Hauraki District Council | News page

Wharekawa Coast Annual Community Catch-up

New aqua aerobics classes for Paeroa and Ngatea pools

Recycling Week, 19-25 October 2020

Nail biting day for team Hiko Hauraki

Proud to be a farmer

New chapter for Paeroa and Waihi Library opening hours begins on Monday 12 October 2020

It's a page turner!

Scheduled road closure - Waitawheta Bridge

A nice new footpath is on the way for shoppers in Ngatea town centre.

Wellness on the farm - Graham and Melanie Rodgers share their story

Countdown to online building consent applications begins

A $3million boost for water services in the Hauraki District is on the way.

Let's talk about the elephant in the paddock

$250,000 boost for local employment

A project aimed at tackling the tough questions and issues facing our farming communities is back.  

Building a new shed or sleepout?

The grass is a little bit greener for local farmers recovering from the effects of this year’s drought after they received a small windfall this month. One-off grants from a $265,000 Mayoral Drought Relief Fund went to those most in need, for the partial reimbursement of transport costs.

Ka pai Kaiaua School kids

Level 2 - Tracing app and QR codes for businesses

We're back in Level 2

Hauraki District Council has won the Kiwi leg of this year’s Australasian Management Challenge, competing against other councils from around the country.

We’ve been united against COVID-19 and now to kickstart the East Waikato economy as we recover from lockdown, we're uniting with Matamata-Piako and Thames-Coromandel Councils, the Hauraki Maori Trust Board and the education sector (NZ Skills and Education Group and CANDO) to help our local businesses and grow employment opportunities.

Applications for funding assistance to local arts projects and initiatives within the territory of the Hauraki District Council are now being received for projects that take place between 1 October 2020 - 30 September 2021.

Changes are in the air for some rules in the Hauraki District.

New Waihi mining proposal shared with Council

NZ Transport Agency has advised us that State Highway 2 is closed north of Paeroa, where a roof has come down due to the wind, taking out power lines at the same time.

New era of river transport for Paeroa

Higher than usual levels of manganese and iron have resulted in brown-tinted drinking water for Hauraki Plains residents this week.

Council rubbish bag price goes up 20 cents from 10 July

Annual residents' survey underway for 2020

Rain clouds have been few and far between this year, but a small silver lining is on the way for drought-stricken Thames Valley farmers. 

End in sight

Recycling resumes at Kopu sorting centre

After years of driving past the Paeroa Historical Maritime Park on his way to Auckland and wanting to stop, Deputy PM Winston Peters finally paid the place a visit this week. As well as a tour of the park, he received a progress update on a $1.1 million development aimed at boosting tourism in the district.    

Council brings back development contributions

NZTA advises SH2 closed at Ngatea 5 June 2020

Kaiaua projects back in action after Lockdown

Next steps for new Ngatea footpath

Wharekawa Coast 2120 project zooms along in lockdown

Pūkorokoro Miranda to Kaiaua - pedal ready by August 2020

Funds for farmers

Next chapter begins for Ngatea library upgrade

Waihi Refuse Transfer Station reopens 10am Friday 29 May

Waihi and Waikino water restrictions lifted

A pod of about 60 dolphins visit our back yard!

Changes to our services in Level 2

Normal kerbside collections resume from 18 May, but with a change to plastic recycling

X marks the spot for the new treasure chest at Kaiaua's pirate themed playground

LOVEHAURAKI - put your money where your heart is

If you're a local business person keen to pedal your wares on the internet, you're invited to a free online breakfast webinar to learn How to Shine Online. 

Weight and size restrictions in place on Mahuta Road North bridge

Paeroa Refuse Transfer Station eases back into business

Our Annual Plan for 2020/21 was signed off this week with some adjustments to support business to get back to business and our communities to get back on their feet

Our libraries remain closed under Level 3, but there's still lots to enjoy online

Level 3 changes to services and some reminders

Waka Kotahi NZTA jumpstarts Ngatea Main Street upgrade programme in Level 3

COVID-19 Drinking water advice for businesses returning to their premises

Wet wipes in the bin - we all win

Refuse Transfer Stations skip bins available every Thursday

Climate change project surges on despite COVID-19

Cost savings for district in the spotlight

COVID-19 adds to drought worries for farmers

Stranded freedom campers adopted by Ngatea community

Love reading? 

