October 2022

Bnow everyone will know about the burglaries at the Coatesville Store.

And, as serious as this sort of crime is, describing what occured in detail gives publicity to bad acts and fuels the fire of the people committing them.

When I spoke to the store's proprietors about what had happened, I learned they had enquired to the appropriate government organisations about having bollards fitted before the burglaries. At that time they were told that bollards were installed on a 'caseby-case basis' and the 'process had to be followed'. However, on Monday this week, the Prime Minister announced that this 'process' needed to be sped up because more bollards are needed to stop ram raid crime. Sadly, although it's

OCTOBER

too late for our store, let's hope they are fitted soon.

There was also a burglary at the Settlers Hall and Waitemata North Area Prevention Manager, Senior Sergeant Roger Small, says, "Our enquiries remain ongoing into all three incidents, which includes reviewing available CCTV footage

"We understand these incidents are concerning for the community, however we assure residents Police are following all available lines of enquiries to determine the circumstances of the burglaries to ultimately hold those responsible to account.

"Police continue to remain visible in the area and encourage anyone who feels unsafe at any time to please get in touch with us," he says.

On the upside, progress still continues. Viviland, (the newly named Fernielea Café ) is open and the Newshoots childcare centre next door to them is nearing completion. Newshoots Centre Director Nicola Cambie says, "We're excited about the centre opening soon and creating a home away from home for the children, teachers and whānau who attend. Our design team has been working hard to set up the rooms and create an amazing space for children to enjoy," she says.

There's so much to read and enjoy in this issue. Thank you to all the people who shared their stories and photos and made it so special. And thank you also to Ailsa and the Chronicle's loyal advertisers for their ongoing support.

Your editor, Vanessa Johnson

coatesvillechronicle@gmail.com,

Diary Dates

OCTOBER, Saturday, midday Local election deadline closes so post your ballot asap.

OCTOBER, Monday, World Mental Health Day.

OCTOBER, Monday, Term 4 starts today at Coatesville School.

OCTOBER, Labour Day.

OCTOBER, Saturday, Coatesville School's Ag Day Make sure you put the date in your diary because this is a community event you don't want to miss.

OCTOBER, Honeysuckle Flowers Workshop Go to honeysuckleflowers.co.nz for more information and bookings.

OCTOBER, Monday Halloween! Watch out for little witches, ghosts and goblins tonight when you're driving.

NOVEMBER, Sunday Coatesville Market

NOVEMBER, Saturday, Playcentre celebrates its 50th birthday today from 2pm. Go to their Facebook events page for more information.

Reader Excitement Builds for Ag Day

3 Things:

Store raided twice

While the crime of stealing is bad enough, what got me was the apparent wanton destruction of the likes of the internal fridge shelving. I’ll never forget the look on the little lady’s face, when she said to me that she was told NZ was one of the safest countries in the world when she came here, but now it seems to be amongst the most dangerous. All I could do was apologise multiple times to her; I feel disgusted as a Kiwi! And of course, I thought they were isolated incidents (like the robbery the previous owners experienced a few years ago) until the news of last evening’s raid on Michael Hill in the Albany Westfield Mall…. Gold-plated Bus Stops

Thanks perhaps to the relentless pressure from my wife Suzanne, Council arranged for the overgrown weed areas to be mowed yesterday AND they have agreed to include them in their fortnightly mowing schedule!*!

Speed indicator as you enter the village area

I presume this is the “failed” one they removed from the other end of the Village months ago. It only seems to be activated by high vehicles like trucks. It’s only ever indicated our speed once, when we were travelling behind a truck. It showed 50, when both of us were travelling at close to 60! No wonder so many people were unhappy with AT on a “show of hands” at the CRRA AGM.

Noel Reid

or George Zaloum, it’s second time’s a charm in the annual Coatesville School Ag Day poster competition. The year five student was ecstatic when his artwork was named as the winner, and will be used on the Ag Day t-shirts.

“I actually won last year as well, but the design didn’t get used as Ag Day didn’t happen because of Covid, and that was really disappointing,” he says. “But then my name was called out at assembly, and I was so excited I just hugged my best mate who was sitting next to me. His artwork was a winner too and will be used on some of the Ag Day posters.”

