this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read The suburb of New Brighton has widely been regarded as a less favourable place to live despite its close proximity to the beach Beachfront property the world over is among the most sought after but in Christchurch a once popular seaside location continues to decline Mike Thorpe explores the rise and fall of New Brighton A beachside suburb of Christchurch that can be bathed in the most glorious golden sunrise .. and be terrorised by a razor-sharp easterly wind at the same time Looking east at dawn can bring a simultaneous grin and grimace – sometimes indistinguishable from each other On a good day, New Brighton is everything you’d want in a coastal suburb a broad glistening horizon and a pier that pushes into the Pacific to fully appreciate its undeniable aesthetic In its heyday – it had the retail scene to match The envy of every shopping centre in Canterbury The main street of New Brighton would take on mardi-gras levels of activity in the weekends New Brighton was the only place in the country where shops could open on Saturdays They would instead remain closed on a weekday to obey the 40-hour week “It was all driven by the Business Association of New Brighton that made this change – that started a completely new pathway for New Brighton which became this intense period of growth,” says developer Robbie Harris soon to be a central figure in this seaside suburb’s rebirth Few know this story better than Harris – a commercial visionary who looks a long way back before adjusting his eyes to the future he speaks for 40 minutes without interruption and traverses 150 years of history “You have a city [of Christchurch] which probably at that time has around 250,000 people in the surrounding area and you’ve got one small block of shops open on a Saturday and nothing else to do for the whole city,” says Harris “You have a huge amount of demand and a massive amount of under-supply of shops this kicked off a development boom,” says Harris “People were snapping up properties like crazy You can go on Canterbury maps and look at what New Brighton looked like in 1940 to 1950s 60s when it started – to 20 years later and you can just see hundreds of houses bowled down and turned into carparks turned into big commercial buildings,” says Harris “It was just an absolute licence to print money through that period,” he adds Fuelled by an outrageously unfair advantage “I remember a lot of the big chain stores when I’d come here on the weekends Everything was open late night on Saturday night – there were food venues and people all over the place,” says Nigel Gilmore who still runs the store his father started almost 40 years ago engraving service that was started by Garry Gilmore in 1987 well after New Brighton’s peak and well before the demise “We might be the oldest business around here – I’m not entirely sure,” says Nigel Gilmore That’s the scale of the decline here on the main street – a once bustling thoroughfare that has since seen that “licence to print money” revoked In the early 1960s New Brighton’s Seaview Rd was targeted as a pedestrian-only mall It took more than a decade for that idea to become a reality The mall was opened in 1978 by trail-blazing Christchurch Mayor Hamish Hay it inadvertently marked the beginning of the end under the Rob Muldoon-led National Government Saturday trading was legalised across New Zealand and the upper hand that New Brighton had held for so long began to wave the crowds goodbye “It would be pretty difficult for anywhere to ever reach such a high density of popularity again You have to have something incredibly strong with a huge amount of supply-deficit to demand It can only happen under false conditions,” says Harris By 1989 no day of the week was too sacred for sales as Sunday trading became legalised under David Lange’s Labour Government What had previously been an anticipated family shopping trip to New Brighton was now an inconvenience that suburban malls could help shoppers avoid “The perception has been for quite some time that it was the establishment of indoor malls that killed New Brighton It was because of the geographics of it all,” says Harris being indoors meant the added bonus of being out of the easterly wind “It was a slow decline because New Brighton had momentum So even though they had opened all the shops there was still very few places in town that had the variety It was the biggest mall in Christchurch at the time,” says Harris trying to regain the stronghold their shopping precinct had enjoyed for so long – but nothing could bring those crowds back “It was all in line with trying to keep this false scenario going which was all built on this kind of fake economic situation,” says Harris The Saturday shopping era has been likened to the effect of illicit drugs - a massive high followed by a comedown and then a dependency that brings destruction The shopping monopoly picked New Brighton up for a time In 2011 the Canterbury earthquakes took a heavy toll on property to the east and New Brighton was no exception Sand and liquefaction may have similar properties to the naked eye but only one of them brings joy between your toes “That was the big nail in the coffin for a lot of the businesses around here,” says Gilmore the empty shops and demolished sites are both a source of hope and hopelessness To coin a popular political phrase – there are “green shoots” here Cantabrians will tell you that the area is cursed by the easterly wind Where else is such seaside property so cheap There’s no real evidence for something like that to happen globally A semi-occasional cold wind destroying an entire beach town,” says Harris “You get places like The Hamptons [Long Island New York] which has some of the most expensive real estate in the world and has a cold Arctic wind – you start to wonder what that’s all about?” says Harris Harris believes New Brighton’s residential struggles are a flow-on from the commercial catastrophe “You have an absolute precedent that is seen over and over and over again of a boom and bust It fits the description of what’s happened to this area to a tee – and it makes complete sense,” says Harris Adding to New Brighton’s real estate quirk are the suburbs either side “North Beach and South Beach don’t get treated the same “The quality of house that you get – it increases on average in ‘niceness’ the further you get away from the centre despite it being on the exact same coast with the exact same wind,” says Harris Instead New Brighton’s property ladder is more of a foot stool – despite having many of the same ingredients as Mount Maunganui which is so quickly becoming the coolest city in New Zealand,” says Harris Robbie Harris is not only a New Brighton history buff – he’s a massive believer in its future The engineer-turned-developer and his family have invested heavily in the seaside village and he believes strongly that it will rise again from its dereliction “The pathway out of that is looking at what’s worked in the past not in the period of time where it was propped up by a false economic situation but what actually happened naturally,” says Harris New Brighton was a hub for recreation and leisure Not unusual for a location so close to the beach The most recent significant investment showed a return to that era He Puna Taimoana – The New Brighton hot pools “It’s not that you can’t invest in New Brighton – it’s not that it’s a crap place It’s that we’ve been trying to do the wrong stuff there for about 50 years,” says Harris The pools have been a success – surprising some “A lot of people bought into the stigma of New Brighton that it’s not going to work It’s a waste of money and these types of things In the end it eventually got over the line but it shrunk – it went to a smaller size,” says Harris “They projected it to make money in year three – it made money in year one,” says Harris He plans to anchor development off the crowds that the pools already draw “We know people come out of the pools and they just don’t know what to do next It’s so important as an anchor,” says Harris His first new tenant is just weeks away from opening their doors – Southpaw Brewing I live in New Brighton – I love the area,” says Southpaw co-owner Cam Burgess “I’ve always looked at New Brighton as being a bit of a domino It’s going to require a couple of things – and they will beget other things and it’ll all start falling into place,” he adds More buildings will be added by Harris and his group – he’s optimistic that the first stage could be completed by the end of the year Harris is aware that more is needed for locals “New Brighton’s actually got 16,000 people who are already living there and they don’t really have a place that they call their centre,” says Harris owner of New Brighton Cycles and tenant of Harris’s Surfside Mall “I’ve got to admit as a local it’d be really nice to see just some core businesses like fruit and veg shop local village shopping again,” says Toohey like everything Harris speaks to – it’s evidence based “One of the negative effects through this big decline is that you have a huge amount of people who live there and one of the worst cases of economic leakage in the country – which means that people who live locally frequently drive past the commercial centre to visit other areas because the quality and variety is better,” says Harris There is a hardy bunch of retailers who remain on Seaview Rd They hope that another boom will echo across the sand dunes – but not like that last one “Don’t fill us up with Glassons and Dotties keep it creative and keep it individual,” says Sam from the brilliantly named gift store When Your Sister’s A Witch back to its original beach resort – which was what it was for much of its life a little beach town - not a big retail centre,” says Toohey “Hopefully it’s something and they’re not just going to demolish places and just leave it – which is my gut feeling to be honest It may not be as much as people hope it’s going to be,” says Gilmore “Aside from the financial backing of getting stuff done in New Brighton it takes a bit of courage as well They seem