Hawke’s Bay has its newest Lotto millionaire, with a ticket worth $8.3 million being sold to a MyLotto player from the region at the weekend.
The ticket picked up a third share of Lotto Division One and also had the correct Powerball number to become the second Powerball multi-millionaire of 2024.
Two weeks of daytime closures of the Saddle Road begin today.
The New Zealand Transport Agency says the closures will allow its crews to carry out essential maintenance, including road repairs, drainage improvements and asphalt resurfacing.
The closures are planned for the hours of 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday, and 10am to 4pm Friday.
Outside these hours the Saddle Road will be open as normal.
During the closures traffic will be diverted along the Pahiatua Track.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council will receive $40 million in Government funding to continue the clean-up from Cyclone Gabrielle.
Prime Minister Chris Luxon made the announcement yesterday of $63 million for sediment and debris removal in Hawke’s Bay and Tairawhiti.
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister, Mark Mitchell, said the additional funding will allow the job clearing sediment from high priority areas to continue.
He said it will also mean the work can continue to remove woody debris to prevent any further damage to infrastructure and local communities.
So far the Hawke’s Bay Silt Recovery Taskforce has cleared more than 2.5 million tonnes of sediment and debris, and more than 140,000 tonnes of woody debris.
Meanwhile as the first anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle approaches, the Prime Minister visited the Puketapu area yesterday.