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Transmission Gully: Public back a speed limit lift to 110km/h, but change is not happening fast

Transmission Gully: Public back a speed limit lift to 110km/h, but change is not happening fast

More than 90% of commuters want a faster Transmission Gully, including the Transport Minister, but a long-touted speed limit increase will not happen any time soon. Ahead lies a summer of disruption on the $1.25 billion motorway project, with 20km needing to be rebuilt over the next six months, while transport officials continue to work through a bureaucratic process to consider the speed increase. The 27km motorway remains technically unfinished, despite opening to the public in March 2022. A 110km/h speed limit has long been on the cards for the road, with new figures released by the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) showing overwhelming public support for an increase. Public consultation between May and July this year received 2071 responses on increasing the limits for Transmission Gully and Raumati Straights. Of those responses, 92% supported an increase while only 5% were against. The rest had mixed views or were unsure, figures released under the Official Information Act reveal. Transmission Gully. Photo / Mark Mitchell Transport Minister Chris Bishop told the Herald that “like over 90% of submitters, I’m keen to see it happen”. Bishop spoke at an event in Porirua last month to launch a report by Infrastructure New Zealand into the benefits of the route. Advice provided to Bishop before the event by NZTA warned he risked being asked about the status of the speed limit increase. The agency told Bishop it was undergoing a legal process as required, but also raised “known road surface and roughness issues”, which appear to be holding up progress. “The actual risk profile of these issues on raising the speed limit to 110km/h is being evaluated as part of the speed limit review.” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Transport Minister Chris Bishop announce speed increases on 38 roads around New Zealand. Photo / Mark Mitchell Those issues are at the centre of a rework programme, spelling daytime lane closures and full closures at night over summer while 20 lane kilometres of the 27km highway are resurfaced as part of finishing the road. NZTA‘s website states the full decision-making process on a speed increase can take up to between six and 12 months, depending on scoping, design, and funding for necessary infrastructure. That decision must be made independently by the agency’s director of land transport, Brent Alderton. It is unclear how long it will take for the limit to go up once the decision has been made. “The speed limit for both Transmission Gully and Raumati Straights remains at 100km/h until this process is complete”, NZTA’s website states. The Infrastructure NZ report found Transmission Gully shaves an average of nine minutes off trip times, has healthier injury statistics, and delivered $79 million in savings in 2024. “Travel times are shorter and more reliable throughout the day, for both the new road and the old route. Travel time savings range from a median of five minutes across the day, up to 31 minutes in peak times on the most congested days,” the report said. Nobody has died on the stretch of motorway since it opened, and the rate of serious injuries per million vehicles has fallen from 0.6 on the old route to 0.2 on Transmission Gully. Plans for Transmission Gully stretch back more than 100 years. Construction officially began in September 2014, when Prime Minister John Key turned the first soil on the project. It was built under a public-private partnership (PPP) by the Wellington Gateway Partnership (WGP), with NZTA, CPB Contractors, and HEB Construction subcontracted to carry out the design and construction. Then-Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, alongside former ministers Grant Robertson and Michael Wood during their stand-up after the Transmission Gully opening ceremony. Photo / Mark Mitchell The road’s opening was down to the wire in March 2022 and was made possible only after NZTA agreed to defer some quality assurance tests until after the opening, and reduced the requirements for o...

F1: McLaren title rivals looking warily for Max Verstappen’s late charge

F1: McLaren title rivals looking warily for Max Verstappen’s late charge

McLaren’s duelling pair of world championship leader Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will be looking warily in their rear-view mirrors this weekend at the United States Grand Prix for Max Verstappen. With six rounds remaining the two McLarens are separated by just 22 points, with four-time champion Verstappen adrift of Piastri by 63 points but revelling in his recent form after beating both in the past three races. Red Bull’s Verstappen has turned a seemingly lost cause into a thrilling late, if unexpected, charge for a fifth title. Jacques Villeneuve, who won the title in 1997, believes the Dutchman can do it and told Italian daily La Gazetta dello Sport that it will be his “best world championship”. “The two McLaren drivers are suffering too much from the pressure and they need to wake up,” he said. This weekend’s race at the Circuit of the Americas will pit the McLaren men in a car that has not been updated in recent weeks against a much-revised and potent Red Bull. That there is also a sprint race, the first of three remaining this year, only adds to the potential for shredded nerves. Verstappen has reeled off four consecutive podium finishes and won three of the last four Austin races, only missing out last year when Ferrari claimed a one-two, contenting himself instead with a sprint race win. Max Verstappen's Red Bull leads McLaren's Lando Norris at the F1 Grand Prix of the Netherlands, in August. Photo / Red Bull McLaren’s imperious early season form has declined but they still retained the constructors’ crown last time out in Singapore. Team boss Zak Brown said: “Our strategy isn’t changing because we’ve won the constructors. We are approaching this race in the same way as all the others.” Norris took pole last year in Austin and finished fourth, and knows he must beat his 24-year-old Australian teammate Piastri and Verstappen if he is to keep alive his title challenge. Piastri has gone three races without a podium. His best result in Austin was fifth last year after retiring following a crash in 2023. Oscar Piastri has gone three races without a podium finish. Photo / Photosport The tension at McLaren is likely to be matched at Ferrari after a fraught few days of media reports suggesting the team is in disarray and lining up former Red Bull boss Christian Horner as a possible successor to under-pressure team chief Fred Vasseur. Without a win this year, Ferrari and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in particular badly need a result to banish the blues. The Briton has gone 18 races without a top-three finish as he returns to a favourite circuit where he has won five times. “We know we haven’t maximised the potential of our package in the last few races,” said Vasseur, dismissing talk of internal strife. “But the team is united and fully determined to turn things around.” Mercedes will also be hunting success after George Russell’s triumph in Singapore and the belated confirmation that they are retaining an unchanged line-up, with Italian teenager Kimi Antonelli alongside Briton Russell next year. – AFP

