TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2020 HOME-DELIVERED $1.90, RETAIL $2.20 COAST MINISTER SCIENTISTS TARAKAHI SACKED BUOYED BY OVER VACCINE STOCKS ‘INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP’ SPORTS TRIAL ‘PILLAGED’: PAGE 3 DRAWS FOREST & BIRD RESULTS PAGE 6 PAGE 26 PAGE 8 A PLAN to fix beach debris tidy-up. issues at Tolaga Bay is under Necessary action points way as the clean-up effort included consultation with hits its stride. the local authority, wider Operation clean-up Te Aitanga-a-Hauti, community and other affected the Uawanui community, parties. Eastland Wood Council and “The plan is live and member forestry companies our community members Aratu Forests and Ernslaw will continue to provide One yesterday discussed input into the clean-up the issue at a hui at the Te operations to ensure the iwi Aitanga-a-Hauiti Centre of and community aspirations Excellence office in Tolaga and expectations are met,” Bay. Uawanui chairman Victor The aim was to further Walker said. outcomes of a meeting held Eastland Wood Council two weeks ago on the best previously stated the wood way to clean up the beach. on the beach was from the A range of woody debris June 2018 floods and was was deposited on the beach material that had been stuck in recent weeks, in particular on the flats, in valleys and on last week. the south bank of Uawa River. Priorities were discussed It is the second time in 24 and agreed upon, and months debris has inundated machines were this morning the beach. deployed to start the Pictures by Liam Clayton TOURISM REBOUND Exploring new target groups as domestic market competition intensifies by Aaron van Delden Innovation and Employment show. have been travelling overseas if not for the up to $20.2m would be made available New Zealand’s border closure was pandemic. to New Zealand’s 31 regional tourism GISBORNE could be in for a tourism having a bigger impact on areas that More than three million Kiwis returned organisations to support the sector’s boom despite a dearth of international relied more heavily on overseas visitors, from overseas trips in the year to May recovery from Covid-19. visitors due to Covid-19, the region’s including major cities as well as tourist 2019, according to Statistics NZ. Mr Hughes said Tairawhiti tourism had tourism boss says. hotspots Rotorua and Queenstown, Mr Market research firm TRA has been started to rebound following the lockdown, “Tairawhiti’s industry Hughes said. commissioned by the trust to provide an with Queen’s Birthday weekend providing is fuelled by domestic The lack of international visitors updated snapshot of the region’s tourists. a “huge” boost for local operators. tourists, which puts meant there was more competition in the At an industry workshop last week, Mr Hotels, motels and other commercial us in a good position,” domestic tourism market and Tairawhiti Hughes raised the possibility of targeting accommodation in Gisborne had sold out said Adam Hughes, needed to be smart to retain and families in regional tourism advertising. eight times since the lockdown was lifted, the general manager potentially grow its share, he said. Visiting friends and relatives were he said. of tourism at Trust To do that, the trust-run regional also untargeted at the moment, even While on one hand a good thing, sold- Tairawhiti. tourism organisation was reviewing its though they made up the largest group of out accommodation presented a challenge Domestic tourist traditional marketing targets — young domestic travellers. in terms of capacity for growth in tourism. spending in the region tallied $134 adventurers and more mature “cultural The trust planned to spend $630,000 The region’s housing crisis was also a million in the year to May 2019, while explorers”, neither with children. on destination marketing in the year to strain on accommodation. international tourists spent $32m, Mr Hughes said tourism growth could March 2021. statistics from the Ministry of Business, come from New Zealanders who would Last month, the Government announced CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 GISBORNE RUATORIA WAIROA Local News ...... 1-5 Business ............11 Classifieds ... 19-22 Sport ............ 25-28 Births & Deaths ...4 Opinion ..............12 Television ...........23 Weather .............27 9 771170 043005 TOMORROW National 6-10,17-18 World............ 