“The go ahead and Government investment of $1.88 million is great news for Hawke’s Bay,” say both MPs.

“Funding was today approved for the Heretaunga Ararua “Landscapes” trail under the iconic Te Mata Peak. This trail loops around the Tukituki Valley, Te Mata Peak, Havelock North and includes a section along the coast between Haumoana and Te Awanga.

The original bid included a second trail “The Wetlands Trail” located to the west of the airport traversing the Ahuriri Estuary and wetlands all the way to Bay View. This bid has not been successful at this stage but is still very much in the mix with the Government requiring more feasibility work to be completed.

The Heretaunga Ararau “Landscapes” trail is one of eight new cycle tracks to have its funding confirmed ahead of schedule. Funding of $18.85 million ($1.88 million in Hawke’s Bay) will go towards the construction of more than 1000 kilometres of track. Co-funding of $16 million for the eight tracks shows the significant commitment of local communities.
“We hope to see construction on the first Hawke’s Bay trail well underway this summer,”  says Chris Tremain.

“This is an outstanding idea and encapsulates the spirit of the ‘Great Rides’ that will make up the national cycle trail, and take cyclists through some of New Zealand’s most iconic and picturesque country.

“The trail will showcase the best New Zealand has to offer. It will also support regional economic and employment activity” says Craig Foss. “It’s all a part of turning Hawke’s Bay into the cycling capital of New Zealand”.

“This means jobs for locals during the construction phase and more importantly long-term jobs through accommodation and other support services.”

Fresh on the news of the airport extension and the Regional Museum Development this additional announcement will really help to “Back the Bay”.

“Our community put in an enormous effort to complete a quality feasibility study over the past few months. Thanks to Venture Hawke’s Bay and the Regional Council for all their hard work. We can’t wait for construction work to begin,” the MPs say.

“The Hawke ’s Bay Helicopter Rescue Trust provides a vital service. Both Craig and I are privileged to be able to present a cheque today to further support their work in the greater Hawke’s Bay region,” said Chris Tremain MP for Napier.

“Air ambulance helicopters are there 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Government is working hard to ensure these critical, life-saving services continue to serve the community and save lives.”  say Craig and Chris

“Having been personally involved in an accident off Taits Beach, north of Napier, where a friend was helicoptered to hospital I know the value of this service from first hand experience” – Chris Tremain.

The funding boost is part of a $48 million commitment to implementing a New Zealand Ambulance Services Strategy over the next four years.

The Hawkes Bay Helicopter Rescue Trust is one of 16 centres across New Zealand that provides life-saving service transport for critically ill or injured people to medical facilities.

The plan, announced in June last year, will see 100 extra paramedics and additional training for rural ambulance staff across the country.

Although air ambulances transport about three in every 100 ambulance patients, their costs represent two in every ten dollars of the $150 million spent by Health and ACC on ambulance services.

“We are committed to supporting and furthering our health service sector in the years ahead,” says local Hawke’s Bay MPs, Chris Tremain and Craig Foss.

The Napier City Council and the Hawkes Bay Regional Council approached me to see what could be done.  I agreed that there needed to be air quality standards around New Zealand but thought that there had to be a way to implement the standards at minimal cost. At the time Napier had recorded just five exceedances per annum and given this small number of breaches it seemed ridiculous to force massive change so quickly.  This was especially so when it was predicted Napier would meet the standard as a City simply by requiring new home builds and home sales  to meet the standard over a longer time period.

As a result Craig Foss and I met with Minister Nick Smith and also asked him to meet with the respective councils to understand the issue we faced. Fact was that in cities like Christchurch, they’ve known they had a problem for decades and have had the chance to change.  Quite frankly Napier didn’t know we had an issue until we measured it (I certainly didn’t) and as a result the time frame given for us to meet the standard was unworkable.

Our meeting and others around the country convinced the Minister to review the standards.  The upshot of this is a discussion document proposing amendments to the National Air Quality Standards.  As the Minister rightly said “The existing standard of only one exceedance a year is unrealistic and would require banning home log burners and industries in communities where air quality is generally very good”.

The Technical Advisory Group has recommended the standard be increased from one to three exceedances a year, which is consistent with the World Health Organisation Air Quality Standard. In addition to this the group has recommended the period within which councils must comply be extended to 2018.

These changes are about improving air quality but in a pragmatic and realistic way. I am confident that under these changes Napier will be able to meet the standard within the timeframe and at a much smaller cost to our city.

Chris Tremain

In 2009 New Zealand wine exports to China were worth $14.2 million or 1.4 per cent of all our wine exports.

‘We know China is a challenging market to break into,’ said Mr. Tremain. ‘There is distribution, logistic and regulatory issues however we believe with support our chances of success are greatly enhanced; and there is massive room for growth.’

The Government is allocating up to $200,000 to support detailed analysis of the market and its consumer preferences.  There will also be the development of a New Zealand wine strategy for this market.

‘China is one of our fastest growing trading partners and we believe it to be a very important and extremely exciting developing market for our wines; the potential is enormous, said Mr. Tremain.

‘The support given by the Government to help our wine industry better understand this market has the capability of paying huge dividends, “said Mr. Foss

The following is a reply from the Ministry outlining the planned safety improvements for the near future:

“We are nearing the design stage for the Napier Road/SH2 intersection improvements, which will considerably reduce the risk of crashes at this busy intersection.

 We are also looking at reducing the speed limit between Clive and Hastings to 80km/h.

We have a project in our 2009/12 NLTP, Waitangi Washout Bridge Replacement, which will deliver safety benefits to motorists by widening the bridge.

We are also in the early stages of considering safety improvements on the approach to Napier to protect motorists from roadside hazards.”

Craig and Chris will be working closely with the Minister of Transport to ensure completion of these and any additional measures required.