Is your building being investigated? Is your building at risk?

Wellington.Scoop
Which Wellington buildings are on the list? A total of 352 buildings designed in a similar way to the CTV Building in Christchurch – which collapsed killing 115 people – are being investigated to see if they have similar design faults. Some of the buildings under investigation are in Wellington. But they have not yet been identified. Read more »

PHOTOS: Big new six-storey building proposed for waterfront park near station

proposed Whitmore Plaza on Wellington waterfront - building from the wharf
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News from Wellington City Council
The design of a new building and public plaza proposed for the Railway Station end of the waterfront was unveiled yesterday. The council-owned Wellington Waterfront Limited is now seeking feedback about the design.

building from wharf, looking north feb12
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SCOOP IMAGES – Rally at parliament against state asset sales


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Scoop report and photos by Anne Russell
Around 100 protesters marched from Civic Square to Parliament today to protest against state asset sales. Organised by Occupy Wellington and Transparency New Zealand, the march included representatives from established political groups such as Grey Power and Democrats for Social Credit, along with various unaffiliated activists. Read more »

Who’s next?

Wellington.Scoop
Change becomes undeniable when the owner of the Aro Video Store says that his business might not last forever. Read more »

Kapiti Expressway budget blowout means a substandard main highway

Opinion from Save Kapiti Inc
The latest costings for the MacKays to Peka Peka expressway, according to the Transport Agency’s newsletter, are $630 million. This blows the budget by $80 to $150 million above their original estimate but does not quite extend to the $220 million that has previously been reported. If these figures are correct, it means that the Agency has had to put cost-cutting measures in place. But where have those ‘savings’ been made? Read more »

Wellington’s wharewaka: how much did it cost, who paid for it, who owns it?

By John Warren, Co-Chair Te Tatau o Te Po Marae (Petone)
and Kura Moeahu, Chair, Te Arohanui ki Te Tangata Marae (Waiwhetu)

As Waitangi Day 2012 approaches, controversy continues to cloud Wellington waterfront’s Te Raukura Te Wharewaka o Poneke (wharewaka). Questions linger over how this building, whose original purpose was to house Wellington’s two magnificent ocean-going waka Te Raukura and Aniwaniwa, ended up becoming a conference centre, café and commercial kitchen with some Maori artistic style. Read more »

They don’t want to pay for our cycleway, but they do want us to ride our bikes

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 »

In praise of Wellington’s spy car

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 »

Hardly a shrine?

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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 »

Sydney – for better, or worse

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 »

NZ on Air independence under threat from political interference

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 »

Cutting spending and controlling the debt; what the city council should be doing

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 »

Parents of two balloon victims remember their children

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 »

Families release photos of nine victims of Saturday’s hot air balloon crash

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 »

A more cost-effective plan than a super-city – why we should abolish the Regional Council

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 »