You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image including two crews and appliances from the Ilam and Redwood stations arrived to find the house "well involved" in flames More crews from the Christchurch City station were then called in to help said her kitchen window looks directly onto the man's property "I was just cooking a late breakfast and then I heard this massive boom," she said "Then I look out the window and this massive fire just erupts from his garage and billows of black smoke in to the air "So I just yelled to my family: 'Fire!' Poor things thought the fire was in our house." Hamman then ran down the driveway and called emergency services "I helped pull the hoses out in my sandals "They needed help so they could connect it to the fire hydrant "It was just the two of them who just happened to be driving past." The man who was "hard of hearing" managed to escape his home that was engulfed in flames "He didn't hear the explosion and wasn't aware that the fire was going on until his neighbours alerted him "They got him out okay and he had a friend with him and managed to get his dog out the man tried to "hurry" firefighting efforts up "They have their processes and have to do things methodically The man did not require any medical attention one Fire and Emergency crew and two fire investigators were at the scene “I looked out the window and screamed for my husband we immediately ran outside and grabbed our garden hose," she told Stuff The woman said the owner of the house kept running back in to retrieve items from the flames we’re a really tight-knit community in this neighbourhood and we’re really feeling for the guy.” Black smoke from the fire can be seen billowing over the city from as far away as Cashmere and the Port Hills A fire investigator has been called in to determine the cause of the blaze A police spokesperson said Clotilda Place was blocked from Murmont St Members of the public were advised to avoid the area if possible -Adam Burns of RNZ and Star News Batting sticking out of the walls at the Bishopdale property. (Source: Supplied) A Christchurch landlord who rented out a property where daylight was visible through gaps in the walls and ceiling has been ordered to pay more than $13,000. An investigation into the Bishopdale property, managed by Trott Dairy Limited, was launched in July 2023 after the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) received a referral from the Christchurch City Council. Upon visiting the property, investigators found “various issues”, including a detached garage that had been unlawfully converted into a residential unit. The outside of the Bishopdale property, managed by Trott Dairy Limited. (Source: Supplied) Other issues included exposed batts, insufficient smoke alarms, a leaking roof, and external guttering that ran through and overflowed into the dining room. Daylight was visible through gaps in the walls and ceiling. Investigators also found the yard had “extensive” earthworks underway, with rubbish “that appeared to be industrial in nature”. Three tenants lived at the property at the time of the MBIE investigation. There were "extensive" earthworks happening at the property, according to MBIE. (Source: Supplied) TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said the tenants at the property were “particularly vulnerable” because they were on temporary entry visas and reliant on the landlord. “The landlord promised them a tenancy in a property they had been working on. This promise was never fulfilled and instead the landlord provided them with a property that was not fit for residential purposes.” Wilson said the ministry took the landlord to the tribunal because “the breaches were so severe that it was in the public interest to proceed, despite the tenants choosing not to participate in the application or hearing". “The tenants suffered a number of illnesses that they attributed to the condition of the property, which the landlord accepted was not a lawful residential premise, but they were worried they would lose their tenancy if they complained,” Wilson said. The bathroom and exterior of the Bishopdale property. (Source: Supplied) At a Tenancy Tribunal hearing on January 30 this year, both parties reached an agreement about the landlord’s liability for the admitted breaches. These included non-compliant tenancy agreements and failure to lodge bond received from tenants. The landlord also accepted the garage was unlawful and consented to a partial rent refund. Family's rental had 'sewage-soaked carpet' amid landlord failuresAn adjudicator published the address "as a deterrent to the property owners continuing to rent out any of the three current unlawful dwellings" New Zealand Landlord fined $20k over illegal boarding house breachesAn Auckland landlord has been fined for multiple breaches of tenancy laws Crime and Justice Mould and water damage: Akl landlord fined over maintenance issuesA range of issues were observed at the Beach Haven property with the landlord ordered to pay $4,168.21 after failing to comply with an improvement notice Trott Dairy Limited was ordered to pay MBIE $3400 in exemplary damages after admitting multiple breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act and $10,000 in rent refunds. It was also issued with a three-year restraining order from committing the same unlawful acts. Wilson said Trott Dairy Limited owned and managed approximately 40 properties in Christchurch, meaning it should be “acutely aware of its responsibilities”. Three in hospital after Christchurch house fire Emergency services were called to Warrington Street in Mairehau at around 8.05am Blaze at McDonald's in east Auckland treated as suspected arson Counties Manukau CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Michele Gillespie said a scene guard has been in place at the restaurant overnight Two men's shared name brings years of trouble and a hefty bill to one but one has spent years breaking the law while the other just pays a steep price for sharing his name Stephen Stone’s son files complaint over Crown Solicitor’s statement Stone spent more than 26 years wrongfully imprisoned for the murders of Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens Police believe wave of Invercargill robberies two burglaries and one attempted burglary took place in Invercargill between 2.30am and 4.20am and are believed to be connected Stowaway weka catches ride across Southern Alps The native bird caught a ride after a couple left their car door open at their campsite Three in hospital after Christchurch house fire 55 mins ago US states push for speed-limiting devices on the cars of dangerous drivers 9:20am Ten dead after tourist boats capsize in sudden storm in China 9:07am Qantas confirms new Auckland-Perth flights 8:52am Britain's VE Day parade draws thousands celebrating 80th anniversary 8:30am Blaze at McDonald's in east Auckland treated as suspected arson 33 mins ago 1Two men's shared name brings years of trouble and a hefty bill to one Person dies following morning crash on Auckland motorway The 'Trump slump' boosts the left in Canada and Oz – but what about NZ? Destiny Church to move out of its South Auckland headquarters Erin Patterson shared love of mushrooms in online group Stephen Stone’s son files complaint over Crown Solicitor’s statement Two arrested over alleged plot targeting Lady Gaga concert in RioBrazilian police said they thwarted an alleged bomb attack planned for Lady Gaga's concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Lady Gaga rocks Copacabana Beach with free concert for over 2 million fansCries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Lorde announces new album name, dateThu, May 1 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robberyMon, Apr 28 Chubby Checker, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper join Rock & Roll Hall of FameMon, Apr 28 Lorde releases new single after weeks of cryptic teasesThu, Apr 24 Chubby Checker, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper join Rock & Roll Hall of FameMon An Auckland landlord has been ordered to pay a family more than $30,000 after they were stuck living in an "unlawful" property with a sewage-soaked carpet The family's experience of living at the Albany Heights unit was detailed in a recently released Tenancy Tribunal decision — where adjudicator Michelle Pollak published its address "as a deterrent to the property owners continuing to rent out any of the three current unlawful dwellings" comprised of two adults and two children (whose names are suppressed) moved into 310 Dairy Flat Highway in December 2023 was an old farmhouse divided into two households Ashton NZ Property Ltd managed it on behalf of landlords Lingzhi Yuan and Leiyang Shen and flooded two areas beside the bathroom with raw sewage The family contacted the property manager that day but received no reply "Out of desperation," they called a plumber who cleared the blocked sewage line But the toilet clogged and overflowed as soon as it was used again They asked the tenants to rip up the sewage-soaked carpet "The tenants refused to rip up the sewage-soaked carpet as it was the raw sewage that posed a health risk," Pollak said also came that day and unblocked the toilet paper that had blocked up the line The plumber said the pipes were too small and needed to be replaced Another plumber came on May 8 but couldn't unblock the small pipes or remove the grout They were also asked to empty the old septic tank to see if it fixed the issue The landlord did send other contractors to try find solutions including a second emptying of the septic tank the property manager did nothing about the now "unuseable" toilet and the family arranged for a portaloo to be delivered the tenants complained that their neighbour's raw sewage was coming up through their toilet "The smell was so bad the tenants could not use the bathroom at all."  The landlord sent a contractor to drain the sewage from the toilet and unblock a blocked pipe The issue persisted as the neighbour kept using their toilet The landlord later discovered "major" sewage pipe issues across all three properties and replaced them on July 9 installing a stormwater retention tank but no septic tank It was later found that sewage was being channelled into their and their neighbours' backyards which did not comply with council regulations The landlord never lifted the sewage-soaked carpet The tenants said they eventually stopped using the affected areas as it had been soaked in raw sewage for seven weeks The property manager inspected the property several times since the cleaning but claimed she "cannot smell anything" "The tenants say that everyone else that enters the premise can smell the sewage smell immediately and they are unsure how she cannot smell it," Pollak said "The evidence supports a finding that it is more likely than not that sewage-soaked carpet underlay and floorboard that have had a normal surface wet vac clean will not have removed all the faecal coliforms and raw sewage smell in the flooring materials The tenants lived with the sewage-soaked carpet from May 4 this year — a total of 35 weeks and six days The family also experienced several other water-related issues across the course of their tenancy the tenants also claimed that water consistently ran out every one and a half weeks leaving them without water for between 24 and 48 hours The tenants told the tribunal they had used tank water before and were sparing with it They ran out of water frequently because all three properties drew from the same three small 11,000-litre water tanks a family of two adults and two children requires two 32,000-litre tanks of water to ensure there is enough The tenants tried to raise the issue with the landlord who refused to replace them because it was too expensive The tenants also claimed the quality of the water was poor saying it was cloudy and "tasted funny." They claimed they were "constantly getting sore stomachs." They said the quality of the water was so bad they were forced to buy bottled water Photographs sent to the tribunal also appeared to show a 10cm layer of "thick black sediment" at the bottom of all three water tanks Pollak said: "I am satisfied the tenants have proven they were not provided with sufficient potable water "It was not reasonable in all the circumstances for the landlord to provide 11,000-litre water storage capacity to three households knowing that each household required far more than that amount of water "I find the owners intentionally put the tenants to the stress and inconvenience of being without water every 1.5 weeks for up to 48 hours and to having the responsibility for monitoring the water levels daily for three households without an easy way to see the water levels To save them the costs involved with providing these three households with adequate potable water."  