4
Wednesday August 15, 2018
inbrief news Vintage car rally On Sunday August 26, watch out for some interesting (and perhaps slow) cars on local roads on their way to the Vintage Car Club Of New Zealand’s Daffodil Rally, held in support of the Cancer Society’s annual appeal. The cars will be on show at Queen Elizabeth Park between 10am-3pm. There will also be a sausage sizzle, tea, coffee and cupcakes, with a $5 minimum donation per car.
Councillors go in to bat for bus commuters
Review of bowel cancer screening Bowel Cancer New Zealand (BZNZ) is pleased the Ministry of Health has accepted the recommendations from the bowel screening review. BCNZ spokesperson Professor Sarah Derrett says, there is no doubt the review was needed after issues surfaced in the early phases of the screening programme rollout to five of New Zealand’s 20 DHB’s. She says that as a charity they see the challenges people face in getting access to diagnostic services, both within the screening programme and for people aged under 60 years who are outside it. “It is essential that the workforce capacity issue is addressed urgently.” That was, she says, a key factor in delaying the rollout to all DHBs.
More feedback on university name The period for providing feedback on the proposal to simplify Victoria University of Wellington’s name to ‘University of Wellington’ has been extended. The university’s chancellor says the council has listened to those who have requested an extension and extended the deadline to 5pm on Monday August 27. The council voted unanimously on July 27 to recommend that the Minister of Education approve University of Wellington as the new legal name, as well as adopt a Māori name, Te Herenga Waka. The draft decision also includes a commitment to the ongoing use of the word ‘Victoria’ to ensure its heritage is honoured and maintained.
“Sorry” says it all for many Wellington bus commuters. PHOTO: Glenise Dreaver By Glenise Dreaver
O n s l ow-We s t e r n Wa r d councillors Diane Calvert and Simon Woolf gave what has been described as a compelling presentation to the Greater Wellington Regional Council Sustainable Transport Committee on Wednesday August 8. Their Powerpoint presentation, which Diane said they felt was attentively received by some, though not all regional councillors, discussed the multiple issues and gaps that have occurred since July 15, when the new system was implemented. Diane was especially critical of the gaps in the committee’s own report, especially because it lacked any recommendation of ways to further engage with Wellington commuters she told the meeting. However, since then, some councillors from Wellington
City Council and GWRC have organised public meetings. Simon Woolf said he and Diane had done a number of practical exercises and he had stood at bus stops in Lambton Quay logging buses and noting the huge number of issues that were occurring there. “I don’t think the GWRC had a grasp of the magnitude, the absolute enormity of it all.” He was disappointed, however, that one particular regional councillor was far from constructive in his questioning. Daran Ponter, on the other hand, was singled out as “very helpful”. “ I think the three city councillors who were there – including Sarah Free – gave pretty compelling evidence that swayed them into action.” The Powerpoint presentation pointed out that there was nothing in the GWRC officers’ report
about the real level of success or failure of the bus service across the different routes ... “there are only some routes with ‘issues’,” said Diane, who presented the information. Another crucial gap the two councillors pointed to was the failure to mention such high profile issues as the non-completion of the bus hub interchanges. GRWC councillors were also told that though their statistics showed bus punctuality averaged 70 percent, there was no split between peak and off-peak performance, hiding peak time issues in the average. The city councillors’ recommendations to the GWRC included advice to focus on resolving the bus services before starting on any train network improvements. They pointed to the need for better engagement with the community to ensure remedial
action is appropriate and suggested that sufficient funding, with clear milestones and timelines for the remedial work, was needed over the next three to 12 months. They also suggested an independent review of the work, to ensure remedial action was robust and targeted correctly. “Being told that people take a while to adjust to change isn’t the point,” says Diane. “It’s not about change or ‘teething problems’. “No-one deserves to have the service to get worse to the extent it has. “As WCC councillors, we’ve heard it and seen the issues. “These are real people being impacted and it could have been significantly reduced if the right level of resources had been allocated, with better engagement on the design and closer monitoring of implementation by GWRC.”
24 HOUR
It’s the one stop shop for all your biking needs.
EMERGENCY SERVICE All Insurance Work and WINZ quotes welcome.
Members of Window Assoc. of NZ Ltd
We’re open late from Mon–Thurs
Free quotes, advice and consultation
We make it easier to stay healthy this Winter
ALL WINDOW REPAIRS, CUT GLASS WHILE-U-WAIT, LEADLIGHT, SHOWERS & MIRRORS, SPLASHBACKS, CAR & MARINE GLAZING
04 920 8850
Aluminium Window & Door Maintenance
WGTN 472 2663 | PORIRUA 237 0120 | L HUTT 570 1596 | U HUTT 527 0121
24 Moorefield Road, Johnsonville
www.jvillemc.co.nz
GOT NEWS? Contact 04 587 1660
Muds, your friendly local bike shop since decades ago! MUD CYCLES 424 Karori Road, Karori
(Drive on access from Makara Rd)
Ph 04 476 4961 mudcycles@mudcycles.co.nz
www.mudcycles.co.nz
Email: glassshoppe@xtra.co.nz Website: www.glassshoppe.co.nz Home Glazing Commercial Glazing Double Glazing Shelves & Sliding Doors Sound Reduction Crystal Repairs All Mirror Work Glass Splashbacks
Rear Vision Mirrors Coloured & Heritage Glazing Cat Doors Firedoor Glass Table Tops Glass Blocks Reputtying