NZ Post: Please Check Your Front Steps

The bench, as seen on Google...

Recently in Wellington, I sat on a bench beside NZ Post House, a corporate structure on Waterloo Quay.
Just a simple concrete bench, somewhere to park the bum for ten minutes. The good thing: within two metres were two 'No Smoking' signs, which meant I'd have clean air to relax in. But within two minutes, the best-laid plans of mice and men began to unwravel, to wit:
3.30pm - sat down.
3.32pm - a couple stood behind me and lit cigarettes. When the no-smoking area was pointed out to them, they moved begrudgingly away into the nearby carpark.
3.35pm - a woman lit up beside me. When I showed her the sign, she apologised and walked off.
3.39pm - a man leant on the wall behind me and lit up. When asked to move, he got rather snotty, took two paces out onto the footpath and sniped: "Is this good enough?"
3.43pm - another smoking couple arrived: their response to my enquiries was another grumpy departure.
3.45pm - Hmmm, thought I, if I'm feeling such little love, then who - if anyone - enforces these no-smoking areas? Was the answer above? Up the lift to NZ Post's office...but the receptionist could not enlighten me at all. She seemed lacking in any knowledge of who actually owned the building and thus who was administratively in charge. She did know that a no-smoking zone existed: "The zone's been there for quite a while, but we only removed the butt bin a few months ago." I must be a little slow. What's the point of a no-smoking zone, if it has a bin for cigarette butts?

For Whom The Bell Tolls

This Christmas may have been the last for the historic St Stephen's Presbyterian Church in Ponsonby.
The Gothic-style wooden church officially opened on the corner of Jervois and Shelly Beach Roads on 28 Jan.1880 (built at a cost of £300). But dwindling congregations and large bills for earthquake-proofing may force it to close its doors, as the Presbyterian Church of NZ assesses its buildings.
Churchgoers were told that safeguarding the building would cost in excess of 500K, which the parish can't afford to pay as it only has 30-40 members.
A recent evaluation showed the church only scored 29% of the current earthquake standard for new buildings. The Building Act 2004 requires them to be no less than 34%. So as it stands, the church would be 10-25 times more at risk during an earthquake than a new building. It is considered to be legally earthquake-prone.
Northern Presbytery project manager Forbes Worn says the decision is out of the hands of the Presbyterian Church, and there're up to 30 Presbyterian churches in Auckland facing similar problems.

The church in 1898...
'Sir George Grey Special Collections,
Auckland Libraries, 4-3540'

I've walked past the church on a number of Sundays, and delighted at the beautiful singing emanating from within. If this church is lost, it will be yet another sad day for NZ's heritage levels. Christchurch's EQ losses have catapulted risk assessments to the top of the national agenda, with the result that EQ future-proofing is now a bigger gravy train than the Treaty of Waitangi!
A decision on St Stephen's future is likely by February. One hopes the decisionmakers consider how statistically low the possibility of a damaging EQ in Auckland actually is.
The value to the city and NZ of this gorgeous church must exceed the projected $500K strengthening bill! Surely the current EQ paranoia can accommodate the saving of what little heritage this young country contains...

[...many thanx for the heads-up from Timespanner]

Up, Up And Away!

What's the most popular domestic holiday spot for New Zealanders?
Queenstown!
It's whipped last year's winner the Coromandel as our favourite NZ holiday spot. One of the biggest drawcards for Queenstown has been cheaper domestic air travel, putting the southern town - famed for its adventure sports, skiing and stunning position on the shores of Lake Wakatipu - within easier reach of Kiwis. A recent Herald-DigiPoll survey shows Q'town is the preferred domestic destination of 26%, followed by Coromandel (22%), Bay of Islands (21%), and Nelson at 13% (not surprisingly, the spectacularly wild rugged West Coast - cut off by storms over New Year - doesn't rate highly).
Q'town's pricey reputation has mellowed recently, partly due to the falling price of airfares from Akld, Wgtn and Chch. This month Q'town Airport will see a 17% increase in flights compared to January last year. Air New Zealand has increased its capacity on direct services between Akld and Q'town by 32% - that's up to five services on some days.
Visitors have also found that Q'town's range of accommodation and activities very affordable. It's a year-round destination, and marketing's focused on reinforcing its range of activities.
Q'town is home to 20,000 but has about 2 million visitors a year, about 40% of which are domestic tourists. The past 9mths saw a recovery in visitor numbers, with domestic numbers increasing fastest.
+ Australia still tops our preferred overseas destinations at 27%, followed by the Pacific Islands (24%), London (21%), and Asia at 12%.
+ But kiwis' overseas travel is tipped for a change, as more of us regard Oz as merely a long domestic flight, often visiting for long weekends or for some sort of cultural or sporting activity. It's likely Hawaii will gain popularity this year, with Hawaiian Air starting Auckland-Honolulu flights three times weekly from 14 March. The airline will offer every passenger flying from NZ a generous checked baggage allowance of two items, each weighing up to 32kg! Air NZ will be laying on more seats in anticipation. That competition will also see prices becoming more favourable for a wee jaunt into the Pacific.