Council facing a budget blow out
A multi-million dollar blowout caused by waste, road and water infrastructure changes has raised red flags on the South Wairarapa District Council balance sheet.
Wastewater works across the district and emergency work in Featherston have seen capital budgets increased.
The closure of the overseas market for paper and cardboard recycling has upped costs in disposal, with costs set to increase by as much as $250,000 rise in costs per year.
In August, NZTA signalled a one per cent reduction in its payments to SWDC.
It will also halve its contribution to maintaining Cape Palliser Rd, as it phases out its Special Purpose programme for coastal roads. .
Risks on two sewage projects, at Papawai and Martinborough, have seen costs increase.
A major sewer failure under the rail tracks crossing Featherston’s main Fitzherbert St had added a further $400,000 in costs.
An electrical upgrade not included in the original project scope has added more than $650,000 to work on the town’s water supply.
Lake Ferry’s wastewater system, damaged by contractors in July, is to undergo further work, with costs not yet known.
The council's finance, audit and risk committee will receive the report today [Wednesday October 21] at 2.30pm at Martinborough's Waihinga Centre.
Scam Alert: Fake information regarding December Bonuses from MSD
The Ministry of Social Development is reporting that fake information is circulating about new ‘December bonuses’ or ‘benefit increases’
If you get suspicious communication, please contact Netsafe.
Poll: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
🎉 2026 is almost here!
We’re curious ... how do you welcome it?
Do you set resolutions, follow special traditions, or just go with the flow?
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10% Yes! New Year, New Me
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16.9% Yes - but I rarely stick to them
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73.2% Nah - not for me
Update to Neighbourly members on data breach 06/01/2025 8am
Yesterday in the High Court at Auckland, Neighbourly was successful in being granted an injunction against any unauthorised use of the data taken in a recent breach.
As we alerted you on January 1 and confirmed on January 3, our systems were accessed illegally and members’ information, including names, email addresses, GPS coordinates from the address you provided to us, forum posts and direct member communications were among the data that was accessed.
We acted immediately upon hearing of a potential breach: we temporarily disabled the site, notified members and authorities and worked with our external security consultants to understand if and how it had occurred. We then confirmed the breach with members, safely restored the site to service and began the process of seeking the injunction. Yesterday’s decision by Justice Johnstone prohibits the use of the data by any unauthorised person, and requires them to permanently delete it, or any information obtained from it.
This does not mean that vigilance against scammers is not still required: there is a large industry globally that seeks to use stolen information for identity fraud or to dupe people into providing details of their financial affairs for theft. Again, to keep yourself safe from scammers it is critical that you:
- Don’t click links in emails. Instead, type the web address directly into your browser. This helps ensure you’re visiting a real site, not a fake one
- Enable two-factor authentication where available as this adds an extra layer of security to your data
- Stay alert for phishing emails. Be cautious of unexpected emails asking for personal information, especially ones that create a sense of urgency.
Again, we want to apologise to you for this illegal access to the Neighbourly database and to assure you that we have carefully worked through how this occurred. We have safely secured the site and its services for use and ensured we have robust processes in place so this cannot happen again.
We are continuing to work with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, on any further steps we need to take.
If you have any further questions please contact us via our customer support team at helpdesk@neighbourly.co.nz.
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