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Friday 5 November 2021
Covid cuts summer calendar
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Summer events cancelled or threatened: Clockwise from top left, Kiwi Spirit Festival, A&P Show, Santa Parade, Tata Boat Race. File photos. JO RICHARDS
Summer may be on its way, but some of the Bay’s iconic events are being crossed off the calendar due to Covid-19. Uncertainties and complications caused by Covid-related restrictions have left many organisers with no option but to pull the plug. The cancellations announced so far include The Kiwi Spirit Festival and the Golden Bay A&P Show, but others, such as the Santa Parade and the Tata Titanic Cardboard Boat Race, are under threat. The first major cancellation, posted on 13 October by Kiwi Spirit Distillery, explained that its festival, scheduled for January, was reluctantly being called off. The inaugural Kiwi Spirit Festival, held in January this year, was a big hit, attracting over 1,000 guests, and it was slated to become an annual fixture. Distillery owner Terry Knight says it was a difficult decision but the prospect of policing
access was a major factor. “We didn’t want to be the first festival to have to enforce the rules.” Furthermore, the difficulty of maintaining social distancing in a large crowd of festivalgoers would make the event “unviable,” says Terry, who hopes the situation will eventually ease to allow the 2023 festival to go ahead. The week after Terry’s announcement, what was going to be the 125th Golden Bay A&P Show was axed. It was a big call; the Bay’s big day out survived the 1918 flu outbreak and has only been cancelled on a handful of previous occasions – all during World War II. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” says Golden Bay A&P Association vice president Noel Baigent. “But in the end it was quite unanimous.” Noel explains there was “too much uncertainty” about if, how, and when the Covid certificate system would be applied. “One of the biggest things was health and safety – trying to manage the vaccine passport, we
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THE GB WEEKLY, FRIDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2021
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thought, was going to be extremely difficult.” There was also uncertainty about how many of the 100 or so stall holders would attend, given the requirement to comply with Covid protocols. In addition, it was increasingly unlikely that the grandstand would be reinstated in time for the event, which would have severely dampened the anniversary show celebrations. On a more positive note, Noel says that the extensive planning already carried out will give the committee a head start in preparing for 2023’s big day out. “It will still be our 125th show.” The fate of two other iconic events, which traditionally bookend the summer holidays, remains in the balance, according to events manager Claire French. “The Santa Parade and Tata Boat race will need to be cancelled if we remain at Level 2... Continued on page 2
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Council Matters COUNCILLOR CHRIS HILL
The Government has an extensive reform programme. Alongside the Health, Education, RMA and Three Waters reforms, The Future for Local Government Review is also taking place. It is an independent Ministerial review to consider how New Zealand’s system of local democracy and governance will need to evolve. The review panel has recently released its interim report which sets out the broad direction and the key questions for the review. New Zealand has 78 local authorities which vary widely in territory, population and capacity – from large urban authorities, to district councils like our own serving small rural populations. The Local Government (LG) sector’s annual operating spending is $11.8 billion which represents about 4.8 per cent of New Zealand’s GDP, and total rates income represents about 2.6 per cent of GDP. There are more than 1600 elected members and 25,000 full-time equivalent staff. Local authorities are responsible for communities’ basic needs and they influence many aspects of our daily lives. Longstanding challenges for LG are well known and the report identifies many of them including the following: • Existing structures are not delivering for all in an equitable way • Poverty and environmental degradation are felt at a local level but councils don’t have “the levers” to enable significant improvement • Some authorities face significant funding and capacity issues, and all face onerous compliance and regulatory requirements • The relationship between local and central government is characterised by misunderstanding and mistrust and many councils see their relationship with central government as strained or virtually non-existent at a national level • Current processes do not ensure that diverse communities are adequately represented or involved in decisionmaking • It is difficult for local authorities to engage with and respond to the 30 or more government agencies • Local authorities are under constant pressure to manage growing demand while maintaining rates at levels that are acceptable to their communities • Central government imposes obligations on local authorities without... Continued on page 2
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