Pollak also sided with the tenants on their claim that the property was unlawful She found that the properties being rented by the family and others did not meet the building code and did not have the proper consents She said that on the "balance of probabilities" the landlord knew this "but decided to rent all three units out to earn money off its investment until it could afford to develop the property it had land banked" The landlord was also found to have not provided sufficient smoke alarms The landlord also breached the tenants' right to quiet enjoyment of the property by sending contractors over without warning Pollak said: "These breaches were prolonged and resulted in the tenants and their family living in cold damp and potentially mouldy conditions without adequate potable water or access to proper toilet facilities and they experienced considerable periods of stress and loss of the amenities they are paying rent to enjoy." She found the landlord had shown a "cavalier attitude" to the tenants the tenants were awarded $3,585.71 for the landlord's failure to maintain the toilet a 40% rent rebate of $12,760 for leasing an unlawful property and the $2200 bond was ordered to be returned Pollak ordered the tenants to be charged no more than $330 per week in rent until the end of the tenancy on March 2 The landlords attempted to have their names suppressed but Pollak denied the application and published the address They have lodged an appeal in the District Court against the tribunal’s decision arguing it is incorrect and not supported by evidence on a number of counts An Auckland landlord who operated an illegal boarding house for “vulnerable” tenants has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 for multiple breaches of tenancy laws Licensed real estate agent Angela Sun was found responsible by the Tenancy Tribunal for “multiple breaches” at a property she rented out in Takapuna was also found responsible for breaches at a separate property it rented out in Pinehill Issues at the properties included exposed wires and a lack of fire safety precautions Some tenants living at the properties included people released from jail struggling to find landlords willing to take them in while Sunny Rental Limited was ordered to pay $1200 in exemplary damages to MBIE on behalf of five tenants at the two properties An investigation into the Takapuna property was launched in June 2021 after the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment’s (MBIE) tenancy compliance team received a complaint from one of the tenants An investigation into the Pinehill property was launched in April 2022 after a complaint was referred to MBIE from the Ministry of Social Development Investigators identified numerous issues at the properties and the absence of written tenancy agreements The Auckland Council issued a dangerous building notice after visiting the Takapuna property due to the exposed wires and lack of fire safety precautions The house was listed on council records as a three-bedroom home at the time of investigations but had been converted into a 10-bedroom boarding house Photos from the property showed numbers above the doors with two bedrooms also having showers inside Sun claimed all rental activities at the two properties were conducted by Sunny Rental Limited and not her personally She also claimed to live at both properties and said there were “multiple exceptions” meaning she did not need to comply with the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) The adjudicator found “none of these exceptions applied” and did not accept Sun was actually living at the properties “I did not find Ms Sun at all convincing when she gave her recollections as to where she lived,” the adjudicator said “There is a big difference between ‘having a room’ at a property being a room you might store some old furniture Sun said she did not proceed with tenancy agreements because they were excluded claiming she had been “mistaken” about the effect of the RTA “I do not consider that an adequate justification,” the adjudicator said It was also found that three of the tenants at the properties had their tenancies wrongfully terminated “All of the tenants in these premises were vulnerable tenants They included people released from jail who struggle to find landlords willing to take them in,” the adjudicator said “They are the sort of tenants who are therefore vulnerable to being taken advantage of by landlords.” TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said boarding houses had long been a focus for investigators as the people who live in them may not be able to address tenancy issues themselves “The most troubling aspect of this case is that there were multiple people living in these properties without proper fire safety precautions in place and potentially hazardous maintenance issues “The tragic fire at Loafers Lodge is a reminder to all landlords of the importance of maintaining fire safety systems.” Wilson said boarding houses have needed to comply with healthy homes standards since 2021 giving “no excuse for any boarding house operator to claim they are unaware of the relevant law as Ms Sun tried to do in this case” “All landlords have an obligation to be aware of and comply with their responsibilities under the Act “As Ms Sun works as a licensed real estate agent we would expect she had more opportunity than most to ensure awareness and compliance with tenancy rules.” The son of Stephen Stone has filed a Law Society complaint against the Auckland Crown Solicitor alleging she misled the court with her statement about the lack of evidence to retry his father who was acquitted of double murder last week said Alysha McClintock’s statement had caused "significant harm" to his father and family by “perpetuating a myth” the Crown case was dropped because witnesses were unavailable Stephen Stone spent more than 26 years wrongfully imprisoned for the 1989 murders of Deane Fuller-Sandys and Leah Stephens the Crown admitted he and three others convicted in connection with the crime suffered a miscarriage of justice The Court of Appeal accepted a police failure to disclose two key documents led to the miscarriage Stone’s convictions were quashed in October and a retrial ordered Known as the "Larnoch Road Four" their convictions relied heavily on four eyewitnesses who were given immunity from prosecution and name suppression McClintock told the High Court in Auckland one of the key reasons a retrial couldn’t go ahead was because three of the four witnesses were "no longer available through a combination of the consequences of the appeal decision death and witnesses no longer being in New Zealand" The Evidence Act sets out scenarios where a witness is considered unavailable These include if the person is dead; outside of New Zealand and it’s not reasonably practicable for them to be a witness; they are unfit to be a witness; or they cannot be compelled to give evidence Daniel Stone acknowledged one witness was dead and one was in Australia he claimed that it was not correct to say three witnesses were no longer available the others were “wholly unreliable” witnesses and the Crown’s statement was: “Designed to publicly spin the position in favour of the prosecution in an inappropriate abuse of the Crown's role.” During the Court of Appeal hearing in August the court heard the two non-recanting witnesses had changed their stories significantly multiple times and how bodies were disposed of,” Stephen Stone’s lawyer Annabel Maxwell-Scott told the court The Court of Appeal declined to rule their evidence inadmissible “The fact Mr X and Mr Y each made a number of startling contradictory statements to the police was before both juries in the earlier trial,” the judgement said McClintock said there was no longer enough evidence to prove charges against Stone beyond a reasonable double – referring to additional ESR testing on samples collected by police at the time which had not produced any results of significance; and Stone’s admissions of murder to get parole did not provide a basis for prosecution said outside the court on Wednesday that the Crown’s statement was “incredibly frustrating” “There is no acknowledgement of their own role in these miscarriages of justice and they gave the distinct impression that they believe Stephen has done something — and that's outrageous in my view." McClintock told 1News: "It is not appropriate for me to engage in debate about the reasons for my decision or the content of the statement through the media." Attorney-General Judith Collins’ office said: "It is not appropriate for the Attorney-General to comment about what has been said in Court by a prosecutor about a particular criminal prosecution." Stephen Stone’s acquittal was handled very differently to the acquittal of Alan Hall – another high-profile miscarriage of justice case the Crown and court acknowledged the miscarriage "We cannot end this judgment without acknowledging that just as the criminal justice system has failed Mr Hall so too has it failed the Easton family," said the 2022 judgment Alan Hall was declared innocent in 2023 and received nearly $5 million compensation for 19 years wrongful imprisonment Police have appealed to the public after two aggravated robberies and a series of burglaries in Invercargill overnight Detective Inspector Stu Harvey said officers were called to a premises on Dee St at around 2.30am on Monday to reports of two people entering a store demanding cash A worker was assaulted but not seriously injured Harvey said an attempted burglary and two burglaries were reported at three further premises on Windsor St Police then received a report that two people had entered a Tay St premises and demanded cash and items Harvey said information suggested the incidents were linked "Two vehicles were seen in the vicinity of some of the incidents "The other vehicle is described as a dark-coloured car," said Harvey "We would like to speak to anyone who saw vehicles fitting these descriptions between 1am and 5am." Anyone with relevant information about these vehicles or those involved should contact police on 105 A weka who travelled from the West Coast to Christchurch over the Alps has been returned home after his roadie adventure The endemic bird caught a ride after a couple left their car door open at their campsite in Buller Gorge while packing up from their Easter getaway The gear was split between campers Kim Ranger and her partner Ian's two vehicles hidden in dog blankets in Ian's ute despite multiple stops He got home to Christchurch and hopped out and didn’t notice the weka," Kim said I opened the back door of the Ranger to get something there it was in the rear passenger footwell what on earth do you do with a weka in Christchurch?”  