13-15 Racing ................24 > 2 NEWS The Gisborne Herald • Wednesday, July 22, 2020 Keira continues Quest success GISBORNE Girls’ High School student Keira Batten Coogan has won the solo/duo section of the Smokefreerockquest East Coast regional competition for the second time in three years. Keira won in 2018 and was second last year. “It felt good to win,” says the 15 year-old indie alt-pop musician, who performed her self-penned piece I Don’t Want To Talk. “My song is essentially about moving on from someone,” she said. “It’s letting go of a version of a person that maybe doesn’t exist any more or that isn’t healthy.” Keira led a Girls’ High one-two in the East Coast regional competition, with Johelonn Toroa-Taare placing second. No live competition was held this year due to Covid-19. Instead, students submitted videos of their performances. Keira and Johelonn will now submit another video of two songs to compete for a place in the Smokefreerockquest national finals in Auckland in September. Meanwhile, groups have until Friday to submit their videos for the band section of the competition. Regional winners will be announced on August 7. Keira enjoyed combined success earlier this year. She and Girls’ High student Malia Suluka co-wrote the song Enough, which won youth music THE SOUND OF SUCCESS: Singer/songwriter and Gisborne Girls’ High student Keira Batten Coogan is the winner of the solo/ support organisation Play It Strange’s duo section in this year’s Smokefreerockquet East Coast regional competition. Her song can be viewed on YouTube. Search peace song-writing contest. Smokefreerockquest 2020 East Coast Keira. File picture by Liam Clayton More applicants needed for General Election work by Wynsley Wrigley THE ORANGE The Electoral Commission has received GUY NEEDS YOU: more than 29,000 applications but the APPLICANTS are still required to help The Electorate spread of applications has been uneven. run this year’s General Election, with Commission still “There are places where it has received more paid workers required because of requires plenty too many applications and others where it the two referendums and an increase in of paid staff in hasn’t received enough. the number of advanced and election day the East Coast “Some applicants may not be suitable.” polling booths in the East Coast electorate. electorate to help Mr Riordan said he expected to have The Electoral Commission advertised in in the run-up to “a clearer picture of where the shortfalls early June for workers but there are still election day and were, and in what types of roles, in the vacancies in East Coast. on election day, next three weeks”. Commission spokesman Peter Riordan September 19. Pay A variety of roles are available, said they need an average of 540 workers rates vary from $23 including working in voting places and in each electorate. to $29 a hour counting votes. The Electoral Commission has received The work can last from one day to a 395 applications in the East Coast couple of months over the election period. electorate and processed and approved compared with 16 and 69 respectively at More staff are needed in 2020 because Pay rates vary from $23 to $29 an hour. 155 of them. the last general election.” of the need to ensure voters are safe from More details van be found at https:// “Assuming the electorate requires a Mr Riordan said training for all vote- any Covid-19-related risks as well as the elections.nz/jobs/work-at-the-2020-general- team of 540, the commission will need issuing staff in the electorate was likely to two referendums. election/ between 150 and 200 more applications. take place in Gisborne. Those referendums are whether Election day is September 19 but “The commission provisionally plans Nationwide the commission needs about recreational cannabis use should be referendum votes will not be counted on to open 26 advance voting places and 78 25,000 people, compared with 16,700 at legalised and should the terminally ill be election night, and preliminary results election day voting places in the electorate, the last election. able to request assisted dying. will not be released until October 2. Get your Gisborne Herald • Gisborne artist Maiko Lewis-Whaanga talks to the Guide about her ghost ire-breathing home-delivered rooster mural in Charcoal Chicken. • Evolution Theatre switches course from a planned Shakespeare production to Proof, an exciting, Pulitzer award-winning play to be performed by a hand-picked cast. • Step back in time with Tairawhiti Museum’s black and white photographs of people and places from another age. TOMORROW PLUS: MUSIC GUIDE • FILM REVIEWS • GUIDE GOSSIP The Gisborne Herald, 64 Gladstone Road, P.O. Box 1143, Gisborne • Phone (06) 869 0600 • Fax (Editorial) (06) 869 0643 (Advertising) (06) 869 0644 Editor: Jeremy Muir • Chief Reporter: Andrew Ashton • Circulation: Cara Haines • Sports: John Gillies To nd out more call 869 0620 e-mail: [email protected] • [email protected] • [email protected] • web site: www.gisborneherald.co.nz The Gisborne Herald • Wednesday, July 22, 2020 NEWS 3 Walk-in support groups for those struggling with meth by Matai O’Connor “We don’t make any promises but New Zealand ‘P’ Pull national “We don’t provide a safe environment where we can co-ordinator Christine Kaumoana CREATING a safe space for people all support each other’s journey.” Remuera and other area facilitators will dealing with meth addictions is the goal of make any Mr Ngarimu approached different attend the opening walk-ins at all three three walk-in support groups organised by promises organisations in the region to see if they venues.