Drive region’s exports

large volume of the region’s cargo was transported to Nelson.

Beattie said State Highway 1 between Riverlands and Picton was a much more resilient and reliable piece of road to get freight to the port, rather than State Highway 6.

‘‘The shorter road has a big saving on carbon emissions as well.

‘‘Freight can be transported on road, rail and more personal services, so it enables exporters to choose between those different modes of freight.

‘‘It reduces reliance on the road network and improves road safety for the top of the south.’’

To support the new system and existing infrastructure, Port Marlborough is also building a 2000m2 container handling terminal in the port to be completed by July.

Centreport’s supply chain infrastructure includes a range of carbon reduction initiatives, among them fully electric container movement vehicles.

Centreport engagement and communications manager John Tulloch said they expected two hydrogen trucks in March next year.

‘‘We have also got a partnership with Hiringa Energy, where we are looking at hydrogen fuel facilities as well in both Wellington and Riverlands, so it’s not just about the route, it’s also about the mode of energy use.’’

The port also had fully electric shipto-shore cranes, was the first port in the Southern Hemisphere to bring in fully electric truck and trailers to move container cargo and was looking at alternative energy for its diesel-fuelled reach stackers. ‘‘So in the long term . . . we can potentially make this fully carbonneutral from Blenheim to Wellington,’’ Tulloch said.

Matalena Sowman assaulted her adopted daughter in church, as she was christening her son, for giving the child the Sowman family name.

The 55-year-old Blenheim woman approached her daughter, who was standing at the front of the church, and stood in front of her, before taking her infant son from her and passing the baby to someone else.

Sowman then slapped the victim across the face with an open palm, which led to the pair having a physical tussle, with the 55-year-old pulling the victim’s hair and scratching her arms, face and neck.

Sowman then said to the victim, ‘‘Don’t use my husband’s last name again’’, before walking away, a police summary of facts said.

Sowman appeared at the Blenheim District Court on Monday where she admitted assault on a person in a family relationship. The incident happened at a church on Howick Rd, in Blenheim, on May 1.

The court heard Sowman had adopted her daughter from Samoa. Sowman said the assault happened because the victim had used the Sowman surname at the christening of the child, and she was disciplining her daughter in a traditional way.

The victim’s lawyer John Holdaway suggested a cultural report may help in determining an outcome, to which Judge Richard Russell said, ‘‘I would imagine any cultural report would say that, in the Samoan culture, assaulting someone in a church isn’t in any way culturally permissible’’.

‘‘It’s beyond my comprehension how someone could assault your adopted child in a church when her son was becoming baptised, whatever the justification you felt,’’ Judge Russell said to Sowman.

The judge asked for a pre-sentence report and made a referral for restorative justice. Sowman will appear at the Blenheim District Court again on July 11 for sentencing.