pretty committed to it,” says Burgess they can be sure that Harris has done his research “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be involved in something that really has never occurred anywhere else and has this much underlying potential and this much strong evidence that the potential’s there without us having to create it,” says Harris The winds of change are picking up out east The commission signalled the charges in December You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image The 21-year-old trialled his kicking skills during a week-long visit to Florida in late February and has now secured a university scholarship Redman played his final game for New Brighton in their 38–17 win over Christchurch on Saturday coming off the bench as reserve halfback behind captain Tyson Belworthy he will play as a kicker – responsible for field goals and extra points – a role similar to taking penalty kicks and conversions in rugby Lifeguards at a popular Christchurch beach are not expecting a shark that saw the water cleared on Saturday afternoon to have lingered New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club chairperson Lachlan Hill said a staff member and a surfer reported seeing a fin just before midday yesterday "The life guards took out an IRB (inflatable rescue boat) to go and have a closer look and they spotted the shark again "They didn't get close enough to determine what type of shark it was or how big the shark was but just to be cautious they shut down the beach and put some shark signs out." the head life guard would be checking for any further sign of the shark before putting up the flags "We don't expect it to be hanging around overly very long because we never really see sharks there," Hill said "As long as people swim with a buddy and swim between the flags that's the safest place and there'll be life guards keeping a clear lookout." A number of surf life saving clubs serviced New Brighton Beach and Hill said they would all check their respective areas Other beaches across the country were forced to close on Saturday after shark sightings Lifeguards at Ōhope near the Top 10 Holiday Park in the Eastern Bay of Plenty evacuated the beach after a shark was spotted in the surf about 4pm People could be seen standing on the shoreline looking for the shark before leaving the beach soon after Lifeguards took down the flags at Ōhope and blew a whistle to alert swimmers of the shark Holidaymakers were also warned not to swim at Whiritoa Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula on Friday after reports of multiple shark sightings A spokesman for the Whiritoa Lifeguard Service told the Herald there had been three separate shark sightings close to the shore on Friday and the beach had been closed intermittently He said they did not get a good look at the sharks but thought they may have been bronze whalers - considering how shallow the water was they came into - and said they were "on the smaller side" He didn't know if the separate sightings were of the same shark Surf Life Saving earlier said a shark sighting near the flagged area of Waihī Beach forced its temporary closure on Christmas Day Lifesaving manager Andy Kent said shark sightings had mainly been reported at Bay of Plenty and Coromandel beaches shark attacks in New Zealand is incredibly low The biggest risk at the beach for people swimming is currents and rips," he said "You're far more likely to be caught in a rip than you are to be even approached by a shark There had been two shark attacks in the past 15 years preceded by half a century of no fatal shark attacks great white sharks had also been seen in Waikato's Kāwhia Harbour Waikato Regional Council said it was not unusual at this time of year when the water started to warm up and sharks were in search of food It said swimmers who saw a great white should quickly and calmly get out of the water and report any sightings of the protected species to the Department of Conservation Shark scientist Riley Elliott told RNZ earlier this week the risk of shark attacks was pretty low sharks headed inshore to drop off their pups in nursery habitats and generally happened to be the nice places people liked to swim in "But what that does mean is we don our Speedos and we go to the beach and we see sharks." The most common shark people would see in the North Island and Upper South Island was the bronze whaler they could encounter the sevengill shark and the great white shark Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday Popular beaches in holiday hotspots in both islands have been forced to close this afternoon after separate shark sightings but people should remember "it is their supermarket we are venturing into" The Department of Conservation (DoC) is alerting swimmers to look out for great white sharks after sightings in the Kawhia harbour in Waikato over recent weeks Commercial diver Jade Kahukore-Dixon was killed yesterday by a shark Jade Dixon was a commercial diver in the area and his grandmother Sandy says he was as "tough as old boots" New Zealand RSS Follow RNZ News While Donald Trump is being widely cited as a reason/explanation for Anthony Albanese’s landslide victory on the weekend that’s like blaming the icing for the state of a badly baked cake In no particular order of incoherence...although allegedly being the party of low taxes the Liberal opposition voted against Labor’s tax cuts Liberal coalition leader Peter Dutton also offered a natural gas policy that even the industry and his major donors (e.g The Pinnacles Hut and Summit Track are often used by international tourists visiting Coromandel and is one of DOC’s busiest with 15,000 bednights per year The report focuses on the transparency of public funding in the aged residential care sector and shows how our tax system allows multi-national providers to avoid paying the taxes that the public would expect them to pay demonstrating this through the example of UK-owned BUPA The PSA has welcomed the news from the NZDF that $33 million will be allocated to staff pay increases over the next four years as the result of last year’s industrial action As a maritime nation we are prioritising naval capability The new helicopters will be able to go further and carry larger loads personnel and equipment – all of which is critical for Defence to protect New Zealand and New Zealanders we can prevent the worst of the climate crisis by reducing methane pollution from intensive dairy which are under threat from intensive dairy pollution Jotika will join Living Wage Aotearoa New Zealand Executive Director to explore the struggles and resilience of Fiji's garment workers and their collective fight for better pay and conditions A new year brings a new title: The Greater New Brighton Leadership Group is now the Greater New Brighton Community Trust The change has been made to streamline processes for the Village Green project – a revamp of the New Brighton mall set to be behind the Pierside building on Marine Pde Trust advisor and treasurer Neil Cooper said becoming a trust will provide protection to the trustees and allow it to engage contractors directly rather than having to work through a third party “It is administrative action to provide a more efficient decision-making structure,” he said in 2025/2026 (we) will really see a huge change in the mall.” The trust is in the process of contracting an architect to draft a tender document for the Village Green which will go to the city council for approval in February decisions will be made as to what can be developed within the available budget of $2.5 million funded with help from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust Meetings will then be held to inform the local community “We’re finally at the stage where we can start looking at building We are absolutely committed to bringing the mall back up we never promised anything we could not deliver on,” Klenner said put my heart and soul into it – we believe in this community.” Both Cooper and Klenner said there has been resounding support from residents to make it an essential place in Brighton Being ready for next summer was close to Klenner’s heart Her “personal goal” was to see bands performing at the Village Green next summer “We want to do right by our community and the community deserves the project to make a long-term difference.” will be temporarily closed to the public until mid-April so scheduled maintenance and improvements in and around the pools can be carried out He Puna Taimoana manager Merryn Skipper said the exact re-opening date will be confirmed by the end of March “The closure is needed so we can maintain the equipment room to ensure the pools continue to run well," Skipper said "Other work includes modifications to the steam room and sauna and security updates.” Skipper thanked visitors for their patience in advance of the work being carried out "We know people love visiting He Puna Taimoana which is why we are carrying out the work during our quietest period "We want to keep the facility running efficiently and safely for customers and staff to enjoy." The New Brighton Museum is on the lookout for trotting memorabilia - but there is a catch It has to relate to the New Brighton Trotting Club which operated in east Christchurch from 1895 to 1963 "We want anything and everything," says Museum president Wayne Hawker We have a fair bit of stuff already but we are always keen for more They would on loan for the exhibition in October - November." plans to hold its exhibition just before New Zealand Cup Week It will also coincide with Heritage Week in Christchurch Recently the museum held a "50 years on" exhibition celebrating the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch "We had 2500 through the doors - it was a great success," says Hawker Central to the Commonwealth Games was QE2 Stadium where 10,000 champion Dick Tayler - among others - wrote themselves into New Zealand sporting folklore Way before it was a multi purpose sporting venue it was the site of the New Brighton Trotting Club For 70 years it was a bit of a rarity - a big city club with a grass track