Wellington.Scoop
Is this hypocrisy? The NZ Transport Agency refuses to provide money to build a cycleway on the edge of the harbour from Petone to Wellington. But the Agency says that more of us should be riding our bikes and leaving our cars at home. Read more »

by Kent Duston
Kiwis are terrible drivers. Over the holidays, the news has been full of the consequences of our bad driving habits as the dead and maimed piled up across the country. Largely these victims were the consequences of basic driving errors – speeding, badly-judged overtaking moves, hit-and-run crashes, drinking and driving, and failing to put on a seat belt. We kill ourselves on the road at more than twice the rate of the UK and rank as one of the worst performers for road deaths in the OECD. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
It shouldn’t really be described as a shrine. There’s nothing sacred about the scribbled messages on the wall of an old Courtenay Place bank building. And no one would have described Blanket Man as a holy person. Read more »

by Lindsay Shelton
We’re not keeping up with Sydney. It’s had 13 shootings since the start of the new year. Wellington hasn’t had any. Read more »

by Tom Frewen
A move to censor television programmes likely to embarrass the government during election campaigns is being considered by the Wellington-based broadcasting funding agency, NZ on Air. Read more »

An open letter to
Wellington’s elected representatives
Wellington faces a number of huge financial challenges over the next 10 years, with the recent ‘revelation’ that the City Council needs to cut $180m in spending, and a potential blowout in total debt to $560m. Read more »

News release from NZ Police
Two of the eleven victims from Saturday’s fatal Carterton hot air balloon crash have been returned to their families, after being formally identified at a hearing before Coroner Peter Ryan in Wellington. They were 21 year old Johannes Jordaan, known as Chrisjan, aged 21 of Wellington and girlfriend Alexis Still, aged 19, also of Wellington. Police have released statements from their parents. Read more »

News release from NZ Police
Photos have been released of nine of the victims of Saturday’s fatal hot air balloon crash in Carterton. The families have given permission for these photos to be used by media as they best reflect their memories of their loved ones. Read more »

by Kent Duston
The Dominion Post was this week doing its best to talk up Wellington local body amalgamation again, with a thinly-disguised opinion piece from Colin James masquerading as news. The theory is that the “threat” of the Auckland super-city needs a counterweight in Wellington, and that the only solution is some kind of regional amalgamation. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
It’s time for new year’s resolutions. Here are some, for the people who are making decisions which affect the lives of all of us in Wellington. Read more »

To Jenny Chetwynd
Regional Director, NZ Transport Agency
As one of the people who made the decision to pull the funding to install wire median barriers along SH1 between Otaihanga and Waikanae, I hold you responsible for the latest addition to the death toll on this stretch of road. I also hold you accountable for the lost time hundreds of commuters experienced due to the lack of an alternative western link route for them to use. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
There’s been an increase in the number of road deaths in Wellington this year, unlike almost every other region in the country. The AA today quotes official figures showing that there’ve been ten per cent more road deaths in Wellington, compared with the previous year. Every other region has had fewer road deaths, except for the West Coast where the numbers are unchanged. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
Happy Christmas for most of us, but not for everyone this year. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
Since 60 Newtown people met to say they didn’t want a discount liquor store to open opposite Newtown school, the owner of the proposed business has written to Wellington.Scoop to defend his business, and local people have responded by writing passionately to tell him why they don’t want his store. Read more »

by Elaine Hampton
It has been a busy year for the Mt Victoria Residents Association. One of our objectives is to protect the heritage value of Mt Victoria. This does not mean that we advocate the return of the outside privy or petition against the renovation of your kitchen or other rooms. But it does mean we try to prevent the look of Mount Victoria being spoiled by a mishmash of new buildings. Read more »