Local Opinion

Who can you turn to..? 

I was asked to visit a young man in hospital. Days before, he’d been seriously injured in a weekend sporting accident. I went to the spinal unit where doctors had offered a devastating outlook. Being…

Chamber Comment: Curbing our crime rate

You would have to live off the grid to not have seen the escalation of crime around the country and sadly, Cambridge is not immune. Our township is lathered in graffiti, vandalism costing the ratepayers…

A warning about photos

What a great turn out we had to the Christmas parade on Sunday, not only in crowd numbers but also the fantastic number of floats – such hard work that went into them all. I…

We say …

If the behaviour at last week’s Waikato Regional Council meeting is an indication of what’s ahead for the organisation charged with looking after our land, air, water, public transport and biosecurity, let’s bring in a…

Redemption for Pākaraka 

A little township near Whanganui has been in the process of having its original name reinstated. Following a long process of discussion between local Māori, regional authorities and people in the township, public submissions revealed…

Waikato District Council comment

A Sustainability and Wellbeing committee has been added to the Waikato District Council committee structure. It will become one of the council’s main committees alongside the Policy & Regulatory, Strategy & Performance and Infrastructure committees…

Looking ahead to Christmas

As Community Liaison Officer, I am not only based at Cambridge station, but also part of the wider Western Waikato Police prevention team. This team is composed of other community liaison officers, school and community…

Fieldays spring back 

Next week our roads will be under strain as drivers will arrive at – and depart from – a warmer edition of Fieldays. That annual – now in its 54th year – event that brings…

What’s Wrong with the Public Sector? 

Two reports I saw this week reinforced how poor the performance of the New Zealand public sector is these days. First, a warning of widespread failings in the public accountability of government agencies. In an…

Supporting events: explaining our role

About 30 years ago I helped organise sponsorship for what was then the richest football tournament in Waikato. We recruited sponsors and encouraged our Tokoroa club members to support the people who supported us. That…

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