Marlborough news in brief: weather watch and spending up

Tuesday, 10 January 2023

Cyclone Hale flooding in Northland where a tractor attempts to move silage bales out of the wet paddock.

Heavy rain watch

A heavy rain watch has been issued for Marlborough’s east coast as Cyclone Hale passes the region. Heavy rain is forecast for Cape Campbell, south to Kaikōura and the Seaward Kaikōura range for most of Wednesday, and may approach warning criteria. The cyclone is expected to be “a significant event with widespread effects” in much of the North Island from Tuesday night to Thursday, bringing gale force winds and heavy rain. Slips and floods closed highways, while Coromandel had up to 169mm of rain in the 12 hours to 8am Tuesday, and more than 1400 homes in Whitianga lost power on Tuesday morning.

Big spenders

People in Marlborough spent 8% more on retail goods in December than they did the same month in 2021, electronic transaction data shows. The total amount spent in the region’s retail sector, excluding hospitality, was $51 million, Worldline said. Strong retail spending continued in the first week of 2023 for Marlborough with 5.6% more spent than the same week in 2022, while several regions had a drop in retail spend. However, Marlborough had the lowest percentage of hospitality growth in the country last week, with only a 1.9% increase in spending at hospitality merchants. Nationally, retail spending set a new high in 2022 reaching $35.93 billion, up 4.7% on 2021 and up 13.6% on 2019. Worldline NZ chief sales officer Bruce Proffit said lockdowns had affected the hospitality sector most, and inflation was also evident in consumer behaviour. “The average transaction value increased across a wide range of sectors although these increases did not match the 2022 inflation rate, suggesting that shoppers did adjust their spending to meet their budget constraints,” he said.

Car fires

Police say they will be making follow-up inquiries after a suspicious car fire south of Blenheim, early on Monday morning. Emergency services responded to the incident on Taylor Pass Rd, near Maxwell Pass Rd, shortly after 2am. Fire and Emergency sent one fire truck from Blenheim station and extinguished the fire, which was deemed suspicious, a spokesperson said. A police spokesperson said the vehicle was a hatchback, and said police would be making follow-up inquiries where able.