Kim said they contacted the after-hours vet SPCA and DOC but were told to care for the bird until morning Apart from setting off the car alarm at 7am and covering the inside of the ute with poo Kim said the weka didn't seem distressed after her last name and given its temporary home Ranger was collected by DOC and checked over at the South Island Wildlife Hospital where — apart from being slightly dehydrated — was in good health and was released back to the area from where it hitched a ride DOC Biodiversity supervisor Craig Alexander said the episode was a reminder for people to check their vehicles for any wildlife when camping “There are no wild weka in Christchurch so we wouldn’t want to see them accidentally introduced here.”  we also had someone accidentally bring two wētā over from the West Coast in their wetsuits,” said Alexander If you find a native animal has snuck a ride somewhere it shouldn't be; contact DOC on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468) for advice on what to do next A teenager who admitted being "addicted to speed" behind the wheel had totalled two other cars in the year before he slammed into a minivan at 180km/h in a Seattle suburb killing the driver and three of the five children she was transporting for a homeschool co-op After sentencing Chase Daniel Jones last month to more than 17 years in prison the judge tacked on a novel condition should he drive again: His vehicle must be equipped with a device that prevents accelerating far beyond the speed limit Virginia this year became the first state to agree to give its judges such a tool to deal with the most dangerous drivers on the road already is using it and similar measures await governors' signatures in Washington state and Georgia New York and California also could soon tap the GPS-based technology to help combat a recent national spike in traffic deaths "It's a horror no one should have to experience," said Amy Cohen who founded the victims' advocacy group Families for Safe Streets after her 12-year-old son was killed by a speeding driver in front of their New York home more than a decade ago the minivan driver who was killed when Jones ran a red light was building a backyard greenhouse with her husband to help educate several kids who shuttle between homes during the school day Also killed in the March 2024 crash near Hudson's home in Renton were Boyd "Buster" Brown and Eloise Wilcoxson Hudson's two children were sitting on the passenger side and survived "You always hear of these horrific accidents Smith knew Washington state Representative Mari Leavitt who reached out to offer condolences and tell him she was sponsoring legislation to mandate intelligent speed assistance devices as a condition for habitual speeders to get back their suspended licenses Leavitt predicts it will have an even more powerful impact than revoking driving privileges citing studies showing around three-quarters of people who lose their licenses get behind a wheel anyway the state saw a 200% increase in drivers cited for going at least 80km/h over the speed limit according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission "I guess I don't understand why someone is compelled to want to drive that fast," Leavitt said "But if they choose to drive that fast with the speed limiter It's going to stop them in their tracks." which Washington legislators passed last month and Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson is expected to soon sign using the first letters of the names of the four victims: Buster didn't receive a speeding ticket in his two previous crashes he likely wouldn't have been required to use the speed-limiter ahead of the fatal one And because it could be 2029 before the law takes effect the judge's requirement at sentencing only applies to his time on probation after being released from prison Competing tech companies that joined forces to lobby for ignition interlock requirements for drunken drivers have been working in unison again the last few years to pitch intelligent speed assistance chief government affairs officer at one manufacturer said fleet vehicles including school buses in the nation's capital have been trying it out for years But it took a lot of refinement before the GPS technology could instantly recognize speed limit changes and compel vehicles with the devices installed to adjust accordingly "We've got a lot more satellites in the sky now," said Ken Denton a retired police officer who is the chief compliance officer at Cincinnati-based LifeSafer the devices would prevent cars from exceeding speed limits or whatever threshold regulators set An override button allows speeding in emergencies but states can decide whether to activate it and authorities would be alerted any time the button is pushed which beeps to alert drivers when they are going too fast is required for new cars in the European Union California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar proposal last year explaining vehicle safety requirements are set by the federal government and he was concerned a patchwork of state laws could stir confusion Before Delegate Patrick Hope agreed to sponsor the proposal in the Virginia Legislature he tried out the device in Nannini's car which was calibrated to not go more than 14km/h over the speed limit "That was my first question: Is it safe?" Hope said Hope is now pondering whether to install it on the cars of his three children the price could be hefty: US$4 (NZ$6.70) per day and a US$100 (NZz$167.50) installation fee The fee would be less for low-income offenders which provides support services to the loved ones of crash victims knows firsthand the kind of impact slowing down speeders can make A year after her son was struck and killed in front of their New York apartment the road's speed limit had been lowered "When you are going a few miles slower it's much less likely to be deadly." Four boats capsized in a sudden storm at a tourist spot in southwestern China More than 80 people fell into a river when strong winds hit the scenic area in Guizhou province late Sunday afternoon The boats capsized after a sudden rain and hail storm on the upper reaches of the Wu River a man could be seen performing CPR on another person while one of the vessels drifted upside down Initial reports said two tourist boats had capsized but state media said on Monday that four boats were involved and the seven crew members were able to save themselves Guizhou's mountains and rivers are a major tourism draw and many Chinese were travelling during a five-day national holiday that ended Monday Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to find the missing and care for the injured the official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday Xi underscored the importance of strengthening safety at tourist attractions large public venues and residential communities as well as for the rush of people returning at the end of major holidays CCTV said the capsized boats had a maximum capacity of about 40 people each and were not overloaded An eyewitness told state-owned Beijing News the waters were deep but that some people had managed to swim to safety the storm had come suddenly and a thick mist obscured the surface of the river Qantas has announced that direct flights between Perth and Auckland will take off later this year Flights between Auckland and Western Australia's capital would begin in December The airline also added flights between Perth and Johannesburg and Sundays with an approximate flight time of 8 hours Perth to Auckland flights would operate as QF111 on Monday The approximate flight time was around six hours and 45 minutes Both flights would use Qantas A330 aircraft with 27 business class seats and 224 economy seats The new flights would allow a one-stop route to London via Perth It would also allow for connections via Perth from Auckland to airports across South Africa the new flight to Auckland would also allow a one-stop connection to New York on the airline's QF3 service “We’re so excited to be launching two new international routes unlocking more options and greater choice for all Australians to connect to the world through our growing network," Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said “By connecting Perth directly with Auckland and Johannesburg we’re supporting the local economy by opening valuable inbound tourism opportunities for Western Australia as well as generating new jobs for the state These routes also enable further growth throughout Australia with connections across our domestic network." A 100-year-old Royal Air Force veteran accepted the thanks of a nation as Britain paused to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day and honour the men and women who fought to save the country during World War II The day featured a procession by 1300 members of the British armed forces accompanied by troops from Ukraine and the UK’s NATO allies The parade didn't begin until Alan Kennett accepted the salute from Garrison Sgt Major Andrew Stokes in front of an audience that included King Charles III “Thank you and your generation for securing our freedom 80 years ago,” Stokes wearing a navy blue blazer with his medals pinned on the left breast This year’s V-E Day events have taken on increased significance because they are likely to be the last major observance to include significant numbers of World War II veterans actor Timothy Spall recited the victory speech wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered to a roaring crowd in central London on May 8 Britain started its V-E Day ceremonies three days early because Monday is a public holiday in the UK “I think we’ve been very lucky that we’ve had 80 years of peace … and we’ve got to think about all those that have (made) the ultimate sacrifice and there’s very few of them left now because they’re all over 100,″ said Michael Burn who wore a suit patterned after Britain’s red “This is the last time we will celebrate the day in this sort of scale.” Then it was time for the parade from the Houses of Parliament through Trafalgar Square and down the Mall to Buckingham Palace won a huge round of applause as their flag swept past the royal viewing platform The event ended with a flyover by British military aircraft including a wartime Lancaster bomber and the RAF’s Red Arrows aerobatic team the Princess of Wales chatted amiably with Bernard Morgan a veteran who worked as a code breaker during the conflict Their place in the front row was a reminder of the gulf between those who fought in World War II and the present generation With even the youngest of those men and women nearing their 100th birthdays and their ranks dwindling rapidly many have said they feel a special imperative to tell their stories and attend events that honour their fallen comrades a mechanic who landed in Normandy to set up an airfield said he was proud to represent the veterans “I just remember those that didn’t come back,” he said A person has died following a crash on Auckland's south-western motorway this morning The single vehicle crash was reported to police shortly before 5am the sole occupant of this vehicle died at the scene," a police spokesperson said "Earlier closures of northbound lanes have now lifted and police advise motorists to continue to expect delays as earlier backlogs clear "We appreciate motorists' understanding this morning while emergency services carried out their work." Police said the serious crash unit examined the scene this morning and an investigation was underway into this morning's crash on behalf of the Coroner This is in addition to an earlier crash on Auckland's northern motorway near the Auckland Harbour Bridge Emergency services responded to a two-truck collision on the northern motorway near the Auckland Harbour Bridge shortly after 5am New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) said all lanes south on State Highway 1 were open again following this earlier crash with five lanes available on the Harbour Bridge "Allow extra time for delays on the Northern Motorway to slowly ease this morning three lanes going south were now open again between Onewa Rd and the Harbour Bridge," NZTA said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's landslide win at the weekend following Canadian Prime Minister's Mark Carney's victory less than a week before should indicate to our politicians that the New Zealand "Trump trend" of 2024 may have peaked Trying to capitalise on the electoral success of US President Donald Trump now that his policies are having real-world effects is proving to be a big mistake for conservative leaders Australian voters have delivered a landslide win for the incumbent Labor Party returning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a second term with a clear majority of seats When he said in his victory speech that Australians had “voted for Australian values” an unspoken message was that they’d firmly rejected Trumpian values opposition and Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton had such a bad election he lost his own seat While not the only reason for his electoral demise Dutton’s adoption of themes associated with Trump backfired Opinion polls were projecting Dutton’s Coalition to win and exceeded expectations in the election itself the Liberals were “reduced to a right-wing populist party that is all but exiled from the biggest cities” Commentators identified a number of reasons