The Star: August 13, 2020

hot drinks, cake and Z om ca ls
marked Averil Wa ren’s 1 0th
birthday at W odcote Retirement
Vi lage on July 26.
But it was an o casion tinged
with sadne s, as the Covid-19
from a tending.
Turning 1 0-years-old was just
another day for Mrs Wa ren.
“It’s no different from yesterday,
or the day before that,” she said.
She believed “good behaviour”
and the o casional brandy or dry
ginger ale was what might have
contributed to her long life.
Although she “loved a g od
party,” she was disa pointed her
daughters, Judy and Kay were not
Police crack
down on
student
drivers
School
Contact Lisa Lynch
lisa.lynch@starmedia.kiwi
021 8 0 809
with the birthday girl.
“I was disa pointed, but I understand
that it’s something I have to
PHOTO: GEO F SLOAN
put up with,” she said.
• By Bea G oding
for its members.
ture projects.
to repair its earthquakedamaged
courts, to upgrade its there aren’t a lot of community
changing for our youth because
“But I’m very lucky to be in a The South Brighton Te nis The suburb is the latest in Canterbury
to get money from $3 0 clubr om and to insta lights facilities or clubs like it, and
ONE OF the oldes te nis clubs Club was one of the latest
after.” in Christchurch wi l s on get a groups to benefit from a $7 million
Government cash injection post-Covid-19 economy.
Club president Kate La-
families and young people.”
mi lion set aside to stimulate the to enable games at night. it wi l be a hub of activity for
Mrs much-n Wa ren eded was facelift born in – Port a light
a the end of a very long tu nel for “shovel ready” infrastruc-
The club wi l receive $413, 0 timer said: “It’s going to be life-
• Turn to page 3
pine offcuts
scoop
*Conditions a ply
scoop
Chess
not for
rookies
Follow us on Faceb ok
@Paper Plus Bush I n
South Brighton Tennis Club,
which received funding this
week to repair its earthquakedamaged
courts.
$
firewooD
scoop
ferrYmeaD
The Star Thursday August 13 2020
26
LETTERS
Readers respond to
The Star front page
article last week which
debated Melanie
Coker revealing she
spends 30 hours a
week working as a city
councillor and another
30 hours on her private
business. She is paid
$108,424 a year for
being a city councillor.
What a kick in the teeth for
people of Christchurch, and New
Zealand, who are out of work due
to Covid.
Considering the main issues
such as parking at the hospital
and broken roads, I honestly
don’t think any of these
councillors should have such
excessive pay for a city that
deserves a lot more from these
people who reap a lot for very few
results. How shameful. – Kelly
Fraser
I was so sad to see this on
the front page of the The Star.
Mel is a highly intelligent,
capable, dedicated woman, who
brings a much-needed female
(young mother, business owner)
perspective to the council table.
As James Gough says in the
story, the number of hours a
councillor works (or says they
work) is not a measure of how
good or effective they are.
I’ve known my share of
Thursday, August 6, 2020 | starnews.co.nz | 93,000 circulation | Trusted for 152 years
300 games
for Knights
veteran
– page 31
Councillor Coker’s
$100k-plus salary
for 30hrs
a week
people over the years who
achieve bugger-all but say
they work every hour God
sends.
Pay no attention Melanie, it’s
• By Louis Day
CITY COUNCILLOR Melanie
Coker spends on average 30
hours a week fulfilling her
council duties while receiving
a six-figure salary from the
ratepayer.
Coker balances her job as
a councillor with managing
her own tutoring business,
A Head Start, spending
30 hours on both in the
duration of a week,
cramming 60 hours into
seven days.
She is paid $108,424
a year for being a
councillor.
Fellow city
councillors have said
they would struggle
to fulfil their council
duties in less than 40
hours a week.
Coker said her
WIN!
this electric
car
– page 15
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2020 Connecting Your Community
starnews.co.nz
History reflected
in new Ngutuawa
Page
Page
3
4 Page
Page
10
8
Oystercatchers
notoriously
hungry birds
HOME
LEISURE
Horncastle Arena,
21-23 August 2020
Exhibit now!
Funding serves up hope
for struggling tennis club
• By Bea G oding
A MORNING tea filled with
travel restrictions prevented her two
daughters, who live in Australia,
able to be there.
However, her nieces, nephews and
other relatives trave led far and wide
from across the country to celebrate
place like this where I’m we looked
Chalmers, Dunedin, and grew up in
Otago. • Turn to page 4
Ferrymead 987 Fe ry Road Phone 373 6551 www.handyhire.co.nz/firewood
NEW BEGINNINGS: Commi t e
member Alex Hinchey, and club
president Kate Latimer, of the
winter firewooD sorteD?
the tall poppy syndrome alive
and well. – Ali Jones
(Jones is chairwoman of the
Papanui-Innes Community
Board)
29 per
oregon
DrY pine
$ $
ask about our delivery options
and free courtesy trailers today!
40 per
competition
Fr e After Hours Care
for Under 14 Yrs
‘Look on the bright side’ –
advice from 100-year-old
Sadly we are closing the d ors at PaperPlus Bush I n store,
which means everything has to go. K ep up to date with our
Faceb ok page for our incredible closing down deals.
*Closing down sal excludes Lo to, Gift Cards, NZ Post Products, Magazines and any other
Agency Items. Discount not valid in conjunction with any other offer. ONLY RED EMABLE AT
PAPER PLUS BUSH I N.
efficiency allowed her to carry
out her responsibilities in a
shorter time frame.
Taxpayers’ Union spokesman
Louis Houlbrooke said it was
fair for ratepayers to expect at
least 40 hours a week from their
elected representatives.
