A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said a submission was being drafted for the Gambling Commission s review.
Hamish McNeilly/Stuff
Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins has written a draft submission concerning the charitable trusts of casinos. A draft letter from Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins, which forms part of a submission to be discussed by his council on Tuesday, supported a “more consistent approach to the level of community funding provided by casinos”. Hawkins also asked for the trusts to become fully independent of casinos, “rather than allow licence holders to exercise control over significant aspects of the trust”. He noted Dunedin Casino paid at least $52,000 a year to an “independent” charitable trust, which provided funding for problem gambling treatment and 1 per cent of gaming machine turnover (to a maximum of $110,000) to community and sport groups.
Illegal dumping is rife in Gisborne and across New Zealand as ratepayers constantly foot the bill for waste abandoned on beaches, roadsides, parks and city streets.
A trailer load of rubbish collected by East Coast Ranger Graeme Atkins in July last year
Photo: Supplied / The Gisborne Herald
Gisborne district councillors say local authorities have few options after clearing trailer-loads of rubbish, including mattresses and broken TVs. They can either slap someone with a $400 fine and hope it gets paid, or take the perpetrator to court.
Gisborne councillors are calling for changes to the Litter Act 1979 to give local authorities more tools to deal with fly-tippers .
STACY SQUIRES/STUFF
Police can run red lights when heading to emergencies but why do so many Christchurch drivers think they can do the same? (Video first published in January 2019)
Three red light cameras will be switched on later this year to catch motorists illegally running through intersections in Christchurch. A red light camera was installed at the intersection of Bealey Ave and Madras St in 2018, but it had only been used to collect data and no infringements had been issued from it. By contrast, Auckland had 20 cameras by February last year, with more to be added. Christchurch once had cameras at 10 intersections, which were used in the late 1980s and 1990s.