Trotting in New Brighton goes back around 140 years At a meeting held in the Sawyer's Arms Hotel in February 1883 the stewards "were empowered to select a course for races anywhere within the Avon Road District." The stewards chose land that skirted the swamps adjacent to New Brighton beach laid out a 1200 metre course at the Queen Elizabeth II Park property There was then a mixed trotting and racing programme and the first race on the site was held in 1886 but by all accounts the conditions were pretty rustic who built "Brooklyn Lodge" where he founded a stud and training and racing stables upgraded the track and built accommodation for the public the New Brighton Trotting Club held the first official race meeting on March 16th The first race was won by J Gallagher's Swinton by "300 yards" in 6.01 for two miles Button is best remembered as the father of Bella Button She was taking part in trotting events as far as the 1890s Two horses called Bella Button have since raced in this country most recently an eight win trotter trained by Mark Jones The club leased and then bought the land off the Button family with the track being as fast as any in the country was a two-time New Zealand Cup winner in 1920 and 21 which stood as the NZ and Australian mile record for a season was established on the track in 1923 while Harold Logan's 2:36.6 victory in the Avon Handicap over a mile and a quarter (2000m approx) from 84yds (76m) in October During WWI the army used the grounds for training exercises That changed during WWII as the grounds were given over to the Defence Department and the club raced at Addington The club returned to their home patch in 1948 after the site had had an extensive makeover But the advent of night trotting would change everything It was first introduced at Addington Raceway on November 20 the same night that Cardigan Bay won the Allan Matson Handicap in a new world record (3:18.2) By then the New Brighton club had decided to sell the site and transfer to Addington with the New Brighton Club merging with the Canterbury Park and the New Metropolitan Trotting Clubs in 1998 The course was sold to the Christchurch City Council (for $75,000!) and it became the venue for the 1974 Commonwealth Games It was extensively damaged in the 2010 Christchurch earthquake and was demolished soon after A smaller multi purpose complex is now on the site Hawker wants the museum's exhibition to showcase the New Brighton Trotting Club's significant contribution to harness racing in Canterbury In the last 40 years he's hardly missed a New Zealand Cup Borana winning in 1985 at odds of 70-to-one "and I also had the horse in the sweepstake at work!" For more information on the exhibition or to contact Wayne - [email protected] A new 2YO pacing Colts and Geldings race has been added to Addington's meeting on Friday The National Racing Bureau now has its own dedicated email and phone accounts © 2025 Harness Racing New Zealand  |  Privacy Policy A police investigation into a sudden death in New Brighton Christchurch has found it is not suspicious A woman’s sudden death at the centre of a major police probe in Christchurch is not being treated as suspicious Emergency services were alerted to a person in critical condition in the seaside suburb of New Brighton about 7.20pm on Monday sadly they passed away sometime later,” said a police spokesperson The death was initially treated as unexplained The house was the centre of a police scene examination yesterday a police spokeswoman confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious - and will be referred to the coroner Hato Hone St John said it was notified of an incident at a private residential address in New Brighton on Monday “We will not be providing any further information,” a spokesperson said referring the Herald to police for further details 'This is not something we’ve seen before.' A police investigation is underway after a sudden death in New Brighton An investigation is under way following a sudden death in Christchurch last night Emergency services were alerted to a person in critical condition in the seaside suburb of New Brighton at about 7.20pm yesterday The circumstances around the death are being treated as unexplained Locals can expect to see an increased police presence in the area while they conduct their scene examination Inquiries into the cause of death are ongoing Hato Hone St John said it was notified of an incident at a private residential address in New Brighton yesterday The New Brighton Museum is on the lookout for trotting memorabilia – but there is a catch “We want anything and everything,” said museum president Wayne Hawker They would on-loan for the exhibition in October-November.” plans to hold an exhibition just before New Zealand Cup Week It will also coincide with the city’s Heritage Week “We had 2500 through the doors – it was a great success,” Hawker said Trotting in New Brighton goes back about 140 years the stewards “were empowered to select a course for races anywhere within the Avon Road District’’ The stewards selected land that skirted the swamps near to New Brighton beach with the first race on the site held in 1886 who built Brooklyn Lodge where he founded a stud plus training and racing stables the New Brighton Trotting Club held its first official race meeting on March 16 a harness racing pioneer who was taking part in trotting events as far back as the 1890s Two horses called Bella Button have since raced here most recently an eight-win trotter trained by Mark Jones with the track as fast as any in the country was a two-time New Zealand Cup winner in 1920 and 1921 the army used the grounds for training exercises That changed during World War 2 when the grounds were given over to the Defence Department and racing moved to Addington The club returned to its home patch in 1948 after the site had undergone an extensive makeover But the advent of night trotting changed everything By then the New Brighton club had decided to sell the site and move permanently to Addington with the club merging with the Canterbury Park and the New Metropolitan Trotting Clubs in 1998 The course was sold to the city council for $75,000 Hawker wants the museum’s exhibition to showcase the New Brighton Trotting Club’s significant contribution to harness racing in Canterbury “And I also had the horse in the sweepstake at work!” • For more information on the exhibition or to contact Wayne, email hawkerwm@hotmail.co.nz - Harness News Desk South New Brighton nurse Kirsten Carey is calling for tighter regulations to control vaping after the owners of the Bridge St Dairy on Estuary Rd added a vape shop extension to their store in late October The Vape Shoppe New Brighton is less than 400m from South New Brighton School and 80m from a kindergarten Carey is concerned about the number of vape shops and the availability of vaping products in residential neighbourhoods “It’s just something I don’t want in our community I feel for the local dairy owners – it’s getting tougher and tougher – but I don’t think the solution is having a vape shop and we don’t need one in our community,” she said but we certainly don’t want devices that are going to cause harm to our children” He said it was a convenience store for the locals and his business met all the legal requirements to sell vape products He had received a lot of feedback from the community with people saying they were unhappy with the store and would be taking their business elsewhere general retailers selling vape products are limited to selling menthol while specialist vape retailers (SVRs) can sell a full range of products and flavours Some retailers have built smaller retail outlets within their stores allowing them to become specialist vape retailers Dairies and supermarkets with SVRs installed before August 2023 also avoid the proximity rule and are able to sell vapes within 300m of schools and maraes New vape legislation currently before the Health Select Committee proposes specialist vape stores will need to be at least 100m from early childcare education centres banning disposable vapes and banning the display of vaping and heated tobacco products in retail outlets “The legislation is going to address some of the issues around proximity I don’t think anyone’s proposing that pre-schoolers are going across the road to buy vapes,” Davidson said “I think what we’re talking about here is just a proliferation of vape stores “I was very disappointed they didn’t stick to the 2025 smokefree legislation” High vaping rates among young people continues to be a major public health concern A 2023/24 NZ Health survey found 10.5 per cent of people aged 15-17 vaped daily with that number almost tripling to 26.5 per cent among people aged 18-24 Carey is vowing to keep up her campaign and is pledging to take it further one-bathroom home on Estuary Rd opened at $250,000 and quickly gathered pace with the hammer coming down seven minutes and 29 bids later at $368,000 Seven buyers had registered to bid at the Bayleys auction five of whom put their hands up in the room The listing on OneRoof described the property as “not for the faint-hearted” and warned buyers would need hard hats to view it who vacated the house at least 15 years ago All interested buyers intended to either demolish or completely rebuild but there was an extra dollop of drama when a third buyer appeared from nowhere and knocked out two lead bidders “It sort of dismayed the two other bidders,” Archibald said “They were the last man and woman standing and they were just trying to knock each other off the perch .. and then they just got gazumped by this last bid.” Archibald told OneRoof the sale price far exceeded his expectations and he put this down to people wanting entry-level opportunities in the area “There was obviously going to be quite a lot of hard work involved in clearing the site.” New Brighton is still seen as an affordable entry-level coastal suburb for first-home buyers or developers “It’s an area of Christchurch that hasn’t really taken off yet,” Archibald said “Your land value is still quite affordable.” You are not permitted to download, save