Coast council to impose new bylaw — rock thieves a target
From local democracy reporter Brendon McMahon:
West Coast Regional Council staff will have renewed clout in dealing with anyone who removes rock from floodwalls.
This follows an incident late last year where council compliance staff caught a person red-handed removing a serpentine boulder from a protection wall at the mouth of Serpentine Creek, near the Coast to Coast start line.
Serpentine along with pounamu is a toanga of Ngai Tahu and is legally owned by the iwi.
The man, equipped with a trailer fitted with a winch, ignored an order by the council and removed rock anyway after compliance staff left.
A report to the Risk and Assurance Committee this week noted the council previously had a bylaw to protect its floodwalls, implemented in 2015, but it had lapsed last April. A renewed bylaw was timely given the proposed new floodwalls.
Committee chairman Frank Dooley said compliance staff needed adequate support to exercise their authority.
"We need to make sure that whatever we have in place gives them the ammunition for them to do their job thoroughly.
"We need to support them, when we find someone taking a rock out of our stopbank," Dooley said.
Acting operations manager Colin Munn said a renewed bylaw would offer staff protection and send "a clear message".
"In my experience, I have not had a lot of occasions if you need to pull a bylaw out and prosecute, but they are useful."
Dooley referred to "a threatening e-mail" he had since received from the alleged Serpentine offender, who had asked for his "physical dimensions".
Acting consents and compliance manager Rachel Clark said the alleged rock thief had since been identified.
"The rock that was taken from the Serpentine rock protection has been found, the alleged offender has been identified and questioned over the taking of the rock. The alleged offender is currently in custody for other alleged crimes."
Clark said apparently the piece of rock was mistakenly identified by the alleged offender as Pounamu.
It was too heavy for one person to carry, hence the trailer with winch to pick up the rock.
But on recovery by council it had been properly identified as a piece of Serpentine.
"It wasn't good quality stuff."
Its understood the alleged offender was visiting from Dunedin.
* Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
A riddle to start the festive season 🌲🎁🌟
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Poll: Should we be giving the green light to new mining projects? 💰🌲
The Environmental Protection Authority announced this week that a proposed mine in Central Otago (near Cromwell) is about to enter its fast-track assessment process. A final decision could come within six months, and if it’s approved, construction might start as early as mid-2026.
We want to know: Should mining projects like this move ahead?
Keen to dig deeper? Mike White has the scoop.
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53.4% Yes
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46.6% No
‘Tis the season to not get scammed ...
As Christmas gift shopping moves increasingly online, scammers are ramping up their activity across the country.
Dunedin’s Investigation Support Unit is seeing more and more people fall victim to scams and other fraudulent activity, particularly on Facebook Marketplace.
There are a few ways to avoid the scams and keep yourself safe doing online trades this holiday season, says Southern District Service Delivery Manager Senior Sergeant Dalton.
🔒 “A good first step when looking to purchase something on Marketplace is to check when the seller’s Facebook profile was created. If it’s very recent, there is a higher risk that they have just created this account for a one-off fake item.”
🔒 Another important step is to make sure the seller’s profile name and bank account name match up. “We’re seeing a lot of scammers claiming their bank account name is different because it belongs to their partner or family member - that’s a huge red flag."
🔒 “When you’re selling, never trust a screenshot anyone sends you showing that payment has been made. Check your own bank account to make sure a payment has gone through."
🔒 “Quite frankly, it’s best for all parties to agree to pay, or be paid, for items in cash and in-person. Ideally in a public place with CCTV coverage."
🔒 "If you’re buying a car, check Carjam.co.nz to see if it’s stolen or if there’s money owed on it.”
A reminder: Suspicious activity can be reported on 105
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