Construction at Headon Stadium in Matamata finished nine months ago, but no-one has used the complex yet after the floor was flood damaged in April 2020.
It now sits 450m down the road, within the Morrinsville College eligibility zone. The Education Ministry change could mean some out of zone students, in Te Aroha for example, won’t be eligible for the Morrinsville bus and parents would need to organise separate transport.
MARK TAYLOR/Stuff
The new bus stop has moved, but 450m down the road the old bus stop pick up/drop off zone at the Waitoa Dairy waits in the wings. Morrinsville College principal John Inger has been grappling with the ministry to have pickup drop off (PUDO) zone changed back to Waitoa Dairy, saying bending the rules for students’ safety is the right thing to do.
SunLive - Concern over scarce accommodation for Fieldays sunlive.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunlive.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Chloe Blommerde12:16, May 28 2021
TOM LEE/STUFF
Fieldays draws thousands of people to Waikato, but with 50 per cent of accommodation beds full, there are not enough beds to cater for all.
Farmers scouring the Waikato for accommodation ahead of what could be the biggest event in Fieldays history are contending with half the region’s beds already taken up with managed isolation or emergency housing cases. Wayne Langford, from Golden Bay, travels to Hamilton every few years eager for a bargain and overdue catchups with farming folk at the country’s largest agriculture event. However, with home on the other side of New Zealand, finding a place to sleep is crucial to making the trip happen.
Youth worker Lynn told “We would drink, do drugs, party, throw rocks at things, all because we were bored.”
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/STUFF
Dr Sue Bagshaw and musician Lindon Puffin are working together to raise funds for a new youth hub in central Christchurch. (Video first published in November 2018). Now 31, Lynn said the youth are still having the same problems. “We need to break that cycle and give them a place that is safe and fun. “Home isn’t always a safe place for our youth, so we need somewhere that is. “Most of the time, if the parents change, the children will change.”