July 4, 2018
localmatters.co.nz
Your Local Community Newspaper FREE
Proudly NZ Owned
What’s inside Local folk: Rob Denton page 9
School Holidays feature
pages 26-28
Construction feature
More photos online at localmatters.co.nz
pages 29-44
Ashleigh and Will Pringle discovered the perks of having a firefighter in the family at the recent Matakana Volunteer Fire Brigade open day, when dad Ben let them both have a go with one of the crew’s powerful fire hoses. The event featured fire safety demonstrations and a recruitment drive for new volunteers. See full story page 3.
localmatters.co.nz
Te Arai sparks foreign ownership row The Save Te Arai pressure group and Rodney MP Mark Mitchell have both cried foul over an amendment that would have allowed a Te Arai developer to escape the provisions of the Overseas Investment Amendment Bill. The amendment was inserted into the bill following a submission by developer John Darby, along with
two local iwi. It would have facilitated the sale of houses in a 106-home luxury development at Te Arai to wealthy foreign buyers without Overseas Investment Office review. The development is taking place on two former Crown forests secured by Te Uri o Hau and Ngati Manuhiri as part of treaty settlements. They are the
616ha Mangawhai North Forest and the 754ha Mangawhai South Forest. Parliament’s Speaker Trevor Mallard removed the amendment from the bill last month, after concerns were raised that the inclusion of a private exemption for a Te Arai development to a public bill was inappropriate and in breach of a Speaker’s ruling.
But the removal failed to satisfy Save Te Arai chair Aaron McConchie, who said the fact the amendment made it into the bill in the first place showed the government was willing to compromise and allow foreign investments that were detrimental to New Zealanders. “It’s good the exemptions has been
off the drawing board this month . . . m SaweII DESIGNER GrahaARCHITECTURAL
New home - Matakana
LIFE MEMBER ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNERS NEW ZEALAND
PH 425 9759
continued page 2
Behind the basic philosophy of personal service is the belief that it is possible to combine innovative design with cost control to produce efficient, functional & delightful architecture.
Contact Graham today! graham@pyramidzarch.co.nz