or email this image. Visit image gallery to purchase the image. New Brighton Surf Life Saving Club chairperson Lachlan Hill said a staff member and a surfer had reported seeing a fin in the water at New Brighton Beach just before midday. It is uncertain what type of shark the fin belonged to, he said, but signage was put up and the water cleared just in case. Hill said the club's head lifeguard would reassess the situation at the beach on Sunday morning, but he expected the shark had moved on and if safe, the flags would go back up around 11am. "We don't expect it to be hanging around [for] very long, because we never really see sharks there, and as long as people swim with a buddy and swim between the flags, that's the safest place." Other beaches across the country were forced to close on Saturday after shark sightings. Lifeguards at Ōhope near the Top 10 Holiday Park in the Eastern Bay of Plenty evacuated the beach after a shark was spotted in the surf about 4pm. People could be seen standing on the shoreline looking for the shark before leaving the beach soon after. Lifeguards took down the flags at Ōhope and blew a whistle to alert swimmers of the shark. Holidaymakers were also warned not to swim at Whiritoa Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula on Friday after reports of multiple shark sightings. A spokesman for the Whiritoa Lifeguard Service told the Herald there had been three separate shark sightings close to the shore on Friday and the beach had been closed intermittently. He said they did not get a good look at the sharks, but thought they may have been bronze whalers - considering how shallow the water was they came into - and said they were "on the smaller side". He didn't know if the separate sightings were of the same shark. Surf Life Saving earlier said a shark sighting near the flagged area of Waihī Beach, just down the coast from Whiritoa Beach, forced its temporary closure on Christmas Day. Shark scientist Riley Elliott told RNZ earlier this week the risk of shark attacks was pretty low. Over summer, sharks headed inshore to drop off their pups in nursery habitats, he said. Those areas were usually warm, calm, shallow and had lots of small fish, and generally happened to be the nice places people liked to swim in. The most common shark people would see in the North Island and Upper South Island was the bronze whaler, Elliott said. Further south, they could encounter the sevengill shark and the great white shark. New Brighton locals report being unable to open their windows or spend time outdoors as clouds of the non-biting insects descend on the area. "Last night, I had to run inside and shut the door behind me," local resident Alex Hewison said. "Some of our residents are actually temporarily moving out because of how bugging these flies have been." Hewison said the midges were making outdoor activities impossible. "You can't hang out with your family outside in the evenings. It's summer. You can't hang out your washing. You can't leave your windows open." Another resident, Sophie Fearn, has the same problem. "It makes you feel kind of dirty and like you can't relax," she said. The insects, which are attracted to light and prefer shallow, still water, are one of New Zealand's most abundant midge species. Canterbury Museum curator Johnathon Ridden said the native insects were thriving due to recent weather, which was creating ideal breeding conditions. "For this species, the weather conditions have led to some large emergences of it. Going up into Christmas, it was quite warm, and then we had some of that wet weather period, which caused fluctuations," he told 1News. Ridden added that the lack of vegetation around treatment ponds could be an issue. "Over that side of town, with no habitat between the ponds and the houses, when the midges can travel quite freely. If there was vegetation, that might act as a barrier." The Christchurch City Council told 1News it has put more plants around the treatment ponds. But while it has dredged and altered the water flow in the past to kill the bugs, it hasn't gone that far this year, as it could result in prolonged and significant odours. "It's a blessing it hasn't been the most hottest summer so far," Fearn said. "But I want to have my doors open at night and my lights on because yeah, it's summer." Locals are getting fed up as their attempts to get rid of the insects are in vain. (Source: 1News) Swarms of midges are terrorising a Christchurch beachside community as wet weather creates perfect breeding conditions near the city's wastewater treatment plant. 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Lady Gaga rocks Copacabana Beach with free concert for over 2 million fansSun, May 4 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 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robberyMon Swarms of midges are terrorising a Christchurch beachside community as wet weather creates perfect breeding conditions near the city's wastewater treatment plant New Brighton locals report being unable to open their windows or spend time outdoors as clouds of the non-biting insects descend on the area I had to run inside and shut the door behind me," local resident Alex Hewison said "Some of our residents are actually temporarily moving out because of how bugging these flies have been." Hewison said the midges were making outdoor activities impossible "You can't hang out with your family outside in the evenings You can't leave your windows open." "It makes you feel kind of dirty and like you can't relax," she said which are attracted to light and prefer shallow are one of New Zealand's most abundant midge species Canterbury Museum curator Johnathon Ridden said the native insects were thriving due to recent weather which was creating ideal breeding conditions the weather conditions have led to some large emergences of it and then we had some of that wet weather period which caused fluctuations," he told 1News Ridden added that the lack of vegetation around treatment ponds could be an issue with no habitat between the ponds and the houses The Christchurch City Council told 1News it has put more plants around the treatment ponds But while it has dredged and altered the water flow in the past to kill the bugs as it could result in prolonged and significant odours "It's a blessing it hasn't been the most hottest summer so far," Fearn said "But I want to have my doors open at night and my lights on because yeah More than 25kg of cocaine has been seized and four men arrested following an joint investigation into the importation of the drug into Christchurch Police and Customs received information about a "significant importation" of cocaine that had come through Lyttelton Port on March 29 Search warrants were then executed across the country by specialist teams to support investigators with evidence gathering including possession of cocaine for supply and burglary and will appear in various district courts across a range of dates Detective Senior Sergeant Phil Sparks said the seizure equated to more than 250,000 doses of cocaine and $9 million of harm "That is an enormous amount of damage and misery that had been heading into our communities that has now been halted through this investigation." Sparks said the success of the investigation was partly down to the "excellent partnership" between Customs and the police "We continue to have a focus on engaging with businesses and supporting their legitimate services by keeping them safe with prevention advice to deter drug trafficking organisations’ attempts to exploit their people and premises." Customs acting investigations manager Rachael Manning said the investigation resulted from quick action and close collaboration between the agencies as well as industry partners "We know that transnational and serious organised crime groups are actively targeting New Zealand to drive up both demand and supply of illegal drugs such as cocaine for maximum profit They’re using every method possible to exploit any vulnerabilities within international supply chains in secure areas or on vessels themselves." 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 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 Audrey Backeberg disappeared from a small city in south-central Wisconsin after reportedly hitchhiking with her family’s babysitter and catching a bus to Indianapolis Nobody ever knew where she went or what happened to her All that changed last week when she was found alive and safe in another state thanks to the fresh eyes from a deputy who took over the case in February Detective Isaac Hanson discovered an out-of-state arrest record that matched Backeberg which triggered a series of investigative moves that led to finding her alive and safe in another state Turns out Backeberg chose to leave the town of Reedsburg on her own accord – likely due to an abusive husband safe and secure; And just kind of lived under the radar for that long,” he said Hanson was assigned the case in late February and he and other officials met with Backeberg’s family to see if they had a connection with that region They also started digging through Backeberg's sister's Ancestry.com account obituaries and marriage licenses from that region they found an address where a woman was living that Hanson said shared a lot of similarities with Backeberg including date of birth and social security number Hanson was able to get a deputy from that jurisdiction to go to the address "I was expecting the deputy to call me back and say ‘Oh nobody answered the door.’ And I thought it was the deputy calling me I could sense that she obviously had her reasons for leaving.” Most of the information he learned during that call he declined to share saying that it was still important to Backeberg that she not be found “I think it overwhelmed her of course with the emotions that she had having a deputy show up at her house and then kind of call her out and talk with her about what happened and kind of relive 62 years in 45 minutes,” he said Hanson described discovering her safe after more than six decades practically unheard of And while he doesn't know what will happen next in terms of her family reconnecting he said he was happy that she can reach out if she wants to so she has my contact number if she ever wants to reach out or needs anything any phone numbers of family members back here," he said "Ultimately she kind of holds the cards for that.” A law student at Victoria University of Wellington said students had been "left in the lurch" after an announcement on Monday that said next month's exams for two law subjects would have to be handwritten also said a timetable had still not been provided he said he had become "increasingly worried that the embedding of artificial intelligence (AI) in many students' laptops makes ensuring that students' work is their own very difficult" He had hoped the university would have a technical solution although he hoped one would be available at the end of the year "This means that we will not be able to allow students to use laptops for exams next month," McLay wrote "I want to make this announcement as soon as possible so students have time to prepare for handwritten examinations." McLay added that there would be an exception for students with a disability that required them to use a keyboard The situation affected the LAWS 312 Equity and LAWS 334 Ethics exams The student said the announcement was stressful during an already stressful time a representative of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Students' Society said the Council of Legal Education had to be certain that everyone who passed the exams in Equity and Ethics deserved a pass (and did not cheat) "Previously in person invigilation has been sufficient to manage these concerns due to the increasing ability and sophistication of AI the faculty were concerned about the reliability of the exams leading to their decision to make the Equity and Ethics exams handwritten." The representative said the law students' society had expressed that students' preference was for typed exams — "reflecting how our professional lives will look" once it became clear that the faculty felt they needed to proceed with handwritten exams we emphasised that students should be informed as early as possible accessibility options should be made clear and exam content and timing should reflect the fact that many students have not done handwritten exams since high school and are not used to writing for extended periods of time." The representative added it was separate from the delay to the exam timetable Victoria University Provost Professor Bryony James said students' handwriting their exams meant the university could be confident that the results truly reflected the students' own knowledge and effort — free of any suggestion of the influence of AI James said she would ensure that no student was disadvantaged and was committed to working with students — including those with disabilities — who might need further support to participate in exams and final assessments as a result "As part of this undertaking the Faculty of Law will review this Trimester's exam results to ensure this cohort's performance is in line with previous years and confirm that students are not significantly impacted by this decision." President of Victoria University's Students' Association Liban Ali told Morning Report he was aware that this could happen as early as last year "It has been on the card as of last year I feel like there was something that was going to happen." Ali said the announcement had come at the wrong time and that the Students' Association were very concerned for students He said the Students' Association had engaged the Law Society and the faculty to determine the best way to support students He added that he would make sure that any changes were communicated early in the future rnz.co.nz The Government halts all current pay equity claims Stanford concedes use of personal email 'untidy' and a Kiwi motorcyclist has been killed in a crash in England Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden said the proposed changes would "significantly reduce costs to the Crown" and would discontinue current claims There have been massive pay equity claims in recent years for nurses and rest home workers The PSA union said the changes were a "dark day for New Zealand women" while the nurse's union described it as a "blatant and shameful attack" Read More Erica Stanford has spoken after 1News revealed she sent pre-Budget announcements to her personal email last year and had used her Gmail for ministerial business over the course of her time as a minister who holds the education and immigration portfolios said today she was "not a perfect human" she put the practice down to printing issues But Stanford said she had "taken lots of steps" to avoid the issue from arising further Read More A stranger allegedly tried to force an 8-year-old boy into a car outside an Auckland primary school yesterday before bystanders intervened and the man drove off Rowandale School principal Karl Vasau told 1News the pupil was "doing fine" following the incident and was surrounded by a "supportive Police confirmed they were investigating an incident from around 3pm on Monday outside Rowandale School in the suburb of Manurewa Read More Shane William Pritchard has been charged with crimes he didn’t commit and chased for debts he doesn’t owe That’s because the Dunedin man is not the only Shane William Pritchard in town The duo’s shared name and age has sometimes been a handy loophole for one Shane but it has caused problems for 36 years and he's approached Gill Higgins for help Read More was fatally injured alongside Englishman Owen Jenner on the first corner of the race at Oulton Park who was a previous New Zealand rider of the year Cemetery Circuit in Whanganui posted to its social media in tribute to Richardson a fantastic and talented racer and a genuine human" Read More Homegrown will be held at Hamilton's Claudelands Oval confirmed it would be leaving Wellington's waterfront after being there for 18 years Organisers said Hamilton offers potential for the festival to expand and evolve as New Zealand's fastest-growing city Read More A Brazilian judge today ordered the arrest of a man suspected of being involved in an alleged plot to place explosives at a concert by singer Lady Gaga in Rio de Janeiro Judge Fabiana Pagel of the Rio Grande do Sul state court did not name the suspect in her ruling but said he is a man investigated by Rio de Janeiro police as the alleged mastermind of the plot said yesterday they had released a man under investigation for the alleged plot after he paid his bail Brazilian media reported that is the same man jailed today by Judge Pagel Rio police did not reveal names of either of its two suspects or show images of the explosives that the alleged plotters intended to use said authorities believed the suspects sought to target Brazil’s LGBTQ community The Rio event on Sunday was the biggest show of the pop star’s career attracting an estimated 2.5 million fans to Copacabana Beach with 5200 military and police officers deployed to the beach where fans were revelling While the duo’s shared name and age has sometimes been a handy loophole for one Shane for the other it has caused problems for 36 years It’s been years of fearing every knock on the door Years of wondering if he’ll be hand-cuffed and taken to jail to be honest,” says Shane William Pritchard a scout and a member of the Air Training Corp remembers getting quite a shock when her friend called one evening She'd been acting as a referee for a gun licence for Shane whose friend informed her that the police had a long list of offences against Shane’s name Not long after that the police turned up to where Shane was working at the local tannery to arrest him “You're scrambling in your head to think of ways that you can prove it's not you.” Another Shane William Pritchard had been born in Otago They were separated by just two weeks and about 50 miles – one growing up in Mosgiel the other in Milton – but also by the lives they’d been leading To watch the full video story go to TVNZ+ Shane from Milton had huge problems focusing at school He was raised in foster care and then boys’ homes I just wanted to look cool and get in trouble,” he tells Fair Go Milton Shane was used to run-ins with police he got pulled over in his car and asked about his driving licence one’s got a licence and the other hasn’t.’ And I’m like ‘obviously it must be the one with a licence’.” he went to his bank to draw out an ACC payment and was asked which bank account was his He says that at that point he was trying to figure out what was going on “I thought it was just an error.” But he took advantage of the situation and withdrew a large sum of cash Mosgiel Shane became aware of the withdrawal when a scheduled car payment was declined and when Milton Shane turned up at the bank to withdraw more money Identity fraud was considered but Milton Shane was legitimately expecting an ACC payment so the withdrawal appeared to be a genuine mistake and the police couldn’t take any action 'Anything I could get away with Mosgiel Shane thought the bank incident would have alerted police to the problem But his nemesis had cottoned on to the advantages of having a second identity to use Milton Shane acquired a suite of furniture on hire-purchase Milton-Shane clocked up more driving offences Mosgiel Shane thought about changing his name but realised he’d have to provide his previous name in the process the courts and debt collectors such as Baycorp should be able to distinguish between himself and Milton Shane The police first addressed the issue in the 1990s after Mosgiel Shane went to the media He was given a letter to carry with him should he be apprehended He and his parents felt his situation wasn’t being taken seriously Mosgiel Shane went to the media a second time in the mid-2000s the police gave their word that a record in their system would stop the misidentification from happening again This does appear to have worked as far as police action goes But while Mosgiel Shane was given the same reassurance by the Ministry of Justice he continued to receive