Te Pāti Māori allegations: Eru Kapa-Kingi sends message to ‘my haters’, ‘those throwing dirt on my name’

Te Pāti Māori allegations: Eru Kapa-Kingi sends message to ‘my haters’, ‘those throwing dirt on my name’

Eru Kapa-Kingi, the Toitū te Tiriti campaigner at the centre of the recent Te Pāti Māori allegations, has sent a message to his “haters” and those “throwing dirt on my name”, while also assuring supporters that he and his whānau are doing “sweet”. In a social media video this afternoon, the activist said that despite the high-profile allegations being levelled against him and his mother, MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, he and his whānau were doing “sweet” and “solid”. “I’ve got so many messages of support and aroha. It’s overwhelming in the best way. I’m still working through them, but I appreciate every single one of them,” he said. “I’m definitely getting the vibe of concern in some of them, and that makes sense, right. Even I would assume before this all happened that, if my name ever got dragged through the media and lies were told about me, I’d be like real down buzz and just going through it.” But he said that couldn’t be further from the truth. “It’s like the opposite. I feel so at peace. I feel free. I feel liberated. These last couple nights I’ve had probably like the best sleeps I’ve had in ages.” For most of the video, Eru Kapa-Kingi spoke of the value of being “living by your principles and your purpose and your truth as well”. He said he felt “grounded and anchored in my values”. “That’s the most important relationship, the relationship with self. You can be settled in who you are when you look in the mirror, you can say to yourself, ‘I’m proud of you, no matter what the world is saying.’ “Even if everyone else is throwing hate, as long as you can honestly say to yourself that you’re proud of yourself and that you love yourself.” Addressing “my haters” and later “those who are throwing dirt on my name”, Eru Kapa-Kingi said that he hoped “they find time to heal and also be pono and honest with them themselves and also be grounded and anchored, in values that aren’t influenced by their own traumas or their own realities”. He said, “Toxic behaviour doesn’t just fall out of the sky. “It’s usually got a context to it and it’s usually driven by unaddressed trauma, unaddressed pain. I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy.” Te Pāti Māori late on Monday night released a batch of documents making several serious allegations against Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and her son. They included allegations of overspending by the MP’s office and her son threatening violence at Parliament. That followed Eru Kapa-Kingi, a spokesman for the Toitū te Tiriti campaign group, earlier this month attempting to distance the movement from Te Pāti Māori and accusing it of dictatorship-like leadership. His comments came after his mother was demoted as the party’s whip. Neither Kapa-Kingi has specifically addressed the allegations. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Ngarewa-Packer told the Herald the budgeting issue had since been resolved. Eru Kapa-Kingi on Wednesday said he didn’t “regret a single thing” or intend to “throw stones at anyone”, but instead to “speak truth and stand on kaupapa”. His mother hasn’t been present at Parliament this week, but has been active on social media, including posting about the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act legislation. Her colleague, Tākuta Ferris, wouldn’t talk about her today. When asked by the Herald where she was, he responded: “Go and find her bro.” Te Pāti Māori president John Tamihere on Tuesday claimed that, despite the internal turmoil spilling out publicly, “the movement’s going extraordinarily well”. Asked specifically about Eru Kapa-Kingi’s allegations and Te Pāti Māori counter-allegations, Tamihere said, “I don’t want to go there.” But he did say “the right tikanga is to tell our truth, but not run around all the media, work all the back door, okay? “We’re a party that is trying to play our tikanga, right? We don’t like heads on platters. Everyone chases those. We don’t have the same way of looking at things, okay? “Eru Kapa-Kingi and his whānau have to determine whether they’re in the movement for...

