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My offices in Masterton, Dannevirke and Wellington are the first point of contact for anyone wanting to talk to or pass issues on to me and this is how it should be.
Unfortunately my staff are often being stopped in the streets, contacted at home during their off-duty hours and at times even their families are being questioned about issues.
My concern is that my staff are being subjected to verbal assault on many of the issues that are way beyond their control.
I would like to stress to people that they are getting extremely good service from Sheryll, Karen and Jo and that I will not tolerate them being harangued.
If you have a concern, please come in, call, email or write to the office and realise that my staff are a conduit to me - they are not me and cannot speak for me.
Please don't shoot the messenger.
With that said, it has been good news that the Government has approved further aid to farmers hit by drought in the lower North Island, including Wairarapa.
Cabinet has approved the provision of Rural Assistance Special Needs Grants to farmers in the Taranaki Region, Upper Hutt City and the Wanganui, Rangitikei, Manawatu, Horowhenua, Tararua, Kapiti Coast, Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa districts.
These grants will be available from Work and Income until the end of August.
Changes have also been made to the eligibility conditions for Rural Assistance Special Needs Grants. People eligible for grants will be able to earn up to $80 (before tax) of off-farm income a week before their rural assistance grant begins to abate. This recognises that the current abatement provisions (which reduce the grants dollar for dollar from the first dollar of income) may result in some families who have a small amount of off-farm income, continuing to experience financial hardship.
Federated Farmers also asked for a further $3000 to extend to affected farmers in Wellington and the Wairarapa the work of a rural co-ordinator. This person will assist farmers in handling the effects of the drought and provide support through difficult times.
Rural communities and the primary production sector are important to New Zealand and the Government recognises this, by providing funding at times of natural disasters and adverse climatic conditions.
All New Zealanders will have access to a free 24-hour health information and advice telephone service from next year.
The Healthline service will be staffed by registered nurses who assess a caller's health needs and provide information and advice to help the caller decide on the type of health care they need.
Healthline has been operating since May 2000 in four pilot sites in Northland, East Coast/Gisborne, Canterbury and the West Coast. Almost from the start the service was attracting an average of almost 600 calls a week, so when it becomes a national service it will dramatically help meet the health needs of thousands of New Zealanders.
An independent evaluation of Healthline has shown that this service is an effective, safe way for New Zealanders to get expert health advice. The service is particularly useful for disadvantaged groups and those who live in rural areas where it can be difficult to access after-hours services.
The service will be put out to potential providers before the end of this financial year.
I have made inquiries about claims made last week that Wairarapa electricity customers are subsidising those in New Plymouth.
The upshot of it all is that this is not true and has been exaggerated.
Information from the Ministry of Economic Development's Energy Market Monitoring Unit shows currently an 8000kWh a year Genesis customer can expect to pay $1460 a year in the Wairarapa and $1240 a year in New Plymouth.
The corresponding Powerco costs for Wairarapa and New Plymouth are $762 a year and $619 a year. Of the Powerco costs, Transpower charges are about $181 a year (Wairarapa) and $133 a year (New Plymouth).
Between April 1996 and April 1997 Wairarapa Electricity increased its charges significantly under a previous owner but I have been told charges before this were based on a low valuation. However, line charges were basically unchanged after the Powerco buy out in the 1998/99 financial year.
A comparison of line charges for both Wairarapa and New Plymouth shows Powerco has been treating them in roughly similar ways since buying the Wairarapa network.
The nodal price of electricity (a function of line losses and generation location) is about 10.6 percent cheaper in New Plymouth (near several big power stations) than in Wairarapa and this is reflected pricing.
The newspaper article also refers to the relative difference between Wairarapa and Wellington prices. Councillor Werry refers to Wellington prices as being between 12-14c/kWh. In fact they are between 14.3-15.5c/kWh.
If all retailers in the Wairarapa are taken into account then Wairarapa prices are between 16.8-19.9c/kWh. On the same basis New Plymouth prices range between 14.6-17.1c/kWh (not 9c/kWh as claimed by Councillor Werry).
For the latest quarterly survey of prices see http://www.med.govt.nz/ers/inf_disc/prices/index.html.
I hope this answers any concerns but if anyone wants to find out who is offering the best price, look at the PowerSwitch website http://www.powerswitch.org.nz or contact the Citizens' Advice Bureau on freephone 0800 367 222.
Finally just a few words to those who vandalised our Kids Own Playground.
How brave and fearless you are setting fire to and tearing up inanimate objects that give pleasure to the very young in our community. I hope that some day you take your own children to the playground and, when you see the smiles on their faces, that you remember what you have done.
I am sorry that I didn't make it to the Carterton Young Achievers Awards on Thursday, as my leave was pulled at the last minute.
My congratulations to you all and all the best for your futures.
Also we can all celebrate the return of the kiwi and kokako to the Mt Bruce Forest. This is the culmination of a very successful restoration project and my thanks to all who have contributed.
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