Sharp spike in dog attacks in Hauraki District

On the home stretch

Hauraki District gears up for 1000 cyclists

Total Watering Ban lifted for Waihi and Waikino

Community footprint wanted on Ngatea main street

Work on Kerepehi raw water pipe back on track

Thanks to outstanding water saving from Waihi residents, reservoir filling nicely

Planned maintenance on the main pipe supplying river water to the Kerepehi Water Treatment Plant is scheduled for Tuesday next week (18 Feb), but, all going to plan, there should be no interruption to the Hauraki Plains water supply.

Waihi community's response to water shortage heartening

State Highway 2 open to westbound traffic from 10 February 2020

Hauraki Road gets a boost to cope with additional traffic

State Highway 2 at Ngatea’s CBD is closed until 3pm Friday 24 January but the town is still very much open for business.

Do you know how to check your water meter for leaks?

Highway closed but Ngatea still open for business

It’s not just local dogs that are in for a treat following the recent opening of Fond Foods new treat-making plant in Paeroa

Roadworks resealing programme gets link to on line mapping system

Ki Waiora Workplace wellness program making an impact already

The future may be uncertain, but we're not waiting for it to arrive. 

Blue skies are on the horizon for Ngatea’s main street, and it’s not just because it’s summer.

Hauraki District business owners challenged to find their secret recipe for success

SH26 south of Paeroa closed for ten days for bridge repair

More climbing and sliding fun in Paeroa Domain

Extension future proofs Pukerimu Cemetery for district growth

History was made yesterday in the Hauraki District.

Already known as the town with a heart of gold, Waihi now has a new claim to fame as New Zealand’s most beautiful small town.

The town cleaned up the competition at last night’s Keep New Zealand Beautiful (KNZB) annual awards in Dunedin, after two years in the running.  

Whiritoa tennis club puts a winning spin on newly resurfaced courts

Kaimai wind farm hearing date unlikely before the end of the year.

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga will end his 36-year local government career on a high note with the completion this week of a million-dollar project to pump wastewater from Karangahake and Mackaytown to the Paeroa Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

Plans for the 10km Pūkorokoro-Miranda to Kaiaua leg of the Hauraki Rail Trail are on the right track and will start blossoming into life this spring says Plains Ward Chair Gill Leonard.

A $100,000 project to reduce the impact of flooding in Kaiaua township will begin as soon as the winter weather clears and the ground dries out.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a time to celebrate our Māori language. Whether it be just a kupu (word), or rerenga korero (a phrase), let’s get started!

Tourism is on the rise in the Hauraki District and a new strategy and action plan adopted by Council last week aims to ensure it is managed in a sustainable and holistic way.    

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga will retire with a smile on his face after new rules making it easier to subdivide and build new houses were signed off by Council this week. 

Hauraki District citizens and young achievers were celebrated in style during an evening of glitz and glamour on 14 August.

Waihi is a finalist for the second year in a row for the title of Most Beautiful Small Town in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards.

Visitors will soon be able to cruise into Paeroa by riverboat in a $1.1 million development aimed at boosting tourism in the Waikato town. 

Many public places in the Hauraki district are now smokefree and vapefree. 

Hauraki District Council will take urgent action on climate change.

With the exception of a pre-hearing meeting with Iwi and others who submitted on Maori cultural values, Kaimai Windfarm Ltd has decided against its planned topic-based, pre-hearing meetings, having offered submitters one-on-one meetings about its proposed wind farm project instead.

Kerepēhi business Quinn Engineering has outgrown its current site so are currently building a new, purpose-built, 1000 square metre premises at the Kerepēhi Industrial Park.

Visitors to Kaiaua will have a top spot to stretch their legs, skip some stones, and munch on their lunch, thanks to a government contribution announced at the weekend. 

A group of inspiring young leaders is changing the face of local government.

Making the most of business opportunities associated with the Hauraki Rail Trail was on the menu for discussion at the third Business Bites event organised by Evolve Hauraki.

