From environmental advocate Mike Joy, to resigning councillors, to new Hastings health clinic, to interesting newsletters from MTG and The HB Knowledge Bank, to Cancer Cure fashion event, to increased endoscopy capacity, to Hasting Art Gallery exhibition featuring HB’s agriculture, here are some notable items you might have missed.

Mike Joy speaking to Forest & Bird

Leading New Zealand freshwater ecologist Mike Joy will speak at the Hastings-Havelock Forest & Bird monthly speaker evening on 8^th May  – and all are welcome.

Joy is a powerful advocate for the conservation of our waterways highlighting the link between nitrate fertilisers, declining freshwater quality and the risks to human health.

He also increasingly supports the concept of degrowth suggesting it doesn’t matter if we find ways to do things more efficiently or with less waste, if we use those efficiencies to do more and more.

“The inevitable conclusion I’ve reached, “ he writes in his memoir The Fight For Freshwater, “is that humankind will face a great time of simplification soon, and the only choice we will have is whether the contraction is planned or chaotic.”

Mike Joy is speaking at 7.30 pm, Thursday May 8, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church Hall, 300 Market Street South, Hastings.

Council non-candidates

Councillor Eileen Lawson announced her immediate retirement from the Hastings District Council, citing health and wellbeing issues. She commented: “While I’ll be stepping away from an elected role, I’ll continue to support our community in ways that reflect my experience and values. I’m proud of the governance and leadership insights I’ve gained – through Council, the farming industry, and formal studies in counselling – and will carry those forward to whatever comes next.”

This prompted a quick BayBuzz re-fresh of our non-standing incumbents list, which now includes also includes HDC’s Malcolm Dixon and (quietly whispering, but not officially announced) Sandra Hazlehurst, NCC’s Maxine Boag and Annette Brosnan, CHBDC’s Tim Aitken, and HBRC’s Martin Williams and Will Foley.

New Hastings health clinic

Stortford Accident & Medical’s new purpose-built facility in Hastings has now opened.

The new facility is a collaboration between OmniHealth, Dr Greg and Vilma Beacham, and investor/developer Greg and Catherine Honnor.

The centre provides walk-in treatment for injuries, illness, and other non-emergency conditions, as well as ongoing primary care for managing long-term health needs.

Initially the facility will have the patients and team moved from the previous facility in Heretaunga St West. The previous facility had served its useful life as a medical centre and the team wanted to ensure we have an efficient, fit for purpose facility for the patients and staff.

“We are recruiting for additional clinician resources and the new facility will also serve as an attractive location to work so we anticipate this will make it easier to attract staff.

“We now have capacity to grow, with some very well appointed medical rooms. We are enrolling patients and welcome new patients to the practice. There is significant scope for growth in enrollments in the practice.

The new space is at 104 Stortford Street, Stortford Lodge.

Chocka newsletters

Click for: 

Latest from the HB Knowledge Bank.

Latest from MTG

If you would like BayBuzz we ask two things: 1) give us a URL for your newsletter so we can link to it; 2) promote ours!

Fashion for a Cure

Fashion for a Cure, brought to you by Breast Cancer Cure, is an unforgettable evening of fashion, food, and purpose – all in support of life-saving breast cancer research in Aotearoa.

Set in the stunning Atrium at Tribune on Saturday 10 May, the runway will come alive with the latest collections from 16 top New Zealand designers, including Taylor, Trelise Cooper, Cooper, Kathryn Wilson, and Curate.

The evening will be hosted by Breast Cancer Cure Ambassadors Petra Bagust and Nerida Jantti, and will include a three-course dinner, and fundraising auctions – all for an incredible cause.

For more detail: https://www.breastcancercure.org.nz/hawkesbay-fashion-for-a-cure

Hastings Art Gallery exhibition

The latest exhibition at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga – Hastings Art Gallery explores New Zealand’s complicated relationship with agriculture.

What thrives on these soils recently opened and will run until 26 July. It features the work of Abigail Aroha Jensen, Yuki Kihara, Darcy Lange, Jimmy Ma’ia’i, George Watson and Daegan Wells.

Their artworks reflect on the experiences of workers and the economies of working-class towns like Heretaunga Hastings—communities which are often shaped by farming industries.

The marketing slogan of Hawke’s Bay ‘Great things grow here’ promotes opportunities for investment, industry and personal success. The artists in this exhibition complicate this narrative and explore growth, prosperity and working conditions, looking at the question of ‘who’ thrives and what it means to do so.

More HB Hospital endoscopy capacity

Endoscopy is critical for the early detection and treatment of conditions such as bowel cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcers, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Earlier diagnosis for patients leads to better health outcomes and can be lifesaving.

The hospital’s endoscopy unit currently has two procedure rooms and is operating at full capacity seven days a week. However, increasing demand means patients are waiting longer for essential procedures.

The Government has announced a $1.3 million investment to fund a third procedure room, significantly increasing capacity for procedures such as colonoscopies, gastroscopies, and other vital diagnostic tests.

The new procedure room is expected to be completed by late 2025, with the expanded service fully operational by February 2026.