George says one of the biggest challenges of the competition was being limited to just four colours, along with black and white.

“It made it tricky. But then, once I’d got the colours right, it was about neat lines and making sure the colours didn’t bleed into each other.”

He says his piece depicts farm animals sheltering from the hot sun under the shade of a big tree.

The school can only hope 29 October is just as sunny as George’s drawing.

Ag Day is by far the biggest day on the school’s calendar, and preparations for the event are in full swing. Numerous food stalls are booked – from crepes to coffee, nachos to sushi. There will be loads of games too, such as the classic ‘dunk the teacher’ and gumboot throw, and activities, including a climbing wall, face painting, and bouncy castles. There will be lots of prizes to win. The crowd favourite chocolate trailers will be back, along with bounty bags, a lucky dip, and loads more.

The call is out to the community for donations of fresh produce and baked goods to be sold at the Co-op stall. For those wishing to contribute, non-perishable items can be dropped to the school office at any time, while perishables, such as fresh eggs, fruit, vegetables, and baked goods, should be delivered on Friday, 28 October.

“It’s great to see the public once again getting behind the school to help out with Ag Day,” says school principal Richard Johnson. “We have good support with sponsorship and for the silent auction from a variety of local businesses, and parents are rallying with donations and prizes for the various stalls – it’s going to be a great day.”

The gala opens to the public at 10.30 on Saturday the 29 th, after the children’s Ag Day projects have been scrutinised and judged. Then the fun will begin. The day will wrap up at 1.30 with the close of the silent auction, which promises a fantastic selection of goods and services to bid for.

By Mary Searle Bell

Pony Club Ready to Start the New Season

It’s the time of year again to see local riders out on the reserve as the weather gets better, the ground gets a bit drier, and the official pony club starts!

There’s been a lot of work happening in the background to get the club grounds ready for the season with a tidy up of the grounds and repairs to the arena. The club was lucky to have the support of local contractors such as Hardfell Arborists & Chesters Plumbing who offered materials and time for free, as well as Neat n Tidy Bins and Warren Haigh Contracting, who offered discounted services to help get the pony club tidied up!

The big focus for the club has been the arena, which is in desperate need

CRRA Helpful Hints

Clean and Green

of TLC. During the winter members have volunteered to repair the walls and matting in the arena and now the diggers are in to repair and replace the sand and surface. The arena is a valuable asset for all our members of

Civil Defence

the club and wider community also who come and use it on a casual basis. The club would also like to say a big thanks to all the riders who have respected the no-ride zones in the reserve over winter, hopefully if the wet weather stays away these will be opened up soon.

Enrolments for Pony club this year have been very popular, and the club is now at maximum capacity with a waiting list for both the Wednesday and Thursday kids rallies! Adult rallies have been very popular too with only a few spaces left. The club is very proud of the large member base and the that fact that it brings riders of all ages and stage together, they can’t wait to get started next term.

To start the season, and with such a big membership base, the club held an information evening on Wednesday 28th September, where the new president Anna Jones shared the projects for the year as well as what they can expect as Pony club members. There was time for kids to get to know new members, play games and have a shared dinner, it was a great success and everyone left the meeting feeling excited about the season ahead. If you would like to find more information about the Pony Club, please visit their website www. coatesvilleponyclub.co.nz or email coatesvillepc@gmail.com.

By Zoe Chamel

Marja Lubeck

Plenty of inerest Pony Club's information night.

Did you know Driving Miss Daisy is an ACC Registered Provider?

You can request Driving Miss Daisy for any ACC-related transport needs.

The ACC Assisted Recovery team will send us the pre-approval documentation to use for transport to your injury related approved destinations.

Please get in touch with the ACC Contact Centre to obtain your pre-approval – on 0800 222 435 ext 12.

What extra services do we offer?

We can assist with check-in at the airport or collect you from the arrivals lounge and carry your luggage.

We will help you find the correct department for your appointment at the hospital, and we can stay with you if you prefer the company while you wait.