demands from the courts for unpaid fines He’d also get stopped and questioned whenever he left the country for work trips or holidays It took a huge toll on Mosgiel Shane’s mental health not realising the constant stress it placed on his life John Pritchard says that at times his son felt his life wasn’t worth living worrying about what he was going to do to himself and that really ate me up.” he and his son were in tears as Shane admitted he was at breaking point He described going for days at a time unable to eat or sleep wondering what might happen next "Am I going to be in a position where they've got me in handcuffs or I've got debt collectors coming to the door?" ...You're spiralling into this black hole." He started taking anti-anxiety medication which helped And events regarding Milton Shane seemed to settle Milton Shane was charged for fishing without a licence in Twizel and failing to comply with fisheries officers But a court registrar incorrectly entered the birth date of Mosgiel Shane in the system both Shanes were being chased to pay the $1530 fine It was Mosgiel Shane who spotted the error and rang the court He also sent a statement from his manager saying he’d not been fishing in Twizel that day The reply he got was to say he’d been given the wrong form and that they wouldn’t accept his proof They just wanted to know how I was going to pay the fine.” The first Milton Shane knew about this was when Fair Go told him Mosgiel Shane had been chased for the fine He was told to pay up or face the consequences feeling he shouldn’t have to pay good money to correct someone else’s mistake But it cost Mosgiel Shane over $5000 in legal fees and took months of back and forth between him “Why should anybody have to pay their own money to right somebody else's wrongs and prove who they are I’m sick and tired of proving who I am all the time.” He wanted the Ministry of Justice to take responsibility and reimburse him for his legal costs saying court staff such as the registrar in this case have immunity if they make mistakes such as the one made here and if I make a mistake and it's affecting my client that it's going to cost them money to rectify a mistake that I've made.” he deserves a million apologies from those guys,” she says Milton Shane told Fair Go he still gets in trouble but wants the other Shane to know he doesn’t use his birth date anymore And he had a message for him: “We’ve got to get it sorted for you so you can have a good life with you and your family because I’m trying to get my life together with my son and my grandson” He offers to meet to see if they can sort it out together but I’m not interested in meeting him,.” says Mosgiel Shane He says he doesn’t hold any grudges and accepts Milton Shane’s apology And he believes the only way for that to happen is for the courts and the Ministry of Justice to give him a guarantee that mix-ups won’t occur in the future Fair Go asked the Ministry of Justice to appear in person to apologise and provide reassurance to Shane of its plans to guard against these mistakes The Ministry declined our request to be on camera saying any comment on an individual case would compromise the independence of the courts as the Ministry operates separately But it did send a written apology directly to Mosgiel Shane It also admitted mistakes can occur in clerical records but said instructions were clear and the importance of getting things right had been emphasised to staff Mosgiel Shane isn’t totally convinced that’s the end of it “All I want is for the Ministry of Justice and the courts to do their job I'd like to live without this hanging over me all the time his criminal check has come back showing a clean slate "Police are still working to understand exactly what was occurring at the time and our enquiries are ongoing," a spokesperson said "We have spoken with the boy and will continue to work through a careful process Rowandale School principal Karl Vasau said in a statement to social media that other parents had intervened "The student then made his way home and told his parents who then came into school to let us know and then they rung the police." Vasau told 1News the pupil was "doing fine" following the incident and was surrounded by a "supportive "Our student is safe now and his family are thankful that nothing further happened to their boy but are wanting us all to be aware and stay safe It's about working with that child to make them feel safe again but also looking forward to returning back to school with a little bit of normality." Police had reacted "pretty quickly" to the reports "They've been in this morning to touch base and connect the community police constables are going to come back to tomorrow to address the whole school in relation to what had happened and around keeping themselves safe before and after school." Increased police patrols would remain in the area after school from Wednesday Anyone with relevant information should contact police on 105 Kiwi motorcyclist Shane Richardson is one of two riders who died in an 11-bike crash at a British Supersport Championship event A statement from British Superbikes said the race was immediately stopped and trackside medical services deployed "Due to the extreme severity of the incident and ongoing medical intervention the remainder of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship event was cancelled," a spokesperson said "This catastrophic accident has tragically resulted in two riders being fatally injured and another sustaining significant injuries." Richardson was initially treated trackside and then taken to the circuit's medical centre before he was taken to Royal Stoke University Hospital with "severe chest injuries" Jenner was also initially treated trackside and then taken to the circuit medical centre where he died from a "catastrophic head injury" British rider Tom Tunstall suffered back and abdominal injuries and a further five riders including New Zealander Morgan McLaren-Wood were transferred to the circuit medical centre with minor injuries which did not require transfer to hospital Three more riders were also involved but were uninjured "Devastated to hear we have lost another of our racing family Our thoughts are with Hannah and the family along with our condolences to Owen’s family too." Richardson's sponsor Whites Powersports said the team was "extremely saddened" by the news of his death "Shane will be remembered by many as a great racer Our thoughts go out to Shane’s young family and friends during this tough time The New Zealand Superbike Championship said its "deepest sympathies" went out to Richardson's family and friends 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 The government is making it harder to make a claim for pay equity that will cut costs There have been massive pay equity claims in recent years for nurses and resthome workers Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden announced the moves to raise the threshold for proving work has been historically undervalued to support a claim on Tuesday saying changes back in 2020 had created problems "Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors." Claims were concentrated in the public sector with costs to the Crown of all settlements so far totalling $1.78 billion a year "The changes I am proposing will significantly reduce costs to the Crown," she said "The changes will discontinue current pay equity claims." Van Velden told Midday Report she believes in pay equity but the current thresholds were "a bit too loose" Asked how she ensure women were not hurt by this the minister said "I'm a woman and I support women who work" "I also support removing gender based discriminations from our workforces but what I don't support are muddied laws and unclear laws," she said "So these changes are better for all women who are working where we can genuinely say hand on heart that what they are finding with their claims is genuine gender based discrimination." Van Velden told reporters at Parliament any current claims would be stopped and need to restart under the new threshold to show "genuine" gender discrimination and make sure the comparators were right She gave a figure of 33 current claims that would be stopped as the legislation was put through under urgency "You have librarians who've been comparing themselves to transport engineers We have admin and clerical staff at Health New Zealand comparing themselves to mechanical engineers." Social workers had compared themselves to air traffic controllers "We don't believe we have that setting right." Any comparison would now be between female employees and male employees at the same employer "But you cannot go fishing for discrimination across the New Zealand workforce." All current settled claims would continue but the government was drawing "a line in the sand" "We're not stopping claims." The nurse's union has this year had at least 10 pay equity claims in play The PSA union has said pay equity claims and settlements had resulted in significant improvements in pay and working conditions for many workers The union said the changes would make it "impossible for people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly" "Women across the country will pay the price for this," PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said "The government's changes today are a dark day for New Zealand women as the government says it will repeal the pay equity law and extinguish 33 existing claims in a constitutional overreach "The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women We will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all." "This is a blatant and shameful attack on women," New Zealand Nurses organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said "Women in workforces predominantly performed by female employees have been underpaid and undervalued for generations That is what pay equity claims seek to rectify," he said "This move by the government will widen the pay gap between men and women." The union had at least 10 pay current pay claims across Aged Care These cover many nurses and support workers The E tū