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10 February 2012

TIA members in the news
Surge in Chinese visitors – TVNZ Breakfast, 9 Feb 2011
There's been a surge in Chinese visitors through Auckland Airport.

Travel woes for airport workers - Manukau Courier - 9th Feb 2012
Employing more people from south Auckland is a priority for the airport the challenge is how to get them there.

Parks tax plan worries businesses - Otago Daily Times - 10th Feb 2012
Queenstown officials say it is too early to comment on a mooted access charge for international tourists to New Zealand's national parks, but some Glenorchy residents are concerned.

Callers equivocal on park tourist fees - Otago Daily Times - 10th Feb 2012
Public responses appear to be evenly split on whether international tourists should be charged for access to the country's national parks.

Groups plan to boost rail trail's numbers - Southland Times - 9th Feb 2012
A strategy plan for the management of the Otago Central Rail Trail has been released in the hope the trail will keep its spot as New Zealand's No1 cycle trail.

Around NZ
Waka fills with water on Wellington Harbour - Dominion Post - 10th Feb 2012
The controversial waka Te Raukura got into trouble on Wellington Harbour tonight. The waka, which was at the centre of a dispute last year involving Waiwhetu Maori, Wellington Maori and...

Historic buildings to go - Dominion Post - 10th Feb 2012
Two more historic central Wellington buildings are about to be demolished after the city council gave their owner consent to bring in bulldozers.

Editorial: It's time to clean out CBD - Hawkes Bay Today - 9th Feb 2012
People urinating and defecating at and near a new pocket park the council built last year, highlighted in a Hawke's Bay Today story earlier this week, is indicative of a larger problem the...

Calls for NZ's own 'independence day' - 3 News - 9th Feb 2012
An Aucklandbusiness association has called for a new National Day to celebrate New Zealands identity as an independent nation, saying the Treaty of Waitangi was...

Business
Annual rent hikes 'will kill off retailers' - Dominion Post - 9th Feb 2012
A major retailer has criticised annual rent hikes "as a cancer that will kill off retailers" while an analyst warned the practice could force listed clothing retailer Hallenstein Glassons to...

Tongan vineyard worker deported - Marlborough Express - 9th Feb 2012
A 27-year-old Tongan vineyard worker has been arrested under the Immigration Act and served with a deportation order after overstaying in New Zealand.

Chch earthquake recovery
Parker accepts 'clown' apology - New Zealand Herald - 9th Feb 2012
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker today accepted Gerry Brownlee's apology for calling him a clown. Mr Parker, who is in China promoting the quake-hit city, said the Earthquake Recovery Minister...

Brownlee heats up over rebuild - Christchurch Press - 10th Feb 2012
Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has apologised for calling Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker a clown but not for anything else.

February earthquake toll hits 185 - Christchurch Press - 10th Feb 2012
The death toll from last February's devastating earthquake has risen to 185. A statement released by Chief Coroner Judge Neil MacLean today said Iris Botting, 88, died on March 6 after she...

Conservation & environment
Worries over 'toxic' lake - Manawatu Standard - 9th Feb 2012
Water in Lake Horowhenua is so toxic that it could kill a small child, regional councillors have been told.

Economy
Unemployment rate drops to 6.3% - Otago Daily Times - 9th Feb 2012
There were 7000 fewer people unemployed in the December 2011 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

NZ annual jobs growth 'broadly positive', jobless rate falls to 6.3pc - New Zealand Herald - 9th Feb 2012
New Zealand's annual jobs growth shows the economy is moving in the right direction, with the unemployment rate falling to a 21-month low on a sharp rise in the number of part-time workers.

Govt
MPs spent $3.1m on travel expenses - Dominion Post - 9th Feb 2012
Politicians spent more than $3.1 million on domestic travel and accommodation in the last three months of last year.

Local govt
Claudelands $2.6m-plus behind - Waikato Times - 10th Feb 2012
The full extent of a botch-up over how much cash the Claudelands Events Centre was going to bring in has been revealed, with councillors told the centre is $2.

City staff to help pay for event centre - New Zealand Herald - 10th Feb 2012
Staff at city hall will face lower salary increases next year as the chief executive tries to save money lost from the struggling Claudelands Event Centre.

Bid for U-20 World Cup - Waikato Times - 9th Feb 2012
Hamilton City Council will bid to host Fifa under 20 World Cup matches following strong support from local businesses and the football community.

Toll hike puts Route K back ontrack - Bay of Plenty Times - 9th Feb 2012
The increased cost of driving along Route K has not put drivers off using the hugely indebted toll road.

No, this trip will NOT be cruisy, says ES - Southland Times - 10th Feb 2012
An Environment Southland staffer is visiting southern California and sun-drenched Miami to attend a cruise ship conference, and he insists it's not a junket.

Technology
Consumers not keen to pay - Dominion Post - 9th Feb 2012
Internet providers may have difficulty persuading consumers and small businesses to pay extra for services that could be delivered over ultrafast broadband, a Commerce Commission report has...

 Enable offers more for less - Christchurch Press - 10th Feb 2012
Christchurch businesses will today be offered new products and cheaper prices to be connected into Enable's fast growing ultrafast fibre network.

Visitor Safety
Police defend use of force after woman left injured - New Zealand Herald - 10th Feb 2012
A Chinese woman left with a dislocated elbow and a facial injury after wrestling and trying to bite a number of Hamilton police officers has filed a brutality complaint.

Police reject claims - Otago Daily Times - 10th Feb 2012
Waikato Police are rejecting claims of misuse of force against a 56-year-old Chinese woman visiting from overseas who suffered a dislocated elbow and a cut to her left cheek during an...

Chinese tourist alleges Hamilton police brutality - 3 News - 10th Feb 2012

Chinese tourist claims police brutality in Hamilton - TVNZ - 9th Feb 2012
A Chinese tourist was left with a dislocated elbow and cuts to her face in an incident in Hamilton.

Man admits attacking tourists - New Zealand Herald - 10th Feb 2012
A man pursued and attacked two United States tourists' van with a metal bar after earlier arguing with them over a run-in they had with his children, a court heard yesterday.

Thefts, break-ins on rise, touristswarned - Rotorua Daily Post - 9th Feb 2012
Tourists coming into Rotorua are being reminded to stay safe and to keep their valuables with them.

Boy, 3, plucked from water tank - Dominion Post - 9th Feb 2012
A woman jumped into a waste water tank to rescue her three year old son after he fell down a manhole at Furneaux Lodge Resort, in the Marlborough Sounds.

TIA members’ media releases
Eichardt’s Private Hotel shares the love – Eichardt’s Private Hotel, 9 Feb 2012
Queenstown's premier lakefront hotel is ‘sharing the love’ over the coming months with a Locals Special Romance package no cupid could resist.