Bookings for regular weekly trips are welcomed. This gives you peace of mind knowing we have the weekly trip scheduled in our

calendar, and you just advise when you are NOT going to enable us to cancel the trip. Our drivers will simply just arrive at your home for the regular weekly trip if it is not cancelled. We are also available to do one-way trips if family members can do one of the trips. We aim to be flexible and to make it easy for family members looking after their loved ones.

Total Mobility Card Accepted

If you or a family member can no longer drive or has a medical condition preventing safe travel on public transport, you may be eligible for a Total Mobility Card from Auckland

Transport to get a 50% subsidy on taxi fares, to a maximum of $40 per trip.

The subsidy has been extended to 75% to a maximum of $60 per trip until 31 st January 2023.

It is a credit card-sized card with a photo on it – not to be mistaken with the parking permit.

To apply for your Total Mobility Card, contact Age Concern: 177 Shakespeare Rd, Milford, Phone 09 489 4975 or email ageconcern@ageconak.org.nz They will ask you a few questions over the phone and arrange to process the forms. To get started, please ask to speak to someone about an assessment for a Total Mobility Card.

Safe and reliable transport for all ages in North Bays, Albany and Coatesville.

Exploring Bonsai and a trip to Helensville

The September meeting of the Coatesville Country Garden Club was well attended as we learned about bonsai – the art of miniaturising trees and presenting them in pots. Bonsai has been practised for 2000 years by the Chinese but latterly specialised in by the Japanese. There are specialised tools, handmade pots in all shapes and sizes, and of course the bonsai master that you learn from and work with.

Matt Hudson has trained as a horticulturist as well as doing special training in bonsai and worked with masters in that art. It all takes time – many years to see the results of your close attention to style and aesthetics as you wind the wire, feed, prune and water the seedlings to create a masterpiece.

Matt keeps his bonsai outside in the weather and finds conifers, pines and liquid ambers among others, are good to work with. You bend, prune and bind the branches to form interesting shapes and create aesthetically pleasing forms as well as the size you desire. While you miniaturise the form of the tree, the leaves drop in size but any fruit doesn’t shrink − it is full sized. So it’s better to work with small berries or crab apples rather than fruiting apples!

Matt was extremely knowledgeable and spoke in a very relaxed and humorous manner, so we could all enjoy it. We learnt how to start a

Bonsai collection and how to prune and maintain it. They should be kept outside most of the time as they are actually trees either evergreen or deciduous.

Matt passed around his tools of the trade and some of his plants ranging in size. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his talk.

August’s trip to Kawau was with a small group of enthusiasts who tackled the maintenance taskslawns, hedges, edges and pathway

Odourless

raking. The last of the pruning was completed so all the spring growth is awaited. Most planting was done and September will mark the end of any more planting until April/May next year. The deciduous trees will have started to green up from September, which will enhance the reserve canopy. We’ll wait and see.

Just because we can, in late September a large group visited the Helensville Museum with its vast collection of items from the old pioneering days inside relocated buildings from around the area. Three knowledgeable local volunteers gave us wonderful descriptions of the collection, with some of the items a real mystery of what they were for. They are very keen to get more volunteers to keep on top of the large amount of effort required. This was followed by scrumptious food at the Ginger Crunch Cafe right beside the other visit to the Helensville Railway Museum where a large working model railway of  Helensville of old was very well done. A very relaxing day with a huge amount of interest October is busy as it includes a visit to three top gardens near Drury and this is followed by the biggy for the year: our trip to the wonders of Dunedin with loads of entertainment planned.  Somewhere in between all this our gardens will be kept looking their be best.

By Frances Swift, Jenny Hunter and Owen Sprosen

Above, CCGC members at the Helensville Museum and below, a model of Helensville with working trains.

Playcentre gets ready to party!

There's been a lot of heavy machinery on site at Playcentre this month. Our main playground was closed while we laid drainage underneath to prevent the soft fall from composting. We also removed the rotten under twos playground and have replaced our art easel and art file shelf thanks to a handy grandfather. We also welcomed seven new families and farewelled three big kids as they began their school journeys.