union also called the changes an attack on women and a green light to pay them less for work of equal value The government was pulling the rug out from under a 13-year-long fight in aged care "These changes are not about evidence — they are about saving money by keeping women underpaid," national secretary Rachel Mackintosh said in a statement A number of unions have called a snap rally at Parliament at 1pm today in light of the announcement the Council of Trade Unions and representatives of other unions say they will be "protesting the government's attack on women and the destruction of progress on pay equity..." rnz.co.nz 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 Alex Casey spends the afternoon on New Brighton beach with kite-flying YouTuber Jim Nicholls Head to Christchurch’s New Brighton on any summer’s day and you are likely to check a few things off your beachside bingo card There’ll be a couple of fishermen casting off the pier kids splashing around in the fountain-filled playground and diners clinging to their fish and chip wrappers in the wind What you might not expect to see is an 84-year-old man confidently conducting a cavalcade of critters including a 40-foot long centipede a 33-foot giant squid and a 60-square-foot Spongebob Squarepants The day I head out to meet local kite enthusiast Jim Nicholls there’s no shortage of spectacle on display Winds are gusting over 50km/h and sand is whipping his face as he sends up his “well-mannered” UltraFoil 30 high into the air using its long line to attach a gigantic penguin and a spiky rainbow spinning tube before scuttling over the dunes to fetch another clutch of kites including a happy-faced triangular ‘Pink Smiley’ which he bequeaths to me to take home It’s an honour to receive such a taonga from Aotearoa’s leading kite content creator, who has amassed thousands of fans on his YouTube channel And while you might imagine that an English-born man in his 80s probably stumbled across kites somewhere in the Hundred Acre Wood Nicholls didn’t discover his obsession until he was in his 70s that he spontaneously bought a kite at a nearby stall from a woman who likely thought he was just “a grumpy old man,” he tells me “Everybody else had their kites in the air launched the small parafoil on the quiet side of the pier “The whole idea of having something of yours up there in the sky immediately attracted me,” he says That other one turned into a cascade of kites.” His collection now takes up much of his small Parklands home and includes everything from Superman to a disembodied set of legs kicking a football I don’t have the faintest idea how many kites I have,” he says I’ve never had the courage to find out.” He also refrains from picking out a favourite I can enjoy flying a $10 kite from China just as much as I can enjoy flying a $1,000 kite from Germany.”  Early on in Nicholls’ kite collecting journey he identified a problem – you could never know how a kite would actually fly from a plain product photograph on a website “I thought that maybe I could start making some videos give people a better idea of what they’re actually like,” he says He set up a YouTube channel and uploaded his first video – ‘19ft Delta mesh kite’ – on January 14 It’s great for lifting big tails,” the caption reads he has been consistently uploading multiple times a week to his channel Jim’s Kites (tagline: “How to fly kites What kites are best!”) and has amassed over seven million views and nearly 12,000 dedicated followers with ‘How To Launch and Fly a Kite’ at nearly 500,000 views and ‘The 10 Big Rules of Kite Flying’ not far behind “I suppose people go on YouTube needing help and they come across it,” he says but I suppose now it’s almost become a compulsion,” he laughs “I try to put up a couple of videos every week at least so I always make a point of going to fly.”  His kite-flying encompasses world events too – at last year’s Kite Day he flew dove kites for Gaza I suggest to Nicholls that his YouTube channel might be one of the only good places left on the internet there’s nothing bad about kites,” he chuckles “There are a lot of people who view my videos regularly and we keep up a correspondence through the comments or people email me and we chat about kites There are some people that I email with quite regularly that I’ve never met and never will meet in most cases.” And what characteristics does he think unites kite-flyers around the world While Nicholls has a legion of fans online he finds there’s slightly less real-life interest in his kite-flying “I think the phones have killed kite flying they sit down and they look at their phone They don’t even look at the sky or the waves anymore.” One Kite Day and gave them away to any kids who showed interest in his display “I gave away about 50 or 60 kites that day but I never saw anybody flying them ever again Nicholls isn’t interested in what anyone else thinks of his kite-flying he’s also not setting sky high expectations for himself I used to spend six or seven hours flying on the beach two or three hours go by and I’ve had enough,” he says my goal is just to keep going a bit longer.”  As ever, he kept looking up: “It had been fun while it lasted,” he wrote. Sign up to Rec Room, The Spinoff’s weekly guide to the very best in entertainment, delivered to your inbox every Friday. 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 84-year-old kite-flying enthusiast and YouTuber said ever since he started flying about 15 years ago “To understand the pleasure that kites can provide so I encourage as many people as possible to bring a kite and join with other fliers – it’s a lot of fun,” Jim said Kite Day is open to participation by anyone who don’t usually fly kites taking part and having a lot of fun,” said Jim The Parklands resident has attended all but one Kite Day since he started flying “On Kite Day I try to fly kites that appeal to children as well as other colourful and attractive kites including large octopus and other sea creatures,” he said With the ability to fly large groups of kites all at once Jim puts on a spectacularly colourful show “What kites actually get flown depends a lot on the wind conditions Last Kite Day was probably the best we’ve ever had with sunshine and a steady easterly breeze all day.” Great weather conditions also assisted Jim in achieving his personal kite-flying record in May 2017 when he flew over 50 smiley kites on New Brighton beach to celebrate his 1000th YouTube kite video “It was fun until the time came to pack them all away,” he says Jim’s channel has more than 11,000 subscribers about 7 million views and is watched by people around the world “I have made many overseas friends because of it.” Food trucks and a kite shop will also be onsite at the event hub Photo / SuppliedA builder who saved his family home from demolition after the Christchurch earthquakes has put it on the market for sale is a familiar sight to members of Rawhiti Golf Course The property has sat on the edge of the course for more than 50 years Gareth Cook’s late father Cam purchased the plot in the late 1960s and spent the following 10 years building his dream family home in his spare time Cam was inspired by his upbringing in rural Australia where communities built homes using the natural materials around them he sourced from Halswell Quarry the stones usually reserved for churches and public buildings he used large wooden beams and created a rimu-lined cathedral-type ceiling - $975,000 bid thwarts couple’s plans to hold wedding in Christchurch’s best first-home buyer house - Revealed: The renovations that can add $400,000 to the value of a home - The trophy home where you can hunt wild deer from the deck - ‘I shot three in one night’ Cook told OneRoof he was around four years old when his father started the build He recalled following him around with a mini-wheelbarrow “Most of my childhood memories are of dad working on the house The house was damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 and Cook’s mum moved out and into a new home “The insurance company took a long time to settle because it was such a complex house It kind of went into their ‘too-hard basket’.” Cook said his mum did not want the house bowled and replaced with units The build used natural materials such as rimu for the ceilings and stone from the Halswell Quarry The owner carried out a full renovation on the home which included a new kitchen with a stone benchtop and walk-in pantry Cook and his wife Annette purchased the home from her in 2019 and he used his expertise and contacts to re-level and repair the home The couple then moved into the property and carried out a full renovation adding a new kitchen with a stone bench top They had planned to make it their own forever home so no expense was spared “We did the extra things you would do to a home the couple’s children have now left home and they have decided to sell Cook said the home was dear to him and he hoped a new family would enjoy it as much as his family had “Whoever takes it over is going to get something special not just another suburban house.” The property also has one of New Brighton’s original artesian wells Yet another point of difference for the home is an original artesian well dating back to when the area was a beach town filled with baches and people didn’t have access to the town water supply The crystal-clear water from the well is accessed by a pipe with a tap in the backyard Ray White listing agent Holly Jones said the property had been attracting plenty of interest locally because it was such an iconic house “There’s no home like it in the area,” she said The first open home had close to 70 people through its doors including a good mix of curious neighbours and genuine buyers looking to upsize and wanting something architectural “It suits both lifestyle lovers because it’s right opposite the golf course plus you are so close to the beach - 196 Keyes Road, in New Brighton, Christchurch, goes to auction on October 24 Project Jonah medics have been mobilised and.. A mass stranding of around 30 pilot whales near Farewell Spit last night By RNZ An attempt to