MEDIA RELEASE

Lake Okaro Health Warning Lifted

The health warning in place since July last year for Lake Okaro, south of Rotorua, has been lifted. Medical Officer of Health, Dr Phil Shoemack says “results of regular water testing performed by Bay of Plenty Regional Council confirm that the algal bloom has subsided.”

Despite the lifting of the warning Dr Shoemack advises that the public should always be alert for signs of algal blooms in any of the lakes around Rotorua. “If the lake is discoloured, smelly, or has green or brown particles suspended in it then stay out of the water. Cyanobacteria, otherwise known as blue-green algae, can multiply rapidly at any time and they always have the potential for toxin production with these toxins being potentially harmful for people as well as animals.”

Bay of Plenty Regional Council will continue to monitor the lakes on a weekly basis through the summer months and health warnings will be issued if algal blooms are detected.

For updates on health warnings in the Bay of Plenty and Lakes regions, visit our website - www.ttophs.govt.nz/health_warnings

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

Hard to imagine a more disturbing insight into the treatment of the vulnerable than the Health Ministry report on Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau. The Ministry has found that the country’s only kaupapa Maori intellectual disability residential care provider has been “seriously dysfunctional.”

The ministry says the business has failed to recruit and retain quality staff – and says the kaimahi (caregivers) that have been employed are seriously unsuitable for the job, lacking basic knowledge. But Te Roopu Taurima o Manukau doesn’t get all the blame. The report says there’s a significant gap under disability laws to ensure there’s oversight by qualified clinical professionals. More>>