including his “culture wars” and being depicted by Labor as “Trump-lite” Following a Trumpian pathway turned out to be a strategic blunder And Dutton’s downfall mirrors Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s defeat in Canada’s election on April 28 Canada’s incumbent centre-left Liberals were heading for defeat to the Conservatives But there were two gamechangers: the Liberals switched leaders from Justin Trudeau to Mark Carney and Trump caused a national uproar with his aggressive tariffs and his call for Canada to become the 51st US state Pre-election opinion polls then did a dramatic flip in favour of the Liberals who went on to win their fourth election in a row Poilievre’s campaign had adopted elements of the Trump style such as attacking “wokeness” and using derogatory nicknames for opponents His strategy failed as soon as Trump rolled out “America First” policies contrary to Canadians’ economic interests and national pride The takeaway for serious right-wing leaders in liberal democracies is clear: let Trump do Trump; his brand is toxic Trump’s actions are harming America’s allies affirmative action and climate change have seen voters outside the US react with self-protective patriotism A perceived association with Trump’s brand has now upended the electoral fortunes of (so far) two centre-right parties that had been in line to win and had been banking on the 2024 MAGA success somehow rubbing off on them what has been dubbed the “Trump slump” isn’t a universal trend the centre-left Social Democratic-led government was ousted in February in spite of Trump ally Elon Musk’s unhelpful support for the far-right anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party the populist Reform UK party has risen above 25% while Labour has fallen from 34% in last year’s election to the low 20s in recent polls But other governing centre-left parties are seeing an upside of the Trump effect In early January it looked like the incumbent Labour Party would be trounced by the Conservatives and the right-wing Progress Party Opinion polls dramatically flipped in early February boosting Labour from below 20% back into the lead Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will get another term in office Denmark’s governing Social Democrats have enjoyed a small polling boost since Trump declared he’d like to take Greenland off their hands The common denominator underlying these shifts to the left seems to be the Trump effect Voters in countries normally closely allied with the US are turning away from Trump-adjacent politicians people are rallying patriotically around centre-left Trump is harming leaders who could have been his allies the man himself seemed proud of the impact he had in Canada polls in mid-2024 showed support for Trump was growing – heading well above 20% Australia’s election suggests that trend may now be past its peak with debate over ACT’s contentious Treaty Principles Bill behind it and despite NZ First leader Winston Peters’ overt culture-war rhetoric (which may appeal to his 6% support base) the right-wing coalition government’s polling shows it could be on track for a second term – for the time being While the Trump effect may have benefited centre-left parties in Australia and Canada polling for New Zealand’s Labour opposition is softer than at the start of the year While “America First” policies continue to damage the global economy centre-right leaders who learn the lesson will quietly distance themselves from the Trump brand while maintaining cordial relations with the White House could do worse than follow Anthony Albanese’s example of not getting distracted by “Trump-lite” and instead promoting his own country’s values of fairness and mutual respect.","type":"text"},{"_id":"GUGWB5HTRVGGNP5PFWDLBH7SXM","content":"Grant Duncan is a teaching fellow in Politics and International Relations This story is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence ","type":"text"},{"_id":"BMPLRKQ2NRDPZOPKHPADSUD4UE","content":" Erin Patterson had shared with true crime fans her love of mushrooms excitement over buying a food dehydrator and plans to cook beef Wellington The 50-year-old mother of two has pleaded not guilty to all counts against her including three murder charges for killing her estranged husband's family after feeding them lunch at her Leongatha home Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson all died in hospital from death cap mushroom poisoning after eating a beef Wellington Patterson had prepared for them on July 2023 Patterson claims it was "a terrible accident" Three members of a true crime Facebook group Patterson was part of gave evidence on day five of her Supreme Court trial in Morwell The group was created to go over the case of convicted baby killer Keli Lane she was a really good researcher," group member Christine Hunt said about Patterson's online reputation said in 2023 Patterson had shared photos of a black dehydrator with mushrooms inside "She was a bit excited that she'd purchased a food dehydrator," Barkley said via video link Screenshots of Patterson's messages to the group were also shown to the jury "I've been hiding powdered mushrooms in everything the kids had no idea," she wrote in one post said Patterson "seemed to really like mushrooms" In the weeks before the deadly mushroom meal Patterson asked the group if anyone had cooked a beef Wellington and if they had advice Erin said she was making beef Wellington," Hay said "I think she was at the supermarket and she messaged us something about the beef that she was buying." She said Patterson had told them the mushrooms came from an Asian grocer Hay said Patterson asked her for tips on how to make sure the beef Wellington pastry did not go "soggy" as it was one of Hay's favourite dishes said she joked: "I'd make a tofu Wellington" so we had a good laugh about that," she said Patterson's estranged husband Simon finished his evidence to the jury after almost three days in the witness box Defence barrister Colin Mandy SC put it to Simon that he had asked Erin - two days after the lunch - "is that what you used to poison them?" "I did not say that to Erin," Simon responded The jury of 15 people were shown messages from a family group Signal chat between Simon his former wife and his parents - in December 2022 - after he last week claimed she had sent "extremely aggressive" messages to his mother and father which he said were from a few months later having a crack at me and accusing me of some things in response to what I'd messaged her about," he said After his parents tried to help Erin and Simon resolve a dispute over his child support payments his mother Gail took a step back and stopped reading messages from Erin in the group chat "Mum really struggled with anxiety," he said The trial before Justice Christopher Beale will continue today Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career (...) Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd kicked off the show at around 22.10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand Concert organisers said 2.1 million people attended the show switching between an array of dresses including one with the colours of the Brazilian flag Some fans – many of them young – arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot “Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019 Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June “It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima the city’s secretary of economic development in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people were expected to attend Lady Gaga's concert and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (NZ$178.3 million) into Rio’s economy Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028 Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012 Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song LoveGame and gave instructions for today in a video A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport Rio’s City Hall said in a statement yesterday made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show “I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame” Rio officials have a history of organising huge concerts on Copacabana Beach Madonna’s show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994 that was the biggest free rock concert in history sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3300 military and 1500 police officers Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017 when the artist cancelled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues “She's the best artist in the world,” the 25-year-old said I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him whose real name is Ella Yelich O'Connor which also displayed what appears to be the album cover art — an X-ray of a pelvis "100% written in blood," the website read The new album's announcement came a week after she released her latest single What Was That The song's music video was filmed at a mysterious pop-up event in New York City's Washington Square Park that was initially shut down by police. The event ended up going ahead after all, and fans who stayed got to hear the new song for the first time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lorde (@lorde) It was the first sign of a follow-up to Lorde's previous album Her other albums were 2013's Pure Heroine and 2017's Melodrama she collaborated with British singer Charli XCX on a remix of Girl so confusing — on a re-release of the Grammy award-winning Brat Kim Kardashian thought she was going to be raped and killed when criminals broke into her bedroom in central Paris tied her up and stole more than US$6 million in jewellery 10 people will go on trial in Paris over the robbery abduction and kidnapping of the media personality and the concierge of the residence where she was staying during Paris Fashion Week the night of October 2 Kardashian’s lawyers said she will testify in person at the trial starting Monday and scheduled to run through May 23 "Ms Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time," they said "She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities "She wishes the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case." In interviews and on her family’s reality TV show Kardashian has described being terrified as robbers pointed a gun at her In a 2020 appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show she tearfully recalled thinking: "This is the time I’m going to get raped Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box and another is seriously ill and can't be tried five of the 10 defendants were present at the scene of the robbery The French press has dubbed them The Granddad Robbers because the main defendants are elderly and have careers as bank robbers with long criminal records Kardashian told investigators she was taken to a bathroom next to her bedroom and placed in the bathtub Her attackers fled on bicycles or on foot and she managed to free herself by removing the tape from her hands and mouth She had also removed the tape from her feet and rushed to her stylist’s room She called her sister Kourtney to tell her about the theft Kardashian told investigators that she had not been injured adding that she wanted to leave France as soon as possible to be reunited with her children According to her testimony and that of the concierge at least one of the suspects had a handgun The gangsters stole many pieces of jewellery estimated to be worth more than US$6 million (NZ$10 million) Only one piece of jewellery — a diamond cross on platinum that was lost during the suspects' escape — has been recovered Two of the accused have partially confessed to the crime is one of two suspected robbers who allegedly entered the apartment his genetic profile was found on the tape used to gag Kardashian who was waiting for him in a parked car at a nearby train station The second robber said he tied up the concierge with cables but did not go up to Kardashian’s apartment said he acted as a lookout in the ground-floor reception area He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Kardashian but admitted he shared responsibility for the crime Abbas was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision he co-authored a French-language book titled I Sequestered Kim Kardashian is the second alleged robber suspected of