Cheers to that
The region’s only craft beer brewery is toasting its success in the 2023 New World Beer & Cider Awards, which were announced on Monday. Martinborough Brewery has cracked the awards’ top 30 list with its Hop Elixir IPA, which judges described as a “bright IPA that’s light and spritzy with grapefruit and rock melon characteristics”. Pictured is head brewer Eugene Black, who is fizzing about his drop making the same grade as such heavy hitters as Tiger and Steinlager.
Fence collision
Emergency services have responded to a car versus fence crash on Cameron Cres in Masterton. Police received the initial report of a vehicle veering off the road and colliding with a residential property shortly before 4pm yesterday. Police said one person was reported to have moderate injuries. Fire and Emergency and Wellington Free Ambulance [WFA] services also responded to the incident. WFA confirmed nobody required treatment at the scene. Police said the cause of the crash was unknown, and inquiries are ongoing.
$2 million to
collect rates
Greater Wellington Regional Council [GWRC] has paid territorial authorities over $2m to collect its rates. The agenda for last week’s council meeting said GWRC requires more than half a billion dollars each year [excluding GST] to fund its activities. The largest spend is for Metlink, taking 64 per cent of the council’s funds, followed by environment and flood protection, taking 18 per cent, water supply, using 12 per cent, and regional strategy and partnerships, taking six per cent. “Greater Wellington agrees to pay a collection fee for the services specified within the MoUs, based upon the number of rating units for which an invoice is issued by the Territorial Authority.” The collection fee over the past five years has increased by $0.20 per rateable unit per year. “There were approximately 206,000 rateable units in the Wellington region in the 2021 to 2022 financial year; therefore, the total cost to GWRC to collect rates in the 2021/22 financial year was $2,307,200 plus GST.”
