City councillors square off over World Cup funding

The 2011 Rugby World Cup has caused quite a stir between two Auckland City councillors who have opposing views on council funding for it.

City vision councillor Dr Cathy Casey says it is “appalling the council should be spending millions on it while cutting funding for services to help migrant and refugees such as [...]

Bookworms on the move for writers and readers week

Bookworms across Auckland will come out of the woodwork this week for the the city’s annual literature fest.
The Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, from today, May 13, to May 17, aims to celebrate the works of New Zealand, Pacific and international writers through a range of readings, seminars and free events.
Chief executive of the [...]

Lacking in Public Transport

As the issue of traffic mounts in Auckland, students find they are being affected by the lack of public transport available to them.
Although improvements have been made there are still hold ups and the upgrading of the transport infrastructure is taking time and slowing the whole process down.
Radio Live presenter Marcus Lush said that [...]

Art in your city’s living room

A shipping container was hoisted up from beneath the water at Princes Wharf yesterday - the first item on this year’s eight-day Living Room art programme.
Once on the wharf and drained of its salty contents, the container was opened to reveal the photo-realistic portraits lining its inner walls to dozens of onlookers.
This is the work [...]

Recycling bins trial for central Auckland

A lack of recycling bins in central Auckland is soon to be resolved with the city council set to trial a recycling programme next month.
Rennae Corner, Auckland City’s manager of environment infrastructure, says the three-month trial will involve installing 20 Love NZ recycling bins in “high traffic areas” around the city.
“We are focusing on [...]

AA sees red after Queen St traffic slowed to snail’s pace

The Automobile Association cannot understand why Auckland City Council has imposed snail-pace speed restrictions on Queen St.
The 30km/h zone was introduced late last year, stretching over a kilometre of Queen St’s shopping area from Mayoral Drive, near the Auckland Town Hall, to Customs St.
The council says the change is to protect pedestrians on one of [...]

Popular club closes its doors

Dance music club Asta has closed down because it is no longer financially viable to continue their lease in Victoria Street.
The building in which the club was housed was sold to a large corporate company which intends to modify the site to build a more modern structure.
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Several avenues have been pursued for the club’s lease to be [...]

Porn parade receives mixed reviews

Despite a court injunction to stop the Boobs on Bikes parade, it won the fight for the sixth year in a row and took place on Queen St on August 20.
The decision to give the parade the all-clear was handed over to Judge Nicola Mathers. The Auckland City Council’s complaint was dismissed as Mathers believed [...]

Comedians and celebrities fight cancer

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September is Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month, a major event on the calendar of the newly founded Silver Ribbon Foundation.
 

Gynaecological cancer is a very real issue for many Kiwi women and their families, with 864 new cases diagnosed each year. However, there is a worrying lack of public awareness, says foundation co-founder Rachel Coates.
“We lose one New Zealand [...]

Inner-city walkers beware

Cold, windy, wet weather is enough to deal with without tripping over a large pothole in the middle of your street.
This is what residents of Vogel Lane, in Auckland’s inner city, have to face daily. With an umbrella blocking your view of the ground in front of you, you can’t see the large hole looming [...]