entering the flat although he was filmed by CCTV cameras and numerous telephone contacts with the other co-defendants show his involvement The other defendants are suspected of providing information about Kardashian’s presence in the apartment Others are accused of playing a role in the resale of the jewellery in Antwerp Joe Cocker and Bad Company will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — in a class that also includes pop star Cyndi Lauper the rock duo the White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status and the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will get the Musical Influence Award pianist Nicky Hopkins and bassist Carol Kaye will each get the Musical Excellence Award who sang at Woodstock and was best known for his cover of The Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions who argued that Cocker is "about as rock and roll as it gets" Soundgarden — with the late Chris Cornell as singer — get into the Hall on their third nomination They follow two other grunge acts in the Hall — Nirvana and Pearl Jam Bad Company get in having become radio fixtures with such arena-rock staples as Feel Like Makin’ Love Can’t Get Enough and Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy The Ahmet Ertegun Award — given to nonperforming industry professionals who had a major influence on music — will go to Lenny Waronker Some nominees that didn't get in this year included Mariah Carey and subsequent Let’s Twist Again are considered among the most popular songs in the history of rock 'n' roll The 83-year-old has expressed frustration that he hadn't been granted entry before including telling the AP in 2014: "I don’t want to get in there when I’m 85 years old so you better do it quick while I’m still smiling." Lauper rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as Time After Time and Girls Just Want To Have Fun and went on to win a Tony Award for Kinky Boots have six Grammys and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of hip-hop The White Stripes — made up of Jack White and Meg White — were indie darlings in the early 2000s with such songs as Seven Nation Army Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction The induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall Nominees were voted on by more than 1200 artists historians and music industry professionals The selection criteria include "an artist’s impact on other musicians the scope and longevity of their career and body of work as well as their innovation and excellence in style and technique" Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton were inducted Lorde has dropped her new single What Was That after weeks of cryptic posts and teases that set fans buzzing It's the lead single from her upcoming fourth album and her first original solo release since 2021's Solar Power which is three minutes and 28 seconds in length Some fans had been lucky enough to hear the track in full earlier this week. On Wednesday, Lorde posted a picture of Washington Square Park yesterday with the caption "tonight 7pm". Fans flooded the park an hour before she was supposed to appear, with photos shared of eager fans scaling trees to catch a glimpse of the singer. Shortly before she was to perform, the Royals singer took to social media to tell fans police had shut the event down. "Omg @thepark the cops are shutting us down," the message read. "I am truly amazed by how many of you showed !!! "But they’re telling me you gotta disperse ... I’m so sorry." However, the pop-up event ended up going ahead after all, with fans who stayed getting their first full airing of Lorde's new single. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lorde (@lorde) Lorde, real name Ella Yelich O'Connor, announced the single last week sharing a headshot-style photo of her wearing a red shirt with a dripping wet face Earlier this month, she dropped a 15-second snippet of the unreleased song Lorde was seen wearing a white shirt and jeans while walking through New York City I gave you everything/Now we wake from a dream What was that?” she sings over a synth beat It was the first sign of a follow up to Lorde's previous album Food donated to a community pantry in Bishopdale Free packaged food which has surfaced at a community food donation stall has prompted mixed reactions from locals ‘Bishop’s Box', a community food pantry in the Bishopdale area of Christchurch has been filled with food outside Cotswold School A person who appears to be behind the free food has not responded to approaches from the Herald for comment Cotswold Mātāhae School told the Herald they didn’t know anything about it with some people voicing food safety concerns on a community Facebook page if you need one by all means take but I would hate for anyone to get sick,” one poster wrote online very generous and kind helping out people,” another said He piko he tuna is about resilience and love the despite challenges of life Fire and Emergency NZ received multiple calls about the fire in Clotilda Pl, Bishopdale at around 9.30am. Two fire trucks initially responded from Ilam and Redwood station, with three more being called once it was assessed. "It is not being treated as suspicious at this stage, but the fire investigator has been notified and will attend." All people were accounted for following the fire, they added. "Police will work with FENZ fire investigators to conduct enquiries into the circumstances of the incident," a police spokesperson said. Footage captured by 1News shows firefighters continuing to dampen down the blackened structure. A carport and car can also be seen heavily damaged. The fire at a two-storey home in Bishopdale was reported around 9.40am. (Source: 1News) A two-storey home in western Christchurch has been badly damaged in a fire this morning. Christchurch's Court Theatre makes grand return to the CBD It's been 14 years since the theatre lost its home in the Arts Centre to the earthquake Chch students discover resilience helps young people deal with the challenges of life State of emergency lifted for Christchurch Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger said there were still a "couple of issues in Banks Peninsula that we need to keep an eye on" Little River locals question if some flooding could have been avoided The Banks Peninsula town was cut off after State Highway 75 was inundated by half a metre of water Environment 56 mins ago 34 mins ago A two-storey home in western Christchurch has been badly damaged in a fire this morning Fire and Emergency NZ received multiple calls about the fire in Clotilda Pl Two fire trucks initially responded from Ilam and Redwood station with three more being called once it was assessed "It is not being treated as suspicious at this stage but the fire investigator has been notified and will attend." All people were accounted for following the fire "Police will work with FENZ fire investigators to conduct enquiries into the circumstances of the incident," a police spokesperson said Footage captured by 1News shows firefighters continuing to dampen down the blackened structure A carport and car can also be seen heavily damaged Christchurch’s Court Theatre has made its grand return to the city more than a decade after losing its home due to damage caused caused by the February 2011 earthquake A new location was found in Addington following the quake people queued to get a look at its brand new forever home The first reactions as people walked through the doors were all very positive I’m really excited to see lots of shows here,” one theatregoer said It’s such a moment for the city," another added The state of the art facility on Gloucester St houses two theatres – one large auditorium that seats 377 stopped by with his family to give it a once-over "We thought we'd pop down and see the new opening and I’m quite interested in architecture and was quite excited to see the building," his father said Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger described the project as a turning point for the city “Its return to the CBD is more than symbolic – it’s a celebration of what we can achieve when we work together," he said the theatre is expected to grow significantly It currently produces 20 shows annually with a combined audience of 120,000 Court Theatre executive director Gretchen La Roche said the new building "represents a transformative moment for the city’s arts scene” Artistic director Alison Walls called it symbolic and stirring “It feels beautifully fitting we open our new home with this deeply personal national story." Twelve Year 10 students from Christchurch’s Hornby High School have just finished a two-week wilderness adventure as part of Project K The Graeme Dingle Foundation runs the 14-month programme which is designed to help young people deal with the challenges of life 1News were there as the group returned on mountain bikes They were given a rousing guard of honour by fellow students and showered in love and hugs by their families Tania Mulholland greeted her son Toby McLeish with a tight hug "It's been a really long two weeks without him," she said getting them to achieve things that they've never done before so I think it’s great," she said Kayla said she has learnt "to never give up and to keep trying" Felt like I just wanted to go home but I just pushed through The teens trekked through native bush and arduous terrain near Otira One student said the tasks brought out the best in each of them "You'll feel scared and lonely and down and you just need to push through because you can do this," they said The students were nominated by their teachers to take part Hornby High School principal Ian Murray said those who were chosen had the "best opportunity to grow resilience and character to help them through the challenges that some of them may have been facing at the time" Their final task was to deliver a speech about what they’ve learnt I pushed myself beyond my limits and realised I had more to me than I thought," Kayla told the audience The Graeme Dingle Foundation's general manager for the Canterbury region said they've seen students flourish after going through the programme “We've seen them from students that have got their shoulders down and their heads down chin up and just beaming that they've overcome some amazing obstacles," she said The Graeme Dingle Foundation supports 27,000 young people to undertake a similar journey of discovery each year The state of emergency put in place in response to flooding has been lifted for Christchurch but remains in place for Banks Peninsula Mayor Phil Mauger said things in Christchurch had settled down but that there were still a couple of issues in Banks Peninsula the council "need to keep an eye on" "It’s good to have access to powers under the State of Emergency if they’re required and some land instability that needs to be monitored," he said "Although we are transitioning into a recovery period we are still keeping a close eye on the stormwater basins to ensure we keep any disruption to a minimum." Lifting the state of emergency for the Banks Peninsula ward would be assessed next week which reconnected Banks Peninsula with the rest of the region but some smaller roads across the peninsula remained closed Most roads across Christchurch were now open Lower Styx Rd from number 980 to the lagoon These roads were impacted by the managed release of water from stormwater basins which continued to drain slowly The landslip at Lighthouse Rd in Akaroa continues to be regularly monitored with no changes in the past 24 hours A temporary pump installed has now stopped wastewater entering Akaroa Harbour but residents were asked to continue to limit demand on the wastewater system Cleanup is underway in the Banks Peninsula town of Little River as angry locals are left to wonder if some of the flooding could have been avoided Little River was cut off until this afternoon after State Highway 75 was inundated with water aggrieved residents are questioning if its impact could have been lessened if the council had lowered the level of Lake Forsyth before the storm hit and it could have been avoided,” Little River Service Station worker Andy Davis said “Farmers did approach the council about opening the lake and that was back early or late last week and nothing had been done.” Davis is cleaning up after floodwater smashed the windows