Nia Glassie as a baby. Photo / File
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2022. Here’s what made headlines in July :
July 2:
Libby Robertson had hit rock bottom in the literal sense - sprawled on her back on concrete, after jumping from a two-storey window.
“Was she dead?”, the self-described party girl asked herself.
No, she couldn’t be. After all, she could feel blood on her head and she was wearing a neck brace.
She was sobering up and trying to piece together “what the f*** was going on”.
When her parents arrived at Wellington Hospital, she discovered she’d had yet another drunken fight with her boyfriend, Dane, and jumped out of a window in their home. Neighbours called the police.
A mental health nurse wanted to know “what are you going to do?” and Robertson, who now lives in Pāpāmoa, saw two options: “I don’t know, or yes, you know: I can never drink again.”
Like Robertson, interviewees in this article for Dry July gave up booze only when they’d suffered serious consequences from drinking, and they’re the tip of the iceberg given that an estimated 5 per cent of Kiwi drinkers aged 16 and older experience alcohol abuse or dependence in a 12-month period.
July 9:
MP Tāmati Coffey and his husband Tim Smith have sold their two Eat Streat businesses in Rotorua.
Coffey said they were proud to have served locals and visitors for more than seven years but the time had come to focus on other things on their “bucket list”.
“Our son Tūtānekai will start kōhanga reo soon, Tim will be returning to a teaching career in music which has always been his passion, and I will continue to represent Rotorua as an MP in Parliament and as deputy chair on the Rotorua Trust. Rotorua is our home and that won’t change.”
The pair opened Ponsonby Rd in March 2015 initially as an upmarket cocktail bar that had live music. It turned into a popular night spot for several years and was the “go-to” bar for the younger generation.
It closed and rebranded last year under the new name Rotorua International with the vision of going back to a quieter-style cocktail and wine bar.
July 10:
Millions of dollars are being lost on pokies across the Bay of Plenty, a region with some of the highest gambling spending in the country.
In a bid to tackle the harm, the addictive pastime has on communities a new Government investment was announced. Health Minister Andrew Little and Tauranga-based Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti announced $76 million in funding for the Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm.
In its announcement of the investment, Little said gambling harm was a serious public health issue that could have a devastating effect on the wellbeing of individuals, whānau and communities.
July 12:
Hundreds of people paid their respects and farewelled Lady Kuia Rangiwhata Morrison today.
Lady Kuia, the wife of the late Sir Howard Morrison, died on Saturday aged 84 after a battle with dementia. She was born on November 1, 1937.
Her death was described as “a great loss” for her family, the city, Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa.
Held in Ōhinemutu, the service, led by Rev Tom Poata, was at the Tamatekapua meeting house this morning.
July 14:
A $5.1 million funding boost for Crankworx Rotorua was labelled a ‘game-changer’ which will allow the event to build momentum.
The investment was part of a larger $8.1 million package from the Government’s Major Events Fund to support the growth of the event until 2027.
Crankworx Rotorua will receive $1m this year, $700,000 next year, $1m in 2024, and $800,000 each year from 2025 to 2027. The South Island Summer Series event will receive $750,000 each year from 2024 to 2027.
The funding will support the delivery of six Crankworx Rotorua mountain bike events and up to 24 Summer Series events, launched in 2021 and hosted across the South Island.
July 16:
Almost seven decades after Rotorua’s council forced an iwi to sell its land so it could be used to provide the city with water, the council has gone “some way to healing the grievances of the past”.
In 1954 the then Rotorua Borough Council approached Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuara, the traditional owners of the Karamu–Takina Spring at Tihiotonga, to provide water to the city. The iwi agreed but asked the land be leased, not bought.
Council officers insisted the land be bought but agreed the iwi could have one free connection to the pipeline.
However, between 2002 and 2014 the council charged the owners more than $125,000 in water rates.
The spring is culturally and spiritually important to Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuara, and a defining part of their identity.
Now, 68 years later, the Rotorua Lakes Council Strategy, Policy and Finance Committee has recommended the council endorse entering into a proposed Heads of Agreement with Ngāti Kearoa-Ngāti Tuara to establish a new partnership approach to managing Karamu-Takina Spring.
July 20
Police have apologised to a Rotorua man after sending him a firearms licence warning three days after pulling him over for speeding.
Malcolm Pearce was on his way to work at his flooring store about 7.30am on a Saturday about a month ago when he was pulled over.
The 65-year-old was driving at 71km/h along a stretch of Fairy Springs Rd limited to 60km/h. He had come from the 80km/h stretch.
When pulled over he became angry and questioned the ticket.
Three days later Pearce received a letter from the police.
July 27:
Dentists and politicians alike have welcomed a Ministry of Health directive that will put fluoride in parts of Rotorua’s water supply, but one local MP says cheaper dentist trips would be more effective.
It followed the announcement on Wednesday, from director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, that 14 local authorities – including Rotorua Lakes Council – would be directed to add fluoride to some or all of their water supplies.
It is the first time the power has been used since a law change last year to enable it.
Rotorua Lakes Council has been asked to add fluoride to two of its nine supplies - the central and eastern water supplies.
July 30:
Nia Glassie would have been 18 this year. Her brutal killing, at age 3, after prolonged and horrific abuse, shocked the country in 2007. As a nation, we said, never again. But it has happened again. And again and again - 174 times. Rotorua Daily Post senior reporter Kelly Makiha asks: Have we done enough to prevent child abuse, or does our national shame continue?
The tortuous death of Rotorua’s Nia Glassie sparked national outrage, but 15 years on that outpouring of concern has done little to curb New Zealand’s shocking child abuse record.
Daniel Rikiti was sentenced to three years but remains on bail during appeal.