Dawn Meats lifts Alliance investment to $270 million

Dawn Meats lifts Alliance investment to $270 million

Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance. The increase will bring Dawn Meats' total proposed cash investment in Alliance Group to approximately $270 million if the proposal is approved by farmer-shareholders at the Special General Meeting set to be held in Invercargill on October 20. Alliance Group chair Mark Wynne says the additional investment has been triggered by an agreed adjustment mechanism between the two companies, which rewards stronger-than-forecast year-end performance. “Alliance’s unaudited year-end profit projection of between $18 million and $24 million is above the agreed profit target, and the company’s net debt position is lower than forecast," Wynne says. “Under this adjustment mechanism, this means an additional $20-$25 million investment from Dawn. “This is a strong endorsement of Alliance’s performance and the proposed partnership with Dawn. It recognises the hard work of our people in turning the business around and the loyalty of our farmers over the past 12 months. “The adjustment ensures the final investment reflects Alliance’s improved performance. It’s a tangible vote of confidence in our business and in the proposed partnership with Dawn Meats.” Read More: Alliance farmer-shareholders urged to vote on $250m partnership with Dawn Meats Editorial: A new era for two co-ops Alliance Group faces crucial vote on Dawn Meats deal Wynne says he encourages farmer-shareholders to vote on the proposed strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats. “This is a once-in-a-generation decision for our farmers. Every farmer-shareholder has a voice and a vote. “It is important farmers take the time to understand the details, talk to their fellow farmers, and make sure they have their say on the future of Alliance.” He says that as part of the purchase price negotiations in July, Alliance agreed to year-end profit and net debt targets. “These were designed to give both Alliance farmer-shareholders and Dawn Meats certainty --farmer-shareholders about the $250 million investment amount, and Dawn about the value of its proposed shareholding. “Both parties recognised the potential volatility of trading conditions in the final quarter of the financial year and agreed an adjustment mechanism to account for over- or under-performance against the targets.” The additional payment will be distributed as a dividend from the joint venture to the proposed Alliance Investment Co-operative. This is in addition to the $40 million in loyalty payments already planned, bringing the total dividend distribution to approximately $60 million. #DAWN_MEATS #alliance

Mat Mowbray wrongly linked to wealthy Kiwi’s child abuse material case, family says rumours false

Mat Mowbray wrongly linked to wealthy Kiwi’s child abuse material case, family says rumours false

Warning: This article discusses child abuse material Rumours on TikTok wrongly claiming that Mat Mowbray is the wealthy Kiwi convicted of having “extreme” child abuse material are “false, baseless and damaging”, a family spokesperson says. The Mowbray family spokesperson told the Herald neither Mat nor any member of his family had ever been charged with, convicted of, or suspected of a crime. “They have no connection to the individual or the case.” A Ministry of Justice document provided to the Herald confirmed Mat had no convictions on his record. The Herald can also confirm he is not the individual jailed over the offending. “The convicted person is a 46-year-old New Zealand resident and is in custody; Mr Mowbray is none of these, he lives in Hong Kong with his family, is not in custody and has no involvement with that case whatsoever,” the family spokesperson said. The spokesperson said Mat firmly believed individuals convicted of sexual offences against children should never receive name suppression. The real defendant was sentenced last month by Auckland District Court Judge Maria Pecotic for knowingly possessing thousands of objectionable material files and knowingly importing the content. He was given a 3% sentence reduction for giving $50,400 to charities days before he was due to be sentenced. The man’s name, his family’s name and their high-profile company were permanently suppressed. This decision has been appealed. It’s not the first time a wealthy New Zealander has been falsely connected to this offending. In August, rich-lister Wayne Wright was also wrongly accused by Twitter’s Grok of being the defendant. The falsely accused businessman told the Herald at the time: “The public have a right to know people have done such things and these folks should not have permanent name suppression.” Wright said the defendant should come clean with their identity, no matter the consequences. He urged the man to have his suppression lifted. Wright believed name suppression should not be available if someone was jailed, with an exception if any children involved could be impacted by publication. The Herald has also been made aware of another man who was allegedly falsely linked by AI to recently published sex crimes in New Zealand. University of Auckland senior law academic Dr Benjamin Liu said those who publish false claims like this can face criminal or civil action. If a New Zealander is wrongly accused of horrible offending like this, he said New Zealand law applies. He said Kiwis would have the ability to sue companies whose AI software had wrongly accused them of crimes. “This is quite serious to be honest. I know AI makes mistakes all the time, but multiple laws are being breached.” Where to get help:If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:• Call 0800 044 334• Text 4334• Email support@safetotalk.nz• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nzAlternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list. If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault. Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues such as sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.