and upended freezers in the store it might have been the quakes and that could have broken the glass or it might have been the force of the water actually inside.” Rob McFarland was mopping the floor of the hotel after it flooded for the first time in 150 years “Obviously it’s quite a tragic event – a sea of water in here was the last thing we would have expected,” he said His daughter Sarah McFarland said because the lake was left high water coming down the mountain “had nowhere to go and came through the building” the head of Three Waters said the flooding would not have been mitigated by opening the lake “Flooding in Little River and surrounding areas is caused by issues higher up in the catchment and would not have been prevented by opening Lake Forsyth earlier,” Gavin Hutchison said Diggers opened the lake to the sea yesterday afternoon “We have to time this to coincide with the southerly swells dropping to ensure the channel stays open and has the intended impact and so we can ensure the safety of our staff and contractors when we carry out the work." “Having the lake open before the rain does help but it might help disperse some of the water,” she said she found her shop in 20-centimetre-deep water destroying a lot of her stock and leaving her with a huge cleanup “I’m not sure whether to close the doors and walk away.” Traffic lights are being installed at the intersection of Greers and Langdons Rds while the railway crossings on Harewood and Langdons Rds are being upgraded Christchurch City Council planning and delivery transport manager Jacob Bradbury said the project will cause a lot of disruption in Papanui and Bishopdale from now until mid-December “We’re staging the works and co-ordinating traffic management across the projects to minimise the impact on the wider area,” Bradbury said KiwiRail's work at the Harewood Rd crossing will include the replacement of the train tracks and foundations “These works will ensure the long-term resilience of the railway crossing so it can withstand the high volumes of traffic that use it," Bradbury said “The Northern Line cycleway also runs along the rail corridor so the signalised crossings will make it safer and easier for pedestrians and cyclists there will be 24-hour and night closures at the Langdons Rd crossing and both crossings will have periods of stop/go traffic management construction is under way on the Langdons and Greers Rds intersection upgrade and a one-way system is in place on part of Langdons Rd “There are now almost 30,000 people travelling through here each day so having lights will make it safer and easier for turning traffic we want to thank residents and businesses for their understanding,” he said A crossing upgrade on Sawyers Arms Rd is planned to get under way in early 2025 The new signalised pedestrian crossings will be commissioned after all three railway crossings are complete The neighbour of a man who escaped a house fire in Christchurch this morning recalls hearing a "large boom" at the time responded to the blaze in a two-storey home in Bishopdale's Clotilda Place on Tuesday morning finding the house in flames when firefighters arrived "Then I look out the window and this massive fire just erupts from his garage and billows of black smoke in to the air." When the first fire crew arrived at the scene Another three firefighting crews then converged on the cul-de-sac North Yorkshire refuse workers to move to four-day week Motorcyclist injured in incident near Hawes Author PatriciaF acts as a real person and passed all tests against spambots or at least licence removed until after a psychological assessment Sign up for the latest headlines in your inbox every morning and special offers from our local advertisers You can unsubscribe anytime. For more details, review our Privacy Policy. You have successfully joined our subscriber list Christchurch City Council has agreed on endorsing a plan to revitalise the ageing mall following a decline in tenancy due to nearby competition and an increase of non-commercial activity has been a long-time tenant at the mall and is disappointed to close his store after more than 34 years we just haven’t been able to sell the shop,” said Ralfe "It’s disappointing and is a sign of the current times Closing up shop was not a direct result of Covid-19 and although the pandemic exacerbated decreased demand a decline in business over the years pushed the struggles over the edge "We need action rather than talk and we need more retail people "There was meant to be a health hub which was due to open this year but that’s been changed to 2021 now,” he said “I don’t know how that will go but that will certainly help bring more people to the mall.” Businesses at the mall are calling for more retail stores and more community-led projects as possible options towards its regeneration A complicated ownership and holding structure of land in and around the mall deterred redevelopment and normal commercial revitalisation from occurring Unichem Bishopdale Pharmacy co-owner Maria McIntyre said she would like to see something that was unique to the mall such as families or retired people to gather would be really nice or having more retail offerings like electronic devices where people don’t have to go further afield,” she said Bishop Brothers Public House owner Mark Pearce believes the mall will become a destination "I think it’s going to be a destination for dining and people will be coming here for a reason," he said "Why don’t we have lots of different types of restaurants where people can sit outside that’s done in a way where its sheltered from the wind and keeps the heat in." was another casualty of the mall’s decline and also had to permanently close last November due to a lack of customers It needs more things for the children to bring in parents like a covered place where children can play – that would’ve done me really well especially for my business,” they said Decisions about when to carry out this work will form part of the city council’s Long Term Plan 2021-2031 decision-making process A Child Cancer Foundation fundraiser caused a buzz in Christchurch as people underwent a close crop to help raise $2783 New World Bishopdale owner Marc Brokenshire was one of four people to lose their hair during the supermarket’s first Wig Wednesday event Everyone’s got a link with cancer," Brokenshire said The support for the event was "phenomenal" "It’s fantastic that the Bishopdale community has got behind it." People were able to donate in store and a $10 contribution was made for each customer who wore a wig Taking advantage of the chance to have "a bit of fun" some staff donned colourful wigs or creative hairstyles and three others joined Brokenshire to have their heads shaved near the store entrance by Valentino’s Hair Design hairdressers Head of retail operations for Foodstuff South Island Ross Martin deli manager Etan Taner and grocery team member Jess Scarsbrook all lost their locks for the cause Scarsbrook said she had been growing her hair since last year and the idea of having it shaved to help the Child Cancer Foundation had been in the back of her mind for a while When the call for volunteers went out at work "I’ve always wanted to do it and it’s for a good cause," she said Summer reissue: This year’s Bishopdale Bookarama turned out to be a real page-turner – complete with suspicion secret VIP access and a few very angry whistleblowers April’s Bishopdale Burnside Rotary Bookarama has been the biggest annual fundraising event for the community-based charity organisation for nearly two decades bright yellow signs promoting Bookarama are plastered on fences across Christchurch while distinctive yellow-lidded bins sit outside supermarkets inviting people to donate their unwanted books 50,000 flyers are dropped and 70,000 donations sifted through before thousands of shoppers flock to the Bishopdale YMCA hall looking for bargains hundreds of members of the public line up outside the Bishopdale YMCA as early eight o’clock eager to rifle through the moderately-priced stock (nothing costs over $4) Past Bookaramas have raised over $70,000 for Rotary allowing the charity to make significant donations to the likes of drug and rehabilitation centre Odyssey House Canterbury Charitable Hospital Trust and an array of other community groups and youth-related projects So why has the wholesome charity event suddenly been rocked by online drama with people on Reddit deeming the event “grossly unfair” Why are punters “profoundly disappointed” and lashing out at “vultures and gougers” first knew something was amiss when they attended Bookarama in 2022 arriving relatively early on the first day “When I got in the door I could see there were hardly any military books on the table “I went over to the craft books and they were all toppled over and there was not really much there I thought it was strange that they were all messy since I got there early “Something seemed wrong but I could not figure it out.” When another Bookarama attendee mentioned in passing that secondhand booksellers had already picked over the stock the night before El felt “completely shocked” by the suggestion of preferential treatment El described visiting the Bishopdale YMCA hall on Bookarama eve to discover dealers leaving with “large hauls” of books “One had eight banana boxes and a large bag,” they recalled as more dealers left with boxes full of books El admitted they “let out a yell” from the darkness of their parked car and even snapped a few photos on their phone as evidence that they wouldn’t attend the book fair the next day in protest “After seeing the book dealers having a go first the magic of the Bookarama was completely ruined for me,” they explained “I find it unacceptable that anyone would be allowed to buy a single book before the start date of the fair Someone who did attend the 2023 Bookarama on April 21st was Sandy – also not her real name – who arrived on the first day around 3pm with her two young children She had been to previous Bookaramas and although describing an atmosphere of “polite madness” with booksellers rifling through the stock at “furious speed” she was impressed with the low-cost selection “I remember there being so many good quality popular children’s books to choose from that I had to sort out my pile and prioritise them because I had so many.”  Bookarama was a different and much more “dismal” experience There were many gaps between the children’s books,” she recalled The selection contained more “old and weathered” children’s books than previous years including many of the same titles she’s seen “gathering dust over the years” in op shops which she said paled in comparison to previous hauls Upon reading El’s post about the early access for secondhand dealers on the Christchurch Reddit page Sandy thought it was a “ridiculous” move by Bookarama “If they are asking for donations from the public then they should be transparent and honest with their processes and earnings,” she said “A lot of trust has been broken… A lot of people have told me they thought their books were going to help others in the community and that was their driving factor for wanting to donate.” Bishopdale Rotary President Rodney Finch is well aware of the vocal group of online Bookarama critics confirming that the club received a “single digit number” of complaint emails from disappointed members of the public He also acknowledged that he was aware of El’s post on the Christchurch Reddit “The Rotary Club of Bishopdale Burnside seriously takes on board all negative feedback in the interest of damaging the image of the Rotary Club of Bishopdale Burnside and globally recognised Rotary brand,” he wrote in an email Finch explained that the decision to invite booksellers to Bookarama the night before was not one of preferential treatment but simply a matter of public health and safety Anyone who has been to a large book sale will know that there is a certain feverishness in the air and Finch said this only escalated during the Covid era “When we restricted the number of people that we could have within the venue at any one time there was a little bit of pushing and shoving outside the doors But then there was an incident at Bookarama that caused Rotary to rethink the way they operate It had become commonplace for secondhand booksellers to attend Bookarama and purchase