We are now well underway with plans for our golden jubilee in November and we would love any community sponsorship for legacy projects such as the new under twos playground, bike track extension, mural on the reserve side, mud kitchen or a playhouse/whare. If you or your business can help us with any of these projects, please get in touch. We would love members of the community and our past members to join us in celebrating 50 years of Coatesville Playcentre, Saturday 12 November at 2pm. Please join the Facebook event on our public page or email us to keep informed - coatesville@playcentre.org.nz

By Sarah Craig

Sad News from CWI

On Tuesday 20 September, on short notice CWI met at Val Moore's for a quiet morning tea to reflect on the passing of our long-standing monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Most of us stayed up until the wee small hours to be part of her funeral along with the rest of the world. Stories of remembrance will be part of our next meeting on Thursday, 6 October at 7.30pm. There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II was a woman to be admired, totally revered and an inspiration to everyone wordwide.

Our love and sympathy to be extended to all the Royal Family and friends.

It is also with great sadness that Auckland Federation of Women's Institute, which Coatesville is part of, will be going into recess as of 31 December 2022. CWI has been part of the Coatesville community for 82 years.

We intend to become a less formal, social group and will keep the community posted on how our new Friendship Club will look early next year. We will endeavour to continue to have a monthly meeting, luncheons , organised craft groups and to support North Shore Hospital Auxiliary. In Friendship, CWI President, Denise Bott

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Walking the Walk for Sexual Abuse Victims

From left: Kate and Libby in training, preparing for bad weather

through two postponements. We have an awesome crew of drivers for the campervan (our support vehicle), accommodation with family, friends and in campgrounds is sorted, clothing is printed and training is going well.

What you are about to read is unpleasant and needs to change. One in three girls may be sexually abused before the age of 16. Most of this abuse (90%) will be committed by someone she knows, and one in six boys may be sexually abused by adulthood. One in five women in New Zealand will experience some sort of sexual assault.

Sexual abuse can have long-term psychological, emotional and physical effects on survivors (ripple effects), that are far reaching and sometimes catastrophic. The ripple effects of sexual abuse are devastating; for individuals, their families, friends and communities.

S

isters Kate Hattaway and Libby Taylor are walking and cycling their way from Cape Reinga to Bluff to raise awareness about the ripple effects of sexual abuse (REOSA). On 1 October, the pair set off on foot from Cape Reinga in bad weather, but they still expect to be in Bluff by the middle of November. It's taken more than a year of preparation, training and communication for the sisters and their dedicated support crew and now they're on their way to achieveing their goal. Kate explains the vision behind their extraordinary journey.

The REOSA Walk is an initiative to create hope, dispel loneliness and encourage understanding by raising awareness about the negative ripple effects of sexual abuse.

For me, REOSA is about education, empowerment and awareness right across the board.

My sister Libby and I start the 2,100km walk/cycle in Cape Reinga, Te Rerenga Wairua, on 1 October, 2022 and end in Bluff, mid-November. We will also be hosting 30 support walks throughout the country as a way of raising awareness while supporting survivors. Anyone can join us on these walks, you will find all details on our website, REOSA Supporter Walks. By coming together with an outpouring of love, combined courage and community spirit, we can really reach out to survivors, offer them hope and a way forward.

Our small dedicated team have worked many hours on this project and have kept the motivation going

It is our hope that every step we take will bring people together and play a part in a much needed change in our country. By raising awareness we are putting what is happening at the forefront of people’s minds and we are starting conversations that people may never have had before. From conversations, comes understanding, from understanding comes acceptance and from acceptance comes hope. We hope REOSA will enable survivors to find the courage to speak up and start healing and for those hearing their stories and witnessing their ripple effects to have the courage to listen, believe and support them.

I also feel we have a huge responsibility as parents, grandparents and caregivers, to empower and protect our precious tamariki.  Awareness and education are our best tools to combat this devastatingly prevalent issue and to create a brighter future.

The Reosa Team have created a handbook with support from HELP Auckland, Keeping Our Tamariki Safe from Sexual Harm. This is a resource to educate, empower and support all parents, grandparents and caregivers. There is a copy of this handbook on

our website, REOSA Resources Page. The creation of this handbook is our way of starting a much needed change in our country.

