The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2023. Here’s what made headlines in April
April 1
It took a year for Ari Waiwiri to find a Rotorua rental, and the house was being sold.
“The house-hunting starts again. There are many people in need and it’s almost impossible to secure a property.”
She believed she is missing out because other prospective tenants have better references and credit. She also suspected some landlords do not want young children in their rentals.
With the overall cost of living rising 8.2 per cent last year, family budgets are being squeezed.
Demand for properties was also soaring.
Bay Financial Mentors manager Shirley McCombe said rents were so high, families with two incomes were struggling to make payments.
April 2
A former junior Warriors player who lost his leg in a car crash and then went on to win multiple national titles as a para-athlete was taking on a new challenge as he prepared to tee up in his first golf tournament.
Joe Flavell (Te Arawa) was to compete in the All Abilities Championship at Windross Farm Golf Club in Ardmore.
The 45-year-old had always lived an active life, playing rugby, soccer, hockey, basketball and softball at school before discovering league at the age of 15.
Then in 1998, the winger made the Warriors’ development team and went on to play in tournaments in Oceania as part of the Māori league squad.
But Flavell struggled to find his passion for sport again after a devastating car accident in 2008 meant his left leg had to be amputated above the knee.
April 5
After more than five decades in the classroom, Tricia Dender still loved her job.
But about a month ago, the 71-year-old Ōwhata School teacher woke in the early hours of the morning thinking, “Nope, I have had enough.”
“There was nothing wrong – I still had a fabulous day and all that. I just thought I want to have some time for me now,” she recalls.
As she retired, aged 71, Dender told reporter Emma Houpt about her “neat world” and “perfect farewell”.
April 10
The Chinese Women’s Sevens rugby team used Rotorua and Tauranga as their base for their bid to make it into the Olympics.
A contingent of 25 players and 10 coaches and managers – including three former Bay of Plenty Steamers staff – were building towards their dream of qualifying for the big event in Paris in 2024.
Their decision to be based in the Bay of Plenty had pumped big money into the region’s economy and helped put the it on the map as a world-class sporting destination.
April 20
An artificial intelligence tool that can generate essays, stories and poems and could potentially be used by students to cheat is proving a challenge — and an opportunity — for schools and tertiary institutes.
Educators spoke to the Rotorua Daily Post about plagiarism concerns and how the “exciting disruptor” ChatGPT could help teachers and students.
ChatGPT, released in November, was a chatbot created by US company OpenAI.
The NZ Herald previously reported the artificial intelligence (AI) programme had prompted some New Zealand universities to consider relying less on essays to assess learning and move towards in-person assessments such as oral examinations or presentations.
Toi Ohomai-Te Pūkenga head of kaiako [teacher] success and innovation Josh Burrell said it was taking a “positive” approach to the “really powerful” tool.
April 22
Jennifer Drysdale and her daughter Melissa both had terminal ovarian cancer as a result of a genetic mutation - BRCA1 - that increases the chance of developing ovarian and breast cancer.
Jennifer’s other daughter, Amanda Howard, also carried the gene mutation and was having her breasts, ovaries, uterus and fallopian tubes removed as a preventative measure.
But for Melissa and Jennifer, it was too late. They don’t know how long they have left, but want other women to be aware of the mutation so they can avoid the same fate.
April 25
Richard Hazeldine-Barber suffers from a rare disability and when his mother was in her dying days, she made him promise he would be okay when she was gone.
The Rotorua man was facing homelessness and feared he would break that promise.
The 48-year-old had lived in a Rotorua Habitat for Humanity house for six years – fivewith his mother, who helped care for him.
Hazeldine-Barber was told his home would be removed and replaced with three family homes under a Government housing partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
He was not eligible to have one of the new homes, there were no other Habitat For Humanity houses in Rotorua and his deadline to find somewhere to live was up in just a few weeks.
Habitat for Humanity said it was doing the best it could to support him but, in a housing crisis “tough decisions” needed to be made.
'This decision has not been made lightly'.