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Wairoa Mayor Craig Little.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little says the succession of Recovery Ministers who have resigned or left has not made his life easy.
In the middle of a crisis, gone are Meka Whaitiri, Stuart Nash and Kiri Allen. The latter Little describes as a wonderful lady who was most helpful. He says not having someone to ring for help from has made life harder for him.
"We have had good relations with Ministers but sometimes I feel the voice of Hawke's Bay gets drowned out," he says.
On the positive side, Little says Kieran McAnulty in his roles as Minister of Local Government, Emergency Management and Rural Communities has been good. He describes him as being very approachable but adds that he's a 'busy boy'.
Little says regardless of who wins the election, it will take time for any new Minister to come to grips with the issues the district is facing. He'd like the Wairoa District Council to have the authority to deal with flood protection because he believes they can get it done quickly and cost effectively.
Nearly three years on from Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawke's Bay apple orchardist Paul Paynter says they are still doing remedial work around their orchards and facing financial challenges.
If there was a silver lining in the tragedy that was Cyclone Gabrielle, for New Zealand Young Grower of the Year, Grace Fulford, it was the tremendous sense of community and seeing first-hand what good leadership looks like.
Listed carpet manufacturer, Bremworth is undertaking a $6 million expansion at its Napier plant more than two years after the site was heavily damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
The road between Napier and Wairoa is on the mend.
The Good Carbon Farm has partnered with Tolaga Bay Heritage Charitable Trust to deliver its first project in Tairāwhiti Gisborne.
Hinehou Timutimu, the 2026 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year, says she feels privileged to have won the award.
Irish meat processor Dawn Meats has acquired Alexander Eyckeler GmbH, a long-standing German customer and partner of Alliance Group, for an undisclosed sum.
ACT's new immigration policy has come under fire from farmers and the Government.
A hypothesis in a major dairy research programme that bulls genetically proven to be low methane producers could pass this trait onto their lactating daughters has been proven to be incorrect.
ACT MP and Minister for Biosecurity Andrew Hoggard says he's hearing a common story about school buses, with empty seats, driving past pick-up points, while a parent follows behind in a farm ute, burning fuel and taking up time to get their children to school.
The Envrionmental Protection Authority (EPA) has welcomed the deicsion by the Environmental Law Initiative (ELI) to withdraw its appeal of the High Court's decision confirming the Authority had acted lawfully when deciding not to reassess glyphosate.
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