We are also working with Michelle Derrig the author of Only For Me to purchase and distribute as many copies of her book along with ours. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=WLFWUIZEnkg

Only For Me teaches children about their right to privacy and how to protect their own bodies in a gentle and age-appropriate way. The REOSA team would like to distribute as many of both handbooks throughout New Zealand as funds allow.

https://givealittle. co.nz/cause/ the-reosa-walkeducation-andsupport

As a child survivor myself, I want to be part of a movement that raises children who don’t need to heal from their childhoods. Lib and I are looking forward to the challenge ahead and we would love you to join/support us in any way that works for you. The best way to keep up to date is to follow us on social media. Facebook @reosa.newzealand Instagram @reosa_nz

By Kate Hattaway

You can support REOSA by donating on their Givealittle page or joining Kate and Libby on these local supporter walks. For more information, go to their social media pages.

Day one: REOSA walkers and supporters at Cape Reinga

Scouts Cool Camp in Makarau

T

his month

Coatesville Scout Group spent a weekend at the Waitoru Zone Scout Camp at Makarau.

Four Cubs, six Scouts, five Venturers and four leaders set off in convoy from Coatesville Hall on Friday evening, 16 September, and drove to Makarau Scout Camp, about 25 km north of Kaukapakapa. After a dinner off fish and chips, picked up on the way at Kaukapakapa, the scouts and venturers set up their tents on the field and the cubs set up their beds in the hall. Despite being very cold, the weather held, and all was done before supper in the dining hall.

Saturday began with some construction challenges. Cubs built starling nesting boxes and the Scouts built rat-trap boxes. Both were in kit-set form and required skill to complete. The Cubs helped each other nail nesting boxes together supervised by the Venturers while Scouts drilled and screwed their trap boxes together. Scouts had to cut and staple wire mesh to their traps and Cubs had to saw the perch for their bird boxes. While the Venturers set up several small fires for lunch, the scouts and cubs lashed poles together to make some A-frames. For lunch everyone cooked their own sausages over the small fires and after lunch the birdboxes were painted (many in camouflage) and the traps stenciled with “No Pests” and Coatesville Scouts.

We then all drove to the Makarau River Reserve near the bridge on Highway 16 and went fishing in the river for a couple of hours. Despite

the outgoing tide, Aidan (a cub) soon caught a goodsized mullet and his smile was as wide as the river. Another slightly bigger mullet was also caught; a combined effort as two lines tangled but Jordan took the credit, and we also caught a third small mullet and an eel. I think the leaders spent most of their time repairing lines that had broken on snags in the river. On return to camp there

was free time. Dinner was devoured by a very hungry group of campers before we had some songs around a campfire prepared by the venturers, which was followed by quiet indoor games and a late supper.

Sunday began with a hearty bacon and eggs breakfast and then saw the scouts attempt to use the A-frames for walking races with a cub or scout as jockey, standing on the frames. As soon as the sun dried the tents, we dropped camp and packed things away. Lunch was followed by some downhill tyre-rolling at wooden skittles. Unfortunately, very few strikes were bowled, but there were some very funny moments as the venturers had to retrieve the tyres from the bushes and brambles.

We then took everyone to Parakai Springs hot pools for the rest of the afternoon and they tried really hard to wear out the hydro slides before parents took them all home.

This was a fantastic weekend camp, and we plan to return here again in a summer term to utilise the river swimming hole. We must also thank

Below, Cubs making starling boxes

Aidan with his prize catch

The whole camp troop

our Venturers for all their behind-thescenes work at camp getting things ready and done in advance so leaders could concentrate on the activities.

Scouts finished the term with a visit to an Escape Room and the Cubs went to Clip and Climb.

This term has seen us restart Keas at Coatesville under the fantastic leadership of Janine Stanley. Keas is for children aged 5 ½ to 8 yrs. but we have had to limit numbers as we must have parents enrolling with Scouts NZ as Volunteer Helpers to enable us to meet legal requirements. The same is also needed now with parents for our Cubs as we have experienced a lot join late in the term.