“When we say we think that
councillors in Christchurch
should provide 40 hours a week
to achieve value, that does come
from looking at the salary they
are paid which is significantly
larger than some other councils,
some would not even pay half of
that or less,” he said.
“In those cases, you might
have people who work 20 hours
or less, but in Christchurch, it
is a little bit different because
ratepayers would expect to
see full time value on what is
certainly a full-time salary.”
• Turn to page 4
MEGA CLEARANCE EVENT
LIMITED TIME ONLY. STOCK WILL VARY BETWEEN STORES
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
OPEN 7 DAYS
Ph: 343 3661 | 4 Yaldhurst Rd
www.ri cartonclinic.co.nz
MILESTONE: Averil Wa ren’s ma riage to Richard Warren was the “happiest” day of her life – one of many memories she
reflected on during her 100th birthday last month.
We're Closing
We're Closing
Down!
Down!
Everything must go
by end of October.
25%
OFF ALL
BOOKS
50 per
Boozed
driver
loses job,
then
crashes
company
vehicle
• By Barry Clarke and Matt
Slaughter
A HEAVILY intoxicated
motorist who was due to return
a company car, wrote it off in
a crash while more than three
times over the drink driving
limit.
The man, who recorded
a breath alcohol reading of
1068mcg/l hit a bridge south of
Christchurch while trying to use
his cellphone in the early hours
of the morning.
The legal limit is 250mcg/l.
The Star understands he had
lost his job in a restructure days
before and the vehicle was due to
be returned to his employer the
day after the crash.
He now faces a potential
lengthy driving suspension
and the financial costs of the
wrecked car and $6000 damage
to the bridge at Tai Tapu.
The incident, which happened
in the early hours of the morning
came during a Canterburywide
police crackdown on drink
driving in July.
• Turn to page 6
Faceb ok page for our incredible closing down deals.
means everything has to go. K ep up to date with our
which
I n store,
Bush PaperPlus at ors d the closing are we Sadly PAPER PLUS BUSH I N.
Agency Items. Discount not valid in conjunction with any other offer. ONLY REDEEMABLE AT
other any and Magazines Products, Post NZ Cards, Gift to, Lo excludes sal down *Closing
The front page article in The
Star about councillor Melanie
Coker’s hours of work was
scurrilous and not journalism.
She is an excellent councillor,
informed, hard-working,
intelligent and connected to the
communities in our area and
wider Christchurch.
More to the point would
have been to challenge the
several councillors whose
participation in the work of
council and wider
Christchurch is negligible.
I do know councillors who
work near to the claimed 60
hours a week (that is a daily
workload for five days a week
from 8am in the morning to 7pm
at night with an hour for lunch,
year in year out), but they are few
in number.
An investigative article by
one of your journalists on work
done by councillors would have
been more worthwhile and
enlightening and would have
seen Cr Coker on the front page
for the right reason. – Karolin
Potter
(Potter is chairwoman
Cashmere-Spreydon
Community Board)
I read this with amazement,
that she thinks working for 30
hours, per job, (own business as
well) is excellent.
We, the ratepayer, pay
exorbitant salaries for this. No
wonder the Hoon Hay area
is dead – algae on footpaths,
roads and uneven surfaces. She
promised the cycleways would
improve our roading. – Dawn
Martin
Sensationalist headlines are
unfair and unbalanced. The Star
should have talked to Spreydon
groups before publishing.
Cr Coker faithfully attends
Spreydon Neighbourhood
Network meetings, she
contributes intelligently for the
full 90 minutes, explains to us
council decisions and planning,
plus offers guidance on how
we can exercise our democratic
rights to be listened to by
councillors
Her follow up and quick
response to any issues our
residents raise is testimony to her
efficiency.
Spreydon Neighbourhood
Network trusts her answer to
The Star – ‘When I need to put in
more time I do’ and we suggest
she does this more often than she
realises.
Her work with Spreydon
Neighbourhood Network
proves this as does her presence
at other community activities.
She uses her time working
for the city council efficiently.
This needs to be measured by
her efforts in completing
council tasks rather than
the hours she spends on the
job. – Denis O’Connor
(chairperson), Sonya Hodder
(secretary), Spreydon
Neighbourhood Network
Complimentary
FREE ENTRY
Friday | Saturday | Sunday
10.00am - 5.00pm
Valid for two people with this coupon only
RecoveR youR loved fuRnituRe
Quality furniture
specialists
100s of fabrics to
choose from
www.qualityfurniture.co.nz
Hours: Mon - Thurs, 7am - 4.30pm, Fri 8am - Midday,
or by appointment with Keith 027 566 3909
424 ST ASAPH STREET PH 371 7500
RE-UPHOLSTERY SPECIALISTS KEITH HARTSHORNE 0275 663 909
Christchurch West Melton Water Zone Committee
Cashmere Stream gets clean-up cash
More than $60,000 from Immediate Steps Biodiversity (IMS) funding
will help keep the water temperature just right for tuna (eel) and
bullies in Cashmere Stream.
The Cashmere Stream Care Group has been working with Christchurch
City Council (CCC), Environment Canterbury, and local landowners
to preserve water quality and restore Cashmere Streams natural
character since 2016.
The funding will go to fencing and planting on the banks to help provide
soil stabilisation, improve water quality and keep water temperatures
cooler, for the tuna and other important species that live in the stream.
CCC has undertaken work to add curves to the stream and
re-contour banks to make them favourable for native plants
like kahikatea, kaikōmako, kowhai, and koromiko.
Members of the public are welcome to view the valuable work
that has been done to protect the stream for future generations
and contribute to the next phase of work. Look out for dates and
locations on Facebook @CashmereStreamCareGroup.
Photo: Stage 3 of the 4 stage project
The Christchurch West Melton Water Zone Committee
is a community led committee supported by councils.
ecan.govt.nz/water E20/8054