2003 The decade that was

BY CHERIE HOWIE

It wasn't the classiest start to the year for Marlborough – drunk teens running rampant at the Pelorus Bridge camp. Not only did the teens give well-behaved campers a headache to welcome in the new year, they also left them with a mess to clean up.

Still, not everyone was quite so destructive. Developer Michael Mahoney announced he planned to develop the former PPCS site into a business park to be named Cloudy Bay.

Child liver transplant recipient Summer Wilson also brought back some sunshine to the province when she returned from her successful operation in Auckland.

Not in such a good state – according to merchant banker Martyn Nicholls, the man behind the Government's vine-pulling subsidies in the 1980s – was the wine industry. It was headed for a fall, he said.

Headed in the same direction was convicted double murderer Scott Watson, who took his case that he did not murder Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in the Marlborough Sounds five years earlier to the Privy Council in London.

The appeal was rejected in November, but Mr Watson's parents said the fight was not over with a pardon from the Governor-General the next step.

In Iraq, the fight was about to begin with then United States president GeorgeWBush moving ahead with plans to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iraq because he believed it had weapons of mass destruction and might use them.

However, those plans came under attack from more than 200 people, who protested Mr Bush's plans by marching in Blenheim and at the Waihopai Valley spy base in January.

There was also bad news for Awatere Bridge users, who were told by then Kaikoura MP Lynda Scott the following month the Government had shelved plans for a new bridge. It was another blow for those living in south Marlborough as drought continued to take a toll, particularly around Ward where stock were said to be dying because of the lack of rain.

Also in trouble was the Blenheim information centre, and owner Richard Challis eventually closed its doors, saying he had been financially ruined following a court battle with Destination Marlborough.

Despite Mr Nicholls' earlier dire predictions, grapegrowers were no doubt smiling as prices soared to $3300 a tonne for sauvignon blanc, a rise of $1050 on the previous year.

Not everyone was benefiting, however, with the Labour Department visiting Blenheim during the year following reports the rights of some vineyard workers were being abused.

Attention soon returned to the situation in Iraq, where a US-led invasion began on March 20. A snapshot poll of 100 people by The Marlborough Express found most were against the war, at 62 per cent. Twenty-two per cent were in favour while 16 per cent had not yet decided. The heightened security fears around the world following the invasion made their way to Picton a few days later when an inter-island ferry had to be turned back amid fears a bomb could be on board.

No bomb was found.

Better news came soon after with the win by former Queen Charlotte College pupil Michael Hopkins of an Oscar for best sound editing in the second Lord of the Rings film.

Those hoping to resurrect the closed Rainbow skifield were also smiling as they reached a purchase agreement with the field's owners and said the field would reopen in 2004.

Meanwhile, TrustPower was also feeling comfortable enough to move ahead with a feasibility study into the proposed hydro power scheme in the Wairau Valley following strong landowner support to the plan.

Anyone hoping to buy a new home was in trouble though with house prices increasing by 35 per cent in Nelson-Marlborough in the past year.

A growing spat was also developing between the council and iwi after then mayor Tom Harrison announced the council would go to the Privy Council over a Court of Appeal decision that opened the way for Maori to claim ownership of the Marlborough Sounds' seabed and foreshore.

It was not all serious business – a winter storm saw snow settle on Marlborough streets and hills in July, much to the delight of both children and adults, while contestants showed off their skills behind the microphone in Marlborough Idol.

The focus soon again fell back on the council when its Blenheim offices were vandalised with a blood red swastika and the words "honour the treaty" painted on the building.

However, Mr Harrison was losing the support of his councillors, who voted in favour of talks with iwi over their foreshore and seabed claim.

Some iwi were still not happy, however, with Te Runanga A Rangitane O Kaituna deciding to sue the council and police for $400,000 because of an alleged conflict of interest with councillor Graeme Barsanti also being a police officer.

The drama continued when Mr Harrison fell foul of deputy prime minister Michael Cullen, who called him a racist, a comment Mr Harrison labelled "intimidation at the highest level".

By September, some councillors were pushing for the battle with iwi to be resolved, culminating in a 12-2 vote to drop the the Privy Council appeal and work with iwi to sort out their differences. Only Mr Harrison and councillor Larry Pigou voted against the move.

It was also a winter of discontent for Red Devils coach Grizz Wyllie, who agreed with the Marlborough Rugby Union that his contract end because he could not live in Blenheim due to farming commitments.

House prices also continued to soar, reported in September to have risen by 16 per cent in just one month.

The month of October brought good news for those behind a multi-million dollar aviation heritage centre at Omaka, with news the council had released a $150,000 grant, while change at the top of the National Party, from Bill English to Don Brash, was welcomed by Kaikoura MP Lynda Scott.

The year's end brought fears beaches could be occupied by top of the south iwi opposed to the foreshore and seabed bill, while Havelock Community Association accounts confirmed the confession of former secretary and treasurer Annette Hewson that she had taken thousands of dollars from the association.

Association members decided not to push for criminal charges as the money was being paid back.

More welcoming was the sight of Marlborough's first traffic lights, at the single-lane Awatere Bridge. Less welcoming were water restrictions for rural users as the region continued to dry up.

- The Marlborough Express