Term 4 is looking great for all sections (Keas, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers) with many outdoor activities and another camp planned Please contact Phil (coatesville@ group.scouts.nz) if you would like to join or are able to become a Parent Helper and help with our scout group.

By Phil Smith

Trust, Tax and Australian Beneficiaries

Mark and Jane had three children. Their eldest daughter had settled on the North Shore where Mark and Jane had brought up their family, one had married a South Islander and was now farming near Methven and their youngest daughter, Kate, had moved to Sydney five years ago, purchased property and looked likely to settle there long term.

Mark and Jane had built up a very successful property portfolio and had wisely placed them all in a trust. The trust had recently sold one of its commercial properties and the trustees had agreed to distribute some of the capital to the three children to help with their mortgages. Fortunately they had a specialist trust lawyer as their independent trustee, who gave them some really good advice, particularly around how they should help Kate living in Australia.

She explained that Australia doesn’t love trusts the way we do in New Zealand and that if an Australian tax resident receives a distribution from a trust - even a New Zealand trust, that distribution will be taxable in Australia. This was of concern, not just with the funds that Mark and Jane wanted to give to Kate from the sale of the commercial property, but if they died, they didn’t want Kate’s share of her inheritance to be taxable. The lawyer went through some restructuring they would need to do to ensure that anything Kate might receive from them now, or in the future, would be via them or their estate rather than the trust.

She also mentioned that it would be really important, regardless of

what they decided to do with their trustee succession plan in the future, that Kate not be appointed as a trustee. If a New Zealand trust has an Australian tax resident trustee, this will pull all the assets of that trust into the Australian tax net, which can be an unintended consequence of using a family member as a trustee.

Even though Australia is our closest neighbour, and the country which is arguably the most like New Zealand, their laws around trusts and tax are vastly different to those in New Zealand.  There needs to be very careful planning if a trust has Australian beneficiaries and it is important that Australian tax residents are not trustees (nor have the control of the trustees) of a New Zealand trust.

Mark and Jane were fortunate that they took advice before doing anything. This gave them an opportunity to carefully structure their affairs. Others aren’t so lucky.  If you have any questions at all, seek specialised advice.

Tammy McLeod, Trust Law specialist, Managing Director, Davenports Law.

Tammy McLeod

Jordan with his good-sized mullet

Below, banter around the campfire

Girls,

Spring means fresh starts and whether it's a new hair style, a beauty treatment or a regular bouquet of flowers for your home, raising your wellness game feels great. These businesses, owned by women, have the goods and services to help you put the dreary winter behind you and look and feel your best.

Beauty Sleep✶

Bebe's Spring Special

Bebes Beauty is a local homebased business in Coatesville owned and operated by a mother/daughter team.

Mum Julia is a registered nurse and Phoebe a qualified beauty therapist.

They offer bespoke treatments focusing on skin rejuvenation. Phoebe is amazing with facials peels, skincare, laser hair removal and microneedling. While Julia specialises in muscle relaxant injectables and platelet rich plasma with microneedling.

This spring, Bebe's Beauty has a special discount for Chronicle readers. Mention the Coatesville Chronicle when booking your facial appointment in October, and you'll receive a 25% discount*. See their ad for website and contact information. *Discount excludes products and dysport.

A great night's sleep will restore you to dazzling form like nothing else. Help your body drift off to dreamland with a soothing herbal tea from naturopaths Enhanced Wellbeing. Their range of herbal teas includes blends called Revive, Restore, Relax and Relief. Shop online at www.enhanced wellbeing.co.nz and get your glow started on the inside.

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you looking for a boutique local salon to enjoy a heavenly hairdressing experience?