Hauraki District Council’s two new 4000m3 treated drinking water reservoirs at the Kerepēhi Water Treatment Plant will soon be up and running.

He may have retired from motor sports, but twice World Touring Car champ Paul Radisich is still ahead.  

It might be world famous in NZ for its giant bottle, but developers Tim Bartells and Jenny Wilson saw a lot more than that when they decided to invest in the town of Paeroa.

We’re concerned some of our ratepayers could be missing out on hundreds of dollars of savings on their rates bill per year because they haven’t applied for a rates rebate.

Ngatea Library and Service Centre will stay in the existing council building at the current site. 

Smoking and vaping in some outdoor areas and at some public events in the Hauraki District could soon disappear into clear air, if proposed new rules come into play.

Putting the weekly rubbish bag on the kerb will soon cost a little more as the cost of getting rid of waste increases. The cost of pre-paid yellow household refuse bags and rubbish disposal charges to its Refuse Transfer Stations will increase from 20 May 2019.

Hauraki District Council’s $4.4 million Kaimanawa drinking water supply project near Hikutaia is underway.

Plans to build the 10km stretch of Hauraki Rail Trail from Kaiaua township to Pūkorokoro Miranda will be rolled out to the community at a drop-in session in Kaiaua this weekend.

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga has slammed the decision by Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage to block OceanaGold’s application under the Overseas Investment Act to buy land for the purpose of extending its long term operations at Waihi.

The Waikato Councils supported by Waikato LASS (Local Authority Shared Services) have now launched the Waikato Data Portal as a public platform to share our data.  We believe that knowledge is power and that by working together to make our data free and open it will promote progress, unlock innovation, and by its creative use, result in economic value for our region.  The Waikato Data Portal will allow external agencies and members of the public easy access to council’s open datasets which can be searched, reviewed and downloaded in a variety of formats.

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga will soon be opening a can of worms in Waihi Schools.

About 80 people enjoyed visitors from the future on April 16 in an event designed to continue the conversation about the future of the Ngatea Library and Service Centre.

The Waihi Ward is supporting two Waihi College students to represent Waihi at the United Nations Aotearoa Youth Declaration.

The number of councillors in the Waihi Ward will increase from four to five, while the Paeroa and Plains Wards will remain the same at four each, with no community boards.

Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga is keen for council to sign up for a proposed sustainable living community education programme.

Deputy Mayor Toby Adams invited the Ngatea Library Group to a meeting at the Ngatea Service Centre on Friday 5 April. 

Business investment in the Hauraki District has more than doubled in the last year, and people are spending more too.

Eleven Orchard Road is now officially off the table as a possible site for a proposed new library space in Ngatea.  At its meeting this week the Council resolved that the site will not be considered as a potential spot for future Plains Ward library services.

It’s time. With those simple words Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga yesterday announced he won’t throw his hat in the ring for the top spot at the upcoming elections in October.

There are a number of ways people in the Hauraki District can show their support for the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Christchurch, and for our Muslim communities.  

The Independent Assessment Board that oversees Local Government Excellence Programme CouncilMARK™ today described Hauraki District Council as “a small Council doing big things” and awarded it an A rating, citing a stand out performance in governance, strategy and engagement with the community.

Work by local contractors on a new cycling/walking track around the edge of the Hugh Hayward domain is happening this week and should be complete by Friday.

Council supports local businesswomen's plan to end period poverty in the Hauraki District.

The Total Watering Ban has now been lifted 

The Council is toughening up on littering and illegal dumping in the Hauraki District. 

Submissions are now closed on Kaimai Windfarm Ltd’s proposed wind farm project.

The Council is going back to square one on its proposed plans for a new library and community hub in Ngatea. 

The staff report read at the Whiritoa Community meeting with HDC is available to view on our website.

Waihi 17-year-old Joshua Mason never wanted to be a fireman or astronaut when he grew up. Instead, he always dreamed of being a politician

For safety’s sake, only rubbish bags, crates and wheelie bins left on the ground next to the kerb on the morning of the collection day will be picked up by our contractor Smart Environmental.

