shown 2646 times, with 13 per cent of those cases involving a discharge. On average since 2010, officers drew Tasers 59 times a month, and discharged it nine times. In 2013, the average has risen to 92 times per month, with an average of 12 discharges. - APNZ
Shark casts shadow A spooky shape in the ocean at Ruakaka Beach is almost certainly a bronze whaler, says a shark expert. Aryan McKay captured the photo after she got her family out of the water on December 2. Department of Conservation marine scientist and shark expert Clinton Duffy said the shark was “99 per cent” a bronze whaler and people needed to realise that they were the most common shark around and were often in the water at the same time as swimmers. - APNZ
Court martial possible An army officer who served in Afghanistan could face a court martial over the booby-trapping of a cache of explosive components which allegedly put others in danger. The officer, whose name and rank are suppressed, appeared for a summary trial before disciplinary officer Brigadier Tim Gall at Trentham yesterday. Brigadier Gall found there was a prima facie case to answer and referred the matter to the Director of Military Prosecutions. That means the matter could be heard by a court martial. Heavy suppressions are in place around the case. - APNZ