G:link, the Gold Coast LRT, is one of Australia’s more successful LRT projects – well patronised and genuinely liked by local residents, tourists and businesses.

by Neil Douglas
I’ve done four studies of trams or light rail transit trams in Wellington and two in Auckland since I emigrated to New Zealand in 1990. But none of them have come to pass. Most of my income has come from the other side of the Tasman and over the last twenty years, I’ve done LRT studies in Canberra, the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Parramatta, Perth and Sydney (several times). Read more »

Photo credit: Jacob Pollock

by Don Gilling
At the height of the Watergate scandal, when the story had seemed to stall, Deep Throat told Bob Woodward that to understand what was going on he needed to “Follow the Money.” In similar vein, if we are to understand the experience of Archives New Zealand and the National and Turnbull Libraries under the control of the Department of Internal Affairs, it helps to follow the money. Read more »

Founding NZFC chair Bill Sheat is farewelled in 1985 by his successor David Gascoigne, who would head the organisation for the next eight years.

by Bill Sheat
I want to pay tribute to those who paid a key role in the establishment of the New Zealand Film Commission forty years ago.
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Wellington.Scoop
City elections next year? Well yes – on October 12 it seems. And last Sunday, Labour got in first by announcing its Wellington candidates. Read more »

by Lim Leong
A good public transport network design will invariably involve many design tradeoffs. The key difference between a good, an average, and a bad designer lies in his/her ability to pick the right tradeoff under the shadow of political influence. Make no mistake, politics always plays a part on how a decision is made. Take the Wellington bus network as a real example. Read more »

by Heperi Mita
My earliest memory of my father Geoff Murphy is of him blowing up a house in Ponsonby for his film Never Say Die. I think I was only about 4 years old at the time, but that’s the kind of thing that leaves an enduring impression on a young boy. Read more »

John O’Shea (left) and Roger Mirams in 1954. Pacific Films Photo Collection, Nga Taonga Sound and Vision.

Wellington.Scoop
John Reid’s long-awaited book “Whatever It Takes,” about the ground-breaking Wellington film company Pacific Films and its visionary producer John O’Shea, is published today. In these two extracts from Chapter 2, Reid writes about the beginnings of the company’s first feature film ‘Broken Barrier’ (Pacific’s three features were the only feature films made in New Zealand in 30 years) and its remarkable release. Read more »

Wellington.Scoop
The Wellington City Council’s transport planners have today released three options for bike lanes and related street changes through Newtown and Berhampore. Read more »

Eric Cairns inspecting a carob tree.

by Eric Cairns and Neil Douglas
The Wairarapa Tree Crop Association will be 40 years old on Saturday November 24. To celebrate we are having an afternoon tea party with fruit and nut cakes and some competitions. We will be remembering our past members, our achievements and our experiences. We will be letting the ‘sap flow’ and encouraging budding new members to join and secure our association’s next 40 years. Read more »

by Christine McCarthy
During the recent royal visit to Wellington, Meghan Markle applauded New Zealand for giving women the right to vote 125 years ago. It was a moment we were all rightly proud of, her words fitting recognition of a country that was also an original signatory to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its commitment to “universal and equal suffrage.” Despite this, not all New Zealanders have the right to vote. We deny this universal human right to people in prison, and we have been doing this, in different ways, for more than 125 years. Read more »