A year on from the storm event that hit the Kaiaua Coast, including Pukorokoro/Miranda, Hauraki District Council has taken a major step forward in finding a long term strategy to managing coastal hazard risks, including sea level rise, in the area.

Further mine development in Waihi has been given the green light following the Project Martha hearings

Earlier this year we went on a road trip and asked for your feedback on the route we will navigate for the next ten years. Among other things, we presented some options to you for the future of Ngatea library.

Changes in the rules around residential swimming pools mean we now have to inspect more pools, more often, to make sure they are safely fenced.

Did you participate in ShakeOut? Remember the right action to take during an earthquake is Drop, Cover and Hold - and plan in advance for a tsunami hīkoi (evacuation) if in a coastal area.

A local community group presented a business case to open a reuse centre in the Hauraki District and received a unanimous thumbs-up from the Council. No request was made for funding, but it was acknowledged this would most likely be on the cards in future.

You may have noticed we've stopped mowing some roadside berms in Waihi.

Paeroa’s iconic Battle of the Streets may be gone, but Hauraki District Mayor John Tregidga says its enormous contribution to the town will not be forgotten.

New Quotable Value (QV) figures show residential and lifestyle property values in the Hauraki District have risen sharply over the last three years.

Already known as the town with a heart of gold, Waihi is now in the running for a new claim to fame as New Zealand’s Most Beautiful Small town. 

Last week Minister Jones spent time with all three district Mayors to hear what sort of projects could benefit from investment from the Provincial Growth Fund, which has $1 billion per year in its coffers over the next three years, to drive economic benefits in the provinces.

Work to switch most street lights in the District to new state-of the-art LED lights is underway

Kaimai Wind Farm Limited has lodged a resource consent application with Hauraki District Council and Waikato Regional Council for a proposed wind farm at the northern end of the Kaimai Ranges at Tirohia, near Paeroa.

The recent flurry of fibre-related activity on Waihi residential streets is a particularly welcome sight for Councillor Austin Rattray. A member of former community group Connect IT Hauraki, he’s been on a mission to get ultrafast broadband into Hauraki communities since 2015

Kaimai Wind Farm Limited has lodged resource consent applications with Hauraki District Council and Waikato Regional Council for a proposed wind farm at the northern end of the Kaimai Ranges at Tirohia, near Paeroa.

Describing herself simply as a mother and worker who cares, Ngatea woman Marie Holtham is on a mission to see her home town lead the way in the war against plastic.

More people can now sit up and take notice of Paeroa thanks to separate donations from Paeroa community identity Norm McMillan, and Paeroa Rotary.

The reality of having your home flooded is difficult to understand unless you have been through the experience. Know how to prepare before what never happens, happens.

The Morgan Park Recreation and Community Centre rolled a step closer last week when the netball pavilion was moved
from its former site to greener pastures.

Ten years ago he was made to scrub his drawings from the old Paeroa skate bowl. Today he’s being paid to paint a mural at the town’s new skate park at Railway Reserve.  

The Waihi community will be the first in Hauraki to be able to connect to Ultra Fast Broadband as Chorus begins the roll out of their fibre network in May this year.

The Council has asked the new government to consider home owners in Waihi before finalising its proposed Overseas Investment Amendment Bill.

The Mayor paid a surprise visit to Waihi East School last week to present Deputy Principal Rachael Coll with a special award for her contribution to local Matariki Celebrations.

The Government will pitch in and pay $215,830 towards toilet and wastewater improvements at Karangahake Reserve.

Civil Defence Minister Kris Faafoi announced today that the Government will contribute $15,000 to the Hauraki District Council Kaiaua Coast Disaster Relief Fund.

Traffic is flowing smoothly through a former bottleneck near Paeroa’s big bottle, thanks to the installation of a temporary roundabout.

Resource consent to create 43 residential lots on part of the former Paeroa Racecourse has been granted.

An application to create 45 residential lots on part of the former Paeroa Racecourse is currently being processed by Council.

Adopted on 28 September at the last Council meeting of the previous Council, Hauraki District Council’s new Economic Development Strategy was presented to Prime Minister John Key on Wednesday last week during his visit to Allied Faxi New Zealand Food Company, the District’s new Chinese-owned ice cream factory at Kerepehi.