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Annie is the talented florist and flower grower behind Honeysuckle Flowers, working from her home in Waitoki. Her bouquets and wedding work are loved throughout the area and she brings fresh flowers to Coatesville each Friday. Whether it’s weekly, fortnightly or monthly Annie can deliver flowers to brighten up your home. She also shares her love of flowers through her workshops, teaching people to arrange their own flowers. For more information go to: www.honeysuckleflowers.co.nz

At Haven Hair Design you’ll be looked after by the salon owner, Lisa (right), and emerging stylist and Coatesville local, Ella (left) in a peaceful environment, free from sensory overload. Your appointment experience matters to us and we use beautiful organic and crueltyfree products, plus loads of one-on-one attention to give you beautiful hair you can easily manage at home.

join us in the chair, we can't wait to meet you.

Shop 8 Albany Village

Local Board

By Louise Johnston

As the political term draws to a close, it's a good opportunity to provide a couple of updates for our area.

Our 154 Hectare Park at Green Road

In November, the Council farming unit will be taking over the farm lease on Green Road. This will make it easier to co-ordinate the opening of the park for walking, cycling and horse riding once the fencing is completed.

Council staff are currently investigating sites at Green Road for environmental offset mitigations. The proposed environmental work on Green Road Park includes fencing, planting out wetlands, riparian margins and restoring native bush. This will be brilliant for the Green Road Park as Council would never be able to afford to fund this work especially given the current financial backdrop.

For Green Road Park, there have been several projects and plans completed over the term, including the removal of dead and dying trees by the proposed trail network. Completion of the trail network plans, including both the 5.7 km perimiter path around the park and pathways through the park as identified in the master plan. We are now waiting for the traffic assessment report to be

completed. This will include details of entrances to the park including the Sunnyside Road entrance and parking.

If you are interested in been involved in a community planting project in 2023 at Green Road, please let me know and I can put you in touch with our volunteer co-ordinator.

Green Road is a massive park and while progress seems slow, it is necessary to do this planning as we will need it when applying for funding both within Council and externally. Auckland Transport (AT)

As a result of the emergency budget, our local board funding for capital projects has been reduced this financial year from $1.2M to $600K.

As a result, several projects have had to be cut. However, the well overdue pedestrian crossing in the Coatesville village managed to retain funding and will be constructed at the same time as the on-streetcar parking which is funded from the targeted rate.

I am still awaiting a formal response from AT about the safety concerns around the new bus stops on Coatesville-Riverhead Highway and will keep you updated.

Compliance

Lastly, if you have called the Council call centre lately to report a

compliance issue only to find your case has been closed without any follow up, you are not alone! Since 21 December, thousands of cases have been closed across Auckland without investigation. I was alarmed to find out that when Compliance prioritises all incoming cases, those where there is no immediate risk of harm can be closed without investigation. This ‘new approach’ to compliance was approved of by the Auckland Council regulatory committee on 12 April. This committee is made up of Councillors. Unfortunately, there is no representative from Rodney on this committee. When I requested how many of the thousands of complaints that have been closed come from Rodney, I have been told that the information is not available. This month I will be following up on this. Residents do not just phone the Council call centre unless the issue is serious. Compliance is core service of Council and it needs the resources to do the job. As ratepayers we deserve better!

Also, in the next couple of years the Local Board is funding town centre improvements across Rodney which include street plantings and other improvements.

If you have any questions etc please get in touch.

Louise.Johnston@aucklandcouncil. govt.nz

New Zealand Trusts and Overseas Tax

Trusts are invaluable asset protection mechanisms, which allow a person to hold property and assets on behalf of another for the good of the beneficiaries.

However, if you have beneficiaries or trustees that are tax residents overseas, there needs to be careful planning and structuring to avoid unintended tax consequences. Laws around trusts and tax are not the same overseas as they are in New Zealand.

Contact Tammy McLeod or one of her team if you would like your trust reviewed.

