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King Country News | June 5, 2025

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THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2025

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JUNE 5, 2025

Mayor defends logo By Chris Gardner

Ōtorohanga mayor Max Baxter says the council’s decision to drop the council’s old kiwi logo in favour of a new nest logo has been misunderstood. At the latest full council meeting Baxter told Ōtorohanga Kiwi House’s new chair Kim Ingham and interim general manager Richard Spittle the council’s December decision was not intended to show any disrespect for the Kiwi House’s work. The Kiwi House has operated in the town for

half a century and inspired the town’s Kiwiana theme. “With council changing its logo, it’s nothing to do with lack of respect for the kiwi house,” Baxter said. “We’re not changing the district logo everybody, this is purely internal with the council.” Asked by The News whether the council had got it wrong, Baxter said people were upset because they misunderstood what had happened. “They think we are going to shoot the kiwi or take the Kiwiana out of town.” Baxter said that was not

The new logo...and its predessor

the case. The council had just loaned the kiwi house $2 million to assist in its expansion. “It’s our internal logo on email signatures, letterheads, and website. It will be slowly wheeled out over time. “Dairy farmers from Arohena don’t give a toss

whether we have got a kiwi house or not. If you asked 10 people on the street what the council logo is, I would say nine of them would not have an idea,” Baxter said. Baxter said he was preparing to pen a letter to the editor on the subject. Councillor Roy Johnson

voted against changing the logo because he thought it would do a disservice to the Kiwi House. Johnson told The News he had received feedback supporting his view. “We have been told that it’s just the council logo, but to me and others it’s our community,” Johnson

said. “I believe we are the Kiwi town, and I support the Kiwi House, I don’t want to lose our Kiwi identity. A lot of people supported that. “I don’t see why there can’t be a compromise. It’s pretty easy to bring a kiwi into the nest design.” • See letters, page 2

Battery collections to start

By Jon Rawlinson

A lithium-ion battery collection facility will be up andrunning at Ōtorohanga’s Enviro NZ site in the next few weeks. Ōtorohanga District Council’s waste minimisation coordinator Jane Shaw says a contract for the new facility is being finalised. Fire and Emergency NZ says the number of fires caused by the batteries has more than doubled since 2020. The rise has coincided with the rapid increase in the number of devices using lithium-ion batteries – from mobile phones, laptops and vapes to e-scooters and power tools. Overcharging or overheating are among the most common reasons the batteries catch fire.

They can also be the source of major blazes at scrapyards. “Enviro NZ Ōtorohanga will accept batteries and is specifically set up to ensure that the fire risk of waste batteries is managed according to best practice,” said Shaw. “The batteries will be collected on a regular basis for processing at authorised facilities.” As costs will be covered through central government’s Waste Levy Fund, Enviro NZ will accept batteries at no ‘charge’. Waitomo District Council is also in the process of establishing a collection point. George Jensen, senior advisor risk reduction, Waikato for Fire and Emergency New Zealand said there had been several incidents involving battery failures in the King Country in the last 12 months. Although some smaller fire brigades –

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including Piopio and Benneydale – advised The News that they have not noticed an increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries, Ōtorohanga fire chief, Neville King said it does appear to be a growing problem. “We haven’t had too many fires caused by them recently, but over the years there has been more and more,” he said. “Everybody’s using more things with lithium batteries.” There are a couple of simple measures we can take to ensure our actions don’t spark blazes. “Overcharging is one of the major problems, mostly by people leaving them plugged in overnight. They do need to be disposed of correctly at Enviro NZ and places like that.” At present the nearest battery facilities ae in Te Awamutu, Cambridge and Taumarunui.

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King Country News | June 5, 2025 by Cambridge, King Country & Te Awamutu News, Waikato & Bay of Plenty Business News - Issuu