The Star: February 14, 2019

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8 Thursday February 14 2019 Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi The Star News Campaigner not giving up battle • By Julia Evans GRAHAM TATE returned from Zimbabwe in the 1990s with the intention of enjoying his twilight years. He loves boogie-boarding and bowls. But for the last 11 months, the 84-year-old has been battling a sort of David and Goliath fight against bureaucracy. “He enjoys a challenge,” his wife Marion said. It’s been a month since the Goliath in this situation – Environment Canterbury – stopped the Orbiter running along Philpotts Rd, Mairehau, due to Northern Corridor changes on QE II Drive. But the bus was caught regularly by the elderly residents of the Diana Isaac Retirement Village. They now face a 1km walk to the nearest stop on Innes Rd. Talking about it brings tears to his eyes, which Mr Tate bats away with the handkerchief from his pocket. “You’ve got to understand in a place like this there are a lot of old people who can’t think about much other than the little day to day things.” They pay rates, have medical appointments and need to get groceries – the bus service is essential, he said. He can drive, but wears hearing aids. He has found it hard going to public meetings because he can’t hear everything that’s said. FIGHT: Eightyfour-year-old Graham Tate says he won’t give up on having the Orbiter bus service returned for residents of Diana Isaac Retirement Village. But Mr Tate doesn’t let that stop him. There are the more than 350 residents who have had their independence “ripped” away with the loss of the bus access. To become a resident at the village, you have to be over 70, but most are over 80 – there’s even Jessie Alabone who, at 107, is the oldest person in Canterbury (see her story on page 6). “I’ve had to stand up to get any activity. I don’t like to have residents who have no other option stymied.” Mr Tate is leading the charge with the support of Ryman Healthcare, which runs the retirement village. He has lobbied the city council, local councillor Pauline Cotter and MP Duncan Webb on top of organising a protest outside ECan’s building with 150 pensioners and a petition with 650 signatures. “It’s become as much of a personal crusade.” While its not the first challenge Mr Tate has taken on, he said its the one that has taken the greatest toll. Faster, more reliable broadband is here Now We’ve been busy upgrading parts of our Copper network with new Vectored VDSL. more than 190,000 Kiwis can connect to a faster, more reliable broadband option. Visit chorus.co.nz/vdsl to find out more. MET_CHO_032_TSC
The Star Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Thursday February 14 2019 9 for independence He lectured for “20-odd years” at Lincoln University on farm management and “extension” – which is the process of bringing about change in a community – before working overseas. “We went and worked with volunteer services abroad in Africa for some time and then I set up a little business working in overseas development, mainly involved in bringing about change in rural communities,” Mr Tate said. He had contracts in more than 20 developing countries. “There was a remote community on the border of Mozambique and I spent a lot of time with them because they were largely ignored by the Government. We managed to place a planning officer from New Zealand to help,” Mr Tate said. “So there’s nothing new to me about bringing change. But this feels more important . . . I thought at the start this was going to be good. Bringing about change usually involves a personal relationship with someone and I thought we were achieving that.” However, he said that is no longer the case. “It’s proving a bureaucracy that I have always skirted around in the past, but I’m very blocked here.” ECan raised the idea of trialling a service to take residents to bus stops. But the vehicle would have been run by volunteers from the village. “I was a supporter of that. But it’s too complicated for a village of this age, so its not a goer. We’ve got to forget about that and get on and find something else,” Mr Tate said. However, ECan has given up. Senior manager of public transport Stuart Gibbons said: “We’ve run out of ideas.” “We’ve offered alternatives and • By Julia Evans RESIDENTS ARE rallying to have suburbs left out of the Shirley Boys’ and Avonside Girls’ High School zone permanently included. In April, the Ministry of Education came up with a compromise for a 13-year transitional zone that allows students living in the current zones around Richmond, Shirley, Avonside, Dallington, St Albans and Edgeware to enrol at the new multi-million QE II Park campus. The zone will be reviewed in May, a month after students start at the new school. But residents from the excluded suburbs have launched a petition, which will be sent to the ministry calling for the transitional zone to be made permanent. ‘Were’ so disappointed’ • By Julia Evans GRAHAM LAWN hasn’t been behind the wheel of a car for the last five years. “It’s just old age, your mobility becomes restricted,” he said. But the 92-year-old resident of Diana Isaac Retirement Village says his independence has been “ruined” since the Orbiter stopped running along Philpotts Rd. Mr Lawn and his wife Lenore relied on the bus for medical appointments, shopping and even had the odd trip out to Sumner. However, as they have to use walking sticks or mobility scooters, they cannot walk the 1km to Innes Rd. Instead, Mr and Mrs Lawn are having to taxi or simply not go out. “We have half price in the taxi, but it’s just not the same. You have to wait for it to come, you can’t just go at your own we haven’t been able to implement those alternatives, so there’s really not much to do.” The solution the residents are pushing for is rerouting the 44 bus route down Philpotts Rd. It would then do a turn and head back towards Innes Rd. But Mr Gibbon said it would cost $100,000 and this, combined with the time it would take to construct, meant ECan did not see this as a good option. “We have explored alternative ways of rerouting the 44 as requested by the residents and Ryman, however, it is not viable to further pursue this at this time,” Mr Gibbon said. So far it has 100 signatures. Dallington Residents Association chairwoman Bebe Frayle said it always planned to lobby for the zone to be made permanent. “But what kicked off our regrouping was the info that Shirley Boys’ has closed their out-ofzone roll as soon as it opened,” she said. SBHS closed its enrolments for out-of-zone students last month, two months before it moves. “For us, it’s all about gathering support and the plan would be to talk to communities and the school, mostly the people affected,” she said. Being permanently excluded from the zone would have impact on house prices, divide communities and disrupt families. “We’re placed in a very weird Graham Lawn pace,” he said. Plus, Mr Lawn said the cost was mounting up quickly. “We’re so disappointed . . . This is absolutely essential for people like us. You could take the Orbiter to Northlands or The Palms and get anywhere in the city. Now that’s gone.” “We have invested considerable effort in trying to identify a viable and sustainable solution, but have unfortunately not succeeded in finding one that meets the needs of all parties involved. We’ve now reached the point where we have exhausted the range of options available to us.” In the meantime, Ryman will operate a village taxi and car share scheme to make sure residents can still get around from next month. However, the battle for the bus is not over for the residents of Diana Isaac. “We’ll keep plugging,” Mr Tate said. School zone petition launched Bebe Frayle position and as residents, we can’t say that this is our local school. We don’t have one,” she said. “It’s a weird and unfair position for families to be in.” But Ministry of Education deputy secretary sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the changes made to the enrolment schemes were to reflect their new location. “The enrolment schemes will help Avonside Girls’ High School, and Shirley Boys’ High School make effective and efficient use of their new schools and will give them the ability to manage future rolls and reduce the risk of overcrowding,” she said. •To sign the petition, go to www.change.org/p/ministryof-education-make-thetransitional-zone-part-ofaghs-sbhs-permanent-zonefor-the-sake-of-equity CHRISTCHURCH CASINO’S $ 25,000 CASH MUST GO every week! WED - 10K THU - 10K FRI - 5K Receive a free wristband when you visit on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday nights. Winners must be present. ENTRY IS FREE VISIT CHCHCASINO.co.nz FOR T&C’S
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The Star: February 14, 2019

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