very large volumes of books dragging enormous tartan plastic bags around the busy hall it was only a matter of time until things got gnarly “We had an incident where a person was knocked to the ground,” Finch said “We analysed the root cause of the problem The Rotary Club of Bishopdale Burnside takes matters of health and safety very seriously and are obliged to protect the public so it was decided that something had to change we offered these booksellers the opportunity to come along the night before to access the books that we have out on display,” he explained “It has worked in that we now recognise certain booksellers coming in many times during the day but they’re not dragging around those large Finch also added that the controversial early access books only represent about 25% of the overall Bookarama stock they are replaced by books that we store in shipping containers all weekend,” he said Given that Rotary put out roughly 40,000 books moderately-priced stock on offer for the entirety of Bookarama “The price of books goes from $1 per children’s book to $4 for certain category hardcover books,” he says “We always try to display good quality books with good value for money.” Finch says that Rotary has already been in touch with the aggrieved members of the public concerned parties have been communicated with by receiving a copy of our released statement Rotary also conducts an in-person survey at Bookarama of around 30-50 attendees for feedback every year “We have been doing this for years and never had negative feedback before so what we found strange was the negativeness this year,” Finch said The Spinoff encountered a general air of negativity paranoia and suspicion among many who were approached for comment – particularly local secondhand booksellers with some even suggesting that Bookarama critics might actually be moonlighting booksellers who weren’t invited early but did acknowledge that “one has to take all possibilities into consideration” when hearing feedback from the public it’s clear that Bookarama has never seen a drama quite like this before The Spinoff Books section is proudly brought to you by Unity Books and Creative New Zealand. Visit Unity Books online today.  A complaint must be first directed in writing the complaint may be referred to the online complaint form at www.presscouncil.org.nz along with a link to the relevant story and all correspondence with the publication The sole occupant of the house in Breens Rd A man has died following a house fire in Bishopdale Emergency services were called to the property on Breens Rd around 10.40pm - the man was found in a critical condition inside the man died from the injuries he sustained The man was the sole occupant of the property The cause of the fire was unknown this morning with police guarding the scene while inquiries take place Police are investigating an aggravated robbery at the Roll On In Dairy in Bishopdale \Police are investigating the aggravated robbery of a dairy in Christchurch's Bishopdale The robbery took place at the Roll On In dairy on Sawyers Arms Rd on Sunday It reportedly involved two offenders and was reported to police at 4.45pm A scene examination has taken place and investigators are in the early stages of the inquiry Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 105 and quote event number P047638294 Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 Some “private sector interests” in the suburb have already told Christchurch City Council staff they are interested in development and investment - but they said that before Covid-19 intervened The extent to which those interests “remain live” needs clarifying as the council explores its options urban regeneration planner Josh Neville told city councillors The council is one of a clutch of mall landowners It wants to explore ways to revitalise a mall which officials say has been in a state of decline for more than 20 years The council last week endorsed plans to work with anchor tenants on small-scale revitalisation and to develop an investment case to see what more can be done Harewood city councillor Aaron Keown described the mall in its current state as a "bit of a dunga" "There is great opportunity here but like we have said this was developed in the 60s and things have changed a little He said he could envisage the mall becoming more boutique and similar to the Tannery "That type of boutique mall on this side of town would work really well city councillor Sara Templeton said she could not support the plan as she did not see it as a priority for council resources that shows that the inner-city east and New Brighton areas should be the priority for revitalisation,” she said City councillor James Gough labelled this as "disgusting" it is one of the few areas where the council is actually the main landowner in a major retail area,” he said we have large tenants that are crying out to partner with us you have a community that is desperate to see the council re-invest in something that it has a duty to you look at the private sector that will re-invest in  malls every five to seven years in a major re-vamp "It is an absolute embarrassment and we have the ability to do something about this in existing budgets and I have got councillors wanting to vote against it The Fendalton-Waimairi-Harewood Community board will now play a leading role in the development of the investment case The progression of the case to the council table for sign off will hinge on the approval of the community board Board chairman David Cartwright said while he was “excited” by the progress "It is one thing to get the fish on the hook but to get it in the boat is another thing,” he said Cartwright said he was looking forward to working alongside key stakeholders in the development of the case The council has released its design plans for the Wheels to Wings – Papanui ki Waiwhetū cycleway which will form part of the network of 13 major cycleways across Christchurch Included in the cycleway plans are a number of intersection upgrades and roading layout changes that should improve safety for everyone says council head of transport Richard Osborne we are proposing to reduce the four-lane section of the road to two lanes to make space for the cycleway while retaining on-street parking "This will encourage lower speeds and make the road safer for turning drivers and pedestrians to cross "We will be installing traffic lights at the Harewood Gardiners and Breens intersection and partially signalising the Bishopdale roundabout "Traffic lights are planned for the Harewood Road and Woolridge Road intersection and the Greers Road and Harewood Road intersection will also be upgraded," Osborne said "We have tried to minimise the removal of on-street parking the competing demands for road space means that some on-street parking will be removed along the route," Osborne said "In those areas where there is high parking demand we are proposing to put in time-restricted parking to help ensure that convenient parking is available for people." Twenty-one trees will also need to be removed along the route of the cycleway but the council is proposing to plant a total of 56 new trees It is also proposing to upgrade the street lighting along the route to make the cycleway safer and more comfortable to user after dark “Our monitoring of cycling numbers across the city show that more people are opting to travel by bike so we are keen to get the Wheels to Wings cycleway route finalised and construction under way so that we extend our cycleway network and link up more parts of the city," Osborne said Public feedback is being sought on the plans for the Wheels to Wings – Papanui ki Waiwhetū cycleway. You can provide your feedback on the route here between now and February 22 The council will consider the submissions and finalise the route later this year with construction due to start in the middle of the year It will also connect to cycling facilities further afield the cycleway will connect with the Johns Rd cycle and pedestrian underpass linking through to the commercial areas surrounding the airport and to McLeans Island Rd via the Johns Rd shared path This will be a good connection route for the roughly 7000 people who work in the airport area Wheels to Wings - Papanui ki Waiwhetū connects directly to the Northern Line cycleway and the planned Nor’West Arc cycleway Find out more about the city's cycleways here Public meetings to discuss the plans will take place on: February 3Anytime between 5pm to 7pmŌrauwhata: Bishopdale Community Centre February 9Anytime between 12.30pm to 2.30pmŌrauwhata: Bishopdale Community Centre February 16Anytime between 4.30pm to 6.30pmCharles Upham Room The Wheels to Wings – Papanui ki Waiwhetū route can be divided into the following six sections: Elmwood will play title-holders Cashmere in the men’s championship while Elmwood take on Bishopdale in the women’s competition All four teams had an easy passage to the finals with resounding wins in last week’s semi-finals boosted by James Watt playing in the top singles slot with their only loss being the bottom doubles rubber while Cashmere only conceded one singles in their win over Bishopdale Both teams in the women’s final won all their semi-final matches – with Elmwood beating Shirley 6-0 and Bishopdale equally convincing against Waimairi He will play in the final of the Caro Bowl Auckland competition with his Next Generation team on Friday night before flying back to Christchurch on Saturday morning to join his Elmwood teammates Saturday’s final will see the two go head-to-head again Cashmere captain Tim Meredith said he was in Auckland and watched the match between his brother and Watt It really was next level compared to the players on the adjacent courts,” Tim Meredith said James and Tim Meredith are both confirmed along with Liam Barrett and Harry Weeds Team regular Lucas Evans is unavailable as he is playing in the national 18u championships at Wilding Park Elmwood captain Elliott Darling will play at two with his brother Lawrence also listed in the team Mid Canterbury coach Jack Tiller and doubles specialist Benji McGillivray Bishopdale’s young team includes many of the players who were runners-up to Te Kura Hagley in last year’s competition Their top player Jade Feneon was in dominant form last weekend and her likely opponent this week is Elmwood’s Abby Mason Feneon is well supported by her Bishopdale team including Juliette Ma and youngsters Aliyah Daly and Marija Filipovic Daly won the singles and doubles titles at the South Island primary and intermediate championships in Timaru this week Elmwood is fielding a dream team this season with Mason Holly-Jane Feutz - who is also playing the 18u nationals - is in the team with another junior who continues to notch up significant premier interclub wins The post-Christmas competition will begin in late January The Cashmere player has a busy summer of tennis ahead with two International Tennis Federation world tour tournaments in December followed by two ITF junior tournaments in January Her training and tournament schedule continues until August next year when she takes up a full tennis scholarship at the University of Wyoming a strong US tennis college which competes in the Mountain West Conference “I’m very excited to have this opportunity,” said Young “I’m studying engineering as well as playing tennis and the college is strong from an academic and a sport perspective.”  She has inherited her love of the game from her father a former top junior and long-time Christchurch premier interclub player He introduced her and her sister Lucy to the game when they were about five years old and still hits regularly with his daughters “Dad is really passionate and knowledgeable about tennis,” Young said “I’m playing for the same reason he did – I absolutely love it.”  