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auction

on

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Coatesville

Classified Advertising

A1 Sure Services Tree Care All aspects of tree work, stump grinding and land clearance. Qualified arborists. Full Insurance. Free quotes. 446 1258 or 021 175 8660

Agricultural contractor mulching/ gorse clearing, mowing (& lawns), rotary hoeing/seeding, stump grinding, Graeme 027 533 3114

Bruce Gillespie Fencing For all lifestyle block and farm fencing. Phone 027 273 1793

Clean Queen I'll have your house looking like a castle. References supplied. Ph Angela 021 0832 9352

Coatesville Handyman

All building work and odd jobs around the home, fast and efficient. Call Mark 022 195 5746

Coatesville Mulch Mowing 1 to 50 acres, local contractor, affordable rates. Phone Warren and Brenda Mills on 415 6503 or 021 191 4195

Connect Electrics For all your electrical solutions, Phone Kris 022 332 6663 or 412 6066

GET IN SHAPE Local private gym for one-on-one training or small group sessions, specialising in weight loss, general fitness and rehabilitation. Call Debbie 027 441 8769.

Haven Hair Design Need a completely new look or just a trim? Senior hair stylist and salon owner Lisa Cross will help you look and feel your best. Call today to book your next appointment at Haven Hair Design in Albany village. Phone 09 415 4424 or book online www.havenhairdesign.co.nz

LAWN MOWING, You Grow & Joe

will mow. Lifestyle, commercial and residential. Ph Joe 021 624 494 / joseph@propertyfit.co.nz

Local Shearer, Kevin Abel, 021 223 5033

Painters & Decorators Marshall Painters can help with all your painting needs; interiors, exteriors, even waterblasting to make sure you get the top quality finish we're famous for. With over 50 years experience in the company, we have the skills you need. Call Marcus on 021 024 86516 or email marshallpainters@gmail.com.

Pilates in Coatesville Hall, Thursday @ 6pm. Special – 2 free lessons for new clients. $12 school term, $15 concession card and $20 casual class. Contact Abraham on 021 122 1530 or abrahampardo@gmail.com

Professional Oven Cleaning

All size ovens, local references and great service from an experienced professional. Text Kiri 021 233 6028 Scout Marquee for hire, 6m x 8m, $250 per day. Call Garth 447 1863

The Blooming Beekeeper fully maintained beehive service. The ideal eco-friendly gift. Bee packages; beekeeping lessons; artisan bee products; swarm catching. Coatesville based. Call Val 021 755 833. Who’s your caterer? Beautifully presented, great tasting food, at competitive prices. Phone Helen Cato 415 7771 or 021 211 8223.

Zumba at the Coatesville Settlers Hall on Mondays at 10am. $15 per session or $12 each if you buy five. For more information, or to book your space at the next class, call Hana 021 02212714.

Comprehensive reconstruction for metal driveways. Driveway floors graded and machined, then underlaid and heavy-duty compacted with stabilisation solutions and then final runcoats. We build lasting metal driveways and house hardstands. Always happy to come and have a chat and a quote.

Attending an open home and then where to?

W

hen house hunting, an open home is the most common way for you to view a property. They are a great way to give you an initial feel and to see if the property ticks enough of your boxes for what you are looking for. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the agent. There is often so much about a property that you cannot see on the surface, particularly in lifestyle with land and outbuildings, and it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of an open home and lose focus of why you are there.

Make it easy on yourself by taking pen and paper to make notes. You will find over time once you have seen more and more properties it can be confusing about which property, for example, had the island bench and which property had the shed. Do not forget to disregard the properties that will not work for you. Don’t get stuck on the property that does not work but had the one or two things that you liked about it. Move on and focus your energy on the properties that will work for you or feel great or ideally both!

Second viewings are critical as they will eliminate a property from your list, keep it on the list or it will be THE ONE you want. I encourage buyers to do their second viewing by private viewing. This way you can walk calmly around the home looking in more detail and visualising yourself living there. It’s very difficult to do this if you are passing a stranger in the hallway or standing in a kitchen with a group of people you don’t know. Let’s not forget this is one of the most important decisions you will make.

Again, I encourage you to engage the agent, it is their job to ensure that you are aware of all the attributes of a property, including things you may not have thought about. If you need guidance on value, ask the agent if they have a guide price or price indication. Is the CV relevant?  If you are not familiar with the area you could ask the agent for the recent sales statistics. Do any of the recent sales compare to the property you are interested in? You also have the option to obtain a registered valuation, particularly if it is a unique property with nothing comparable

On the flip side, if you are buying you will need help assessing the value of your own home. I can help! Call me now.