refloat 30 whales that stranded in Pākawau Project Jonah said another stranding had taken place in Christchurch involving a juvenile beaked whale that came ashore in New Brighton Project Jonah was called to reports of up to 30 pilot whales coming on-shore about 7pm Saturday Local medics and the senior Project Jonah team stayed with the whales until last light It was the third stranding in the area in the past two months “We welcome help this morning to upright the whales and keep them cool and then those with wetsuits will be needed from midday to assist with the refloat,” Project Jonah said on social media so please bring appropriate gear to keep yourself warm Eight of 10 whales that stranded on January 7 were successfully refloated Department of Conservation Golden Bay operations manager Ross Trotter told RNZ last week it was unclear why whale strandings happen There’s been a lot of theories and scientific research into it but we don’t know why they [the whales] strand in the first place or why they [repetitively] strand.” The shape of the bay was a possible factor Project Jonah said they were quickly at the scene and got it refloated “Alongside locals and Department of Conservation rangers the area is being closely monitored for any further signs of the whale.” Sign up to the Daily H a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday A garage fire near New Brighton drew five departments to help extinguish the flames According to the New Brighton Department of Public Safety (NBDPS) Crews arrived and found heavy fire and smoke across the row of 12 garages Due to the volume of fire and size of the garages assistance was needed from Lake Johanna Fire NBDPS said the fire was quickly extinguished and damage was limited to two units and NBDPS reports the fire does not appear to be suspicious Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KSTP via our online form or call 651-646-5555 It's Friday night and that means a huge night of racing at both Addington and Alexandra Park Direct qualification for the IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup and the Renwick Farms Dominion Trot is on the line at Addington while Jeremiah looks the one to beat in the new Metro Final at Auckland Sherlock returns in tough first up assignment at Addington The TAB bookies and trainer Nathan Purdon don’t see eye to eye on Sherlock’s return at Addington on Friday tonight seem far more confident than the four-year-old’s co-trainer Sherlock returns in the $40,000 Avon City Ford New Brighton Cup (8.05pm) having spent much of the second half of last season in Victoria He developed a throat issue while there that required an operation and then got sick upon returning home so it has been a long time between races for the fast son of Vincent Sherlock has looked sharp at two recent trials including beating Republican Party at Rangiora last week but Purdon says it is very hard to win after such a long layoff “He is a really fast horse so I am not saying he won’t win but I wouldn’t be surprised if he needs a run,” says Purdon “Even after his trials he has some trimming up to do and I don’t think Blair will be over driving him “So it could depend on where he settles and the tempo but he will definitely improve with the run.” Making life even tougher for Sherlock is the fact all his rivals have had at least one start this campaign or more so they have to be fitter than him The Dunn army return tonight after winning the last two feature paces on Friday nights and it is hard to decide between their four chances with perhaps Charlie Brown their best hope but Who's Delight maybe the big improver The Team Telfer pair of Ohoka Connor and B D Joe both come forward 10m in the handicaps compared with the Maurice Holmes Vase two weeks ago but whether Ohoka Connor can step cleanly and take advantage of that could decide his chances Purdon will have an even better open class pacer to send out soon as Don’t Stop Dreaming remains at his Christchurch property even though it was suggested he was heading north to his father Mark “He ended up staying here and he is going well he seems over the issues he had so will trial in two weeks and race about 10 days out from the Ashburton Flying Stakes.” Purdon starts to bring more horses back to the races tonight and likes some of the team’s prospects “Look To Da Stars could win Race 2 but he could also finish last because he can be hit and miss “Party Central is a nice horse we have in Race 6 (Ark Financial Group Mobile Pace) and he is ready to go so will go close.” Treacherous Baby races in the Nevele R Fillies heat and was eye-catching flying home last week so is an obvious chance if she can get the right tow into the race from a poor draw in a big field “His work this week has been good and she has good standing start manners so I think she is one of our better chances.” Dunns out to extend winning run in the Ordeal Diamond Racing will line up the two favourites and the defending champion in the $40,000 Hickman Family Ordeal Trotting Cup (7.15pm) with the winner automatically qualifying for the $400,000 Renwick Farms Dominion Trot on IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup day at Addington Raceway on Tuesday Robert and Jenna Dunn ,the country's leading trainers have three well-credentialled runners in the event with John Dunn opting for $4.40 favourite Sunnys Sister while Tim Williams will drive last start winner Mighty Logan and Blair Orange will team up with defending champion Aardiebythehill Last year he took out the Group 3 after a gripping battle with Muscle Mountain who was slow away and went down by half a head Team Dunn has won four of the last five Ordeal Cups Paul Nairn also holds a strong hand with his last start winners Tectonic ($8.50) and Confessional ($6) Jeremiah one to beat in Metro Final at Alexandra Park When a horse gets his own way in front and falls in to win it usually isn’t a good next-up form pointer But don’t be fooled in to thinking that sums up Jeremiah’s chances in the first $35,000 Lather Up Northern Metro Final at Alexandra Park tonight (7.30pm) Because co-trainer Scott Phelan says a seemingly poor second line draw tonight could actually aid the three-year-old over the 2200m mobile Jeremiah was too good for many he meets tonight in a heat of this series but on that occasion led only paced a sedate 2:42 and his last 800m in 56.1 seconds so had every right to win “I don’t think we saw the best of him that night because he is not actually a leader,” explains Phelan “He is a better chaser and I think you will see that in the second half of the season “He is a pretty good horse and we think he might be one of the better three-year-olds in the country “We’d love to get him into THE VELOCITY at Addington on Show Day and we think he isn’t far behind Cold Chisel [Great Northern Derby winner].” If that is the case then Jeremiah is the one to beat even from the second line tonight in a race that shows the Metro series concept is working as it has real depth including Always B Elite (favourite’s stablemate) The Purdon/Phelan stable has a host of good chances throughout the night starting with Ilsa Son in Race 1 The What The Hill - Sire of Square Gait Stars Handicap Trot He was trapped wide last time but Phelan expects him to be better suited by the 2200m step and run tonight Invisible and former Southland pacer Hezasweetie can both be prominent in Race 2 the Downbytheseaside - Making A Splash Mobile Pace although the latter’s inside second line draw negates his gate speed on his northern debut The stable has smart juvenile fillies Won And Only and I’m Sandra Dee in the Dunstan Horsefeeds Sires’ Stakes heat which features the majority of the field backing up from last Friday’s abandoned fillies race after a race smash How that has impacted the confidence of the fillies involved is impossible to know but with most coming from major stables punters should be comfortable they wouldn’t be lining up if the signs had not been good It features a battle between Purdon/Phelan and Team Telfer as does the Woodlands Sires' Stakes heat for boys in the very next race in which Bar Louie’s front line draw gives him the edge over the Purdon/Phelan trio of Confederate Phelan was thrilled with how the stable big guns Merlin Sooner The Better and Mach Shard came through their first public workout of a new campaign at Pukekohe last week so well we don’t think they will need another workout before the Spring Cup [September 20].” the highly-popular Metro Trotting and Pacing Series is back For a $2,800 purchase Les White is pretty chuffed with how well his mate Bettor Reaction has been performing as of late and the Auckland Reactor gelding could well add to his earnings at Cambridge today It’s an annual two-day event eagerly anticipated by thousands of Canterbury primary school pupils held at South New Brighton Domain last week attracted about 4000 pupils from Hanmer to Ashburton Sport Canterbury event co-ordinator Isaac Sutherland said it was all about having a good time with your mates has become one of the largest primary school participation events in the country The long-awaited new Pages Rd bridge is a step closer to being built The $65 million 'Gateway to New Brighton' project will see a brand-new bridge built along with major upgrades to Pages Rd and improvements to surrounding streets The project was approved by a hearings panel on Thursday with the recommendations now going to Christchurch City Council for final approval "It provides the lifeline link to the area "So we know if there was a tsunami or another event that it provides the key linkage for the eastern suburbs to get out of the area so it is really vital that we get that work completed as soon as possible." The current Page Rd bridge is almost 100-years-old and suffered significant damage in the earthquakes A report by city council staff warned if nothing was done the bridge would continue to deteriorate and put the safety of thousands of residents at risk Public consultation resulted in the panel proposing a number of changes to the project’s initial design plan such as including additional parking on Hawke St