Macken Graham is to make his debut for Tauranga West at the Tai Mitchell Rugby Tournament. Photo / Mead Norton
Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2022. Here’s what made headlines in June:
June 1:
With her home burnt and uninhabitable, a Tauranga mum with three kids in tow lived for a month in tents on the section of her rented property - while continuing to pay full rent.
The landlord, a Tauranga property management company, was ordered to pay more than $18,000 after the woman spent seven months without the full use of the property.
June 4:
Plans for a $70 million seven-storey office building at a prime spot in Tauranga’s CBD were revealed.
The former Westpac building at 2 Devonport Rd was demolished to make way for a seven-storey office building, with ground-floor retail and hospitality.
Craigs Investment Partners would become a cornerstone tenant and the building would be named Craigs Investment Partners House.
June 10:
Overcrowding in Bay of Plenty District Health Board mental health units led to patients sleeping in seclusion areas as a “last resort”.
And a nurses’ union said over-capacity facilities nationwide were a contributing factor in assaults in mental health units.
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board said patients were only admitted to the units when necessary to meet the level of care they needed.
Information provided under the Official Information Act from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board showed that together, the board’s three mental health units totalled 394 days operating over capacity in the year to May 9.
June 11:
Pip Kay, 65, lives in one of the most unique houses in Mount Maunganui.
She bought the section nine years ago when it was a beige cottage-style bach, which she adored and painted yellow with splashes of teal.
But when she decided to sell her 4ha Cambridge property of 30 years, demolish the bach and rebuild, the brief had one non-negotiable: a slide.
June 14:
Nearly 5600 people signed a petition calling for an independent investigation into allegations of “abuse” at Bethlehem College.
The school’s board of trustees chair said it would comply with any official investigation but wanted to see evidence one was needed.
It came after the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend published a story in which advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community spoke out against the school asking parents to acknowledge its belief that marriage was between a man and a woman.
June 14:
A teen born with partly-formed arms who would take the field in the Bay of Plenty’s Tai Mitchell Rugby Tournament was described as a “trailblazer” for players with disabilities.
Macken Graham’s teachers and coaches said he was a humble and courageous player with a “huge kick”, and opposition team members underestimate him at their peril.
His mother said the word ‘can’t’ was not in his vocabulary.
The 13-year-old, who took up rugby at the age of 8, told the Bay of Plenty Times he was inspired by his family and drew his strength from his Christian faith.
June 18:
The National Party retained its Tauranga seat with a convincing win in the city’s by-election.
With 100 per cent of the preliminary votes counted a little before 9pm on June 18, National Party candidate Sam Uffindell took out a convincing win over Labour’s Jan Tinetti.
Uffindell had more than twice as many votes as Tinetti finishing the count with 10,931, 6038 ahead of Tinetti’s 4893. A total of 19,403 preliminary votes were cast.
Act candidate Cameron Luxton finished with 1991 and no other candidates had more than 1000 votes.
June 30:
Iwi around the country are stamping their mark on the business world. Carmen Hall spent a week with Ngāi Te Rangi and got a rare insight into the iwi’s operations.
In one instalment of the series, she met four members of the iwi’s maintenance team: a former hardened gangster, a man who lived in a car and two young guns.
Man appears in court after fatal shooting in remote rural location.