Highly regarded Canterbury coach Stuart Chalmers has served as Young’s coach for more than seven years She has enjoyed considerable success at a regional Health officials have released 13 locations of interest or exposure events in Christchurch so far after yesterday's news of the positive cases in the Garden City a number of takeaways including a Burger King a petrol station and a New World supermarket in the suburb of Bishopdale where authorities say the two Christchurch cases live The latest anyone with the virus has been out in the community around the country according to the locations of interest list A Covid-positive person was at the Kens Takeaways store late on Wednesday afternoon between 4pm and 5pm The official advice for anyone who was there at the same time is to monitor your health for 14 days after being exposed and get a test if Covid symptoms develop during that time With the city waiting on word of the test results of close contacts the truck company which employs the sick driver is helping authorities retrace the delivery run over the four days when the man was at work and considered infectious Health Ministry officials said initial information indicated he was completing deliveries around the Christchurch area People in Canterbury – especially those who lived in Christchurch – with any symptoms Yesterday saw a surge on testing stations and vaccination clinics as the southern city was jolted out of Covid complacency Canterbury University modeller Michael Plank this morning told TVNZ if the virus had already started to spread locally it would probably result in a move in the alert level for the region in the next few days "We're in a risky and fairly uncertain period at the moment," he warned Plank said more preventative measures could be done around regions to stop the virus going from one region to the next Rapid testing on passengers due to get on flights or even inter-island ferries could reduce the risk of transmission hugely "These tests give you a result in 15-20 minutes so it's quite feasible to do that," he said but they would provide an additional safeguard that would just slow down the speed of which the virus can make its way around the country." His calls were backed by Otago University microbiologist James Ussher who said any flight out of the northern Covid hot zone should only be undertaken by those who were fully vaccinated until the new traffic light alert system came into play Ussher told Newstalk ZB's Mike Hosking New Zealand was facing significant implications should Covid get into parts of the country at alert level 2 "Until we are no longer at risk of having lockdowns I think it would be sensible from a scientific perspective to have a vaccine mandate to travel on airplanes out of Auckland." He said having a pre-departure test and being vaccinated were equally important when it came to guarding against spreading or catching Covid during flights Southern District Health Board medical officer of health Dr Michael Butchard told TVNZ there had been a lot of planning across all areas of the district health board in the case of Covid-19 arriving in the region Butchard said he hoped that it would become "the norm" for people who become sick to go and get a Covid test "Covid will find its way through those groups with lower vaccination rates." He urged people in those groups - namely Māori young people and rural communities - to get vaccinated The Government has so far kept the city in level 2 holding off calling a snap lockdown due to early information indicating that the two Covid cases had little close contact with others esterday Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel called the new cases a "wake-up call" and a "lucky break" "It's really good news that we are staying at level 2 a wake-up call for everyone in Christchurch," she said The South has only had one Covid community case during this latest Delta outbreak at a time when Aucklanders have been stuck in their homes in lockdown for the past 10 weeks That solitary case was found in Blenheim last week in a person who flew back from the North Island - yet so far that case has not led to any more infections in the community Before that the South Island's previous Covid community case occurred more than a year ago This morning Ōtorohanga Mayor Max Baxter revealed a positive case was detected in the settlement yesterday the fourth infection in the Ōtorohanga district this week He said the infected person and a close contact were in Kāwhia until Tuesday and were now in isolation elsewhere Bishopdale Park’s worn out skate area on Leacroft St will undergo a makeover to make it more suitable for beginner and intermediate skaters The total area of the skate park will increase from 1197sq m to almost 1300sq m The city council is asking for feedback on a series of proposed improvements to the park Specialist skate park designer Richard Smith was commissioned to create a landscape plan The proposed skate park would feature a pump bump as well as bench seating and a picnic table The existing concrete slabs would be resealed and the quarter-pipe replaced with a granite ledge and smaller half pipe Said city council head of parks Andrew Rutledge: “Bishopdale Park is close to a number of schools and is very popular with local families Improving the existing skate area will make it even more appealing to young people in the area and provide them with some good challenges.” About 500 information leaflets have been delivered to nearby properties and key stakeholders last week Suggestions for the design were collected from last year’s Bishopdale Skate Jam event •Feedback on the plans can be made before December 9 at https://ccc.govt.nz/the-council/consultations-and-submissions/haveyoursa... The NZ Post Shop outlet at 31 Bishopdale Court in Bishopdale Three New Zealand Post properties in Canterbury are for sale - two with commercial tenancies in place providing NZ Post and Kiwibank services while the Ashburton property is being sold with a lease-back to NZ Post and Kiwibank All three properties are being marketed for sale by auction on September 8 through Bayleys Canterbury and feature in Bayleys' latest Total Property portfolio magazine "All three properties are excellent investment opportunities - offering a mix for passive investors owner occupiers and potential for development," says Bayleys' salesperson Blair Young The properties are in the Christchurch suburbs of Bishopdale and Woolston and on the main street of the Canterbury township of Ashburton The NZ Post Shop outlet at 31 Bishopdale Court in Bishopdale features a 309sq m building sitting on 278sq m of freehold land on a six-year tenancy running through until 2022 and generating a net rental of $62,000 per annum (pa) Paper Tree has five stores in Christchurch and is a highly regarded national retailer of discount art supplies Paper Tree also operates NZ Posts' mail and courier services in the area - including 534 post office boxes - along with a limited range of Kiwibank services The building is located within Bishopdale Mall and has undergone significant refurbishment work in 2016 The NZ Post branch at 713 Ferry Road in Woolston operates within a Discount Dairy premises providing NZ Post mail and courier services Ferry Rd is one of Christchurch's main arterial routes in and out of the city The standalone 320sq m property is located on a high profile 566sq m corner site adjacent to a recently opened New World supermarket Discount Dairy which has a lease running through until June next year generating a net rental of $37,597pa Apart from providing NZ Post mail and courier services the contract also includes the management of 590 post office boxes occupies the remainder of the premises and is on a six-year lease expiring in 2022 and generating a net rental of $23,802pa With 36 locations operating in the North Island the company has a rapidly expanding South Island network with 12 locations so far The building has a B-grade rating under the New Build Standards (NBS) classification is an imposing Ashburton Post Shop and Kiwibank branch at 390-422 East Street on the edge of the town's main commercial hub comprising a 1329sq m building sitting on 994sq m of freehold land NZ Post is offering a three-year lease from the settlement date of any purchase - with advertising and marketing design firm JFM Creative and Robin Arnst Art School both leasing part of the upper level of the Ashburton premises on a month-to-month tenancy The property generates total net rental of $53,457pa but there is potential to lift this rent significantly with the leasing of the some 396sq m vacant area Rare plot of land is home to ancient kauri trees New World Bishopdale has been allowed to display its alcohol at the end of aisles A supermarket has won a three-year battle allowing it to display alcohol at the end of aisles and facing other groceries - for now The Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority has decided to allow New World Bishopdale to display its alcohol where it is But medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey said the decision will increase shoppers exposure to alcohol resulting in more sales "More sales of alcohol results in more harm the alcohol is displayed on an outer aisle Under new rules in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 supermarkets and grocery stores must restrict the display of alcohol to a single area The area should be out of the way so customers do not have to walk through it when doing their general shopping New World Bishopdale's new owner Bond Markets applied to the district licensing committee for a new off-licence under the new rules concerns were raised about the alcohol display being in the general shopping area But owner Nigel Bond said due to space restraints so Bond Markets appealed the decision to ARLA Dr Humphrey then appealed ARLA's decision to the High Court Justice David Gendall then quashed ARLA's ruling ARLA reconsidered the appeal against the district licensing committee's original 2014 decision in July ARLA said the supermarket's off-licence was up for renewal next year "The Authority does not consider it in the interests of justice that the parties are put to the trouble and expense of having to renew the licence only to have to do so again almost immediately thereafter." But Dr Humphrey said ARLA declined to take into account limiting exposure to alcohol "By placing alcohol directly opposite a section of the supermarket which most shoppers frequent He said the High Court victory meant supermarkets were now recognising their obligations when it comes to alcohol sales and having a separate alcohol area New World Bishopdale's alcohol sale area had remained the same while the issue was in dispute New World South City was originally fighting a similar battle but because it is redeveloping on a different location Foodstuffs South Island retail general manager Tim Donaldson said it was "very pleased" with the decision He said Foodstuffs stores understood the obligations under the current legislation Retail NZ members reported more than 140,000 crime incidents in 2023-2024 Lincoln secured top spot after winning a nail-biter against the previously unbeaten Kereru A side in the 11th and final round action at Bishopdale on Tuesday night Lincoln bounced back after the loss to third-placed University of Canterbury last week to win the highly anticipated clash 44-42 Lincoln trailed early but a 15-8 second quarter dragged them back into contention before they held their nerve down the stretch Kia Toa rounded out the top four by beating Technical A 42-37 Their best win of the season was based on dominating Technical 12-6 in the opening quarter and 8-2 early in the second Technical regrouped after a sluggish start but Kia Toa managed to keep last year’s beaten finalists at bay to lead throughout UC consolidated their win over Lincoln University last week with a 14-goal victory over Kereru B 56-42 Maia Hill continues to shoot at high volume for UC and is well supported by Tiuana-Maria Aiono Saints were also too strong for Technical B 69-23 with Gemma Etheredge and Grace Jones sharing much of the shooting load for the winners St Nicholas started strongly and were too good for Christchurch Girls' High School And in another high scoring result St Margaret’s A defeated fellow schoolgirl side Villa Maria by the same scoreline St Margaret’s have been very competitive against the top sides and will be looking to take this form into the five games they will now play in the premier 2 competition This week's results shaped the teams allocated to premier 1 and premier 2 as the season heads into the final phase of competition and finals The premier 1 grade consists of Lincoln University A CGHS A and one team promoted from the senior 1 grade after Saturday’s games The promoted team replaces Villa Maria who lost all 11 games before finishing with a -621 goal differential