The Star: May 11, 2023

The Star Thursday May 11 2023
10
NEWS
Davidson
yet to set
resignation
date
• By Tony Simons
REUBEN DAVIDSON plans to
stay on Te Pātaka-o-Rākaihautū
Banks Peninsula Community
Board while he campaigns to
become an MP.
Davidson (left) is
the Christchurch
East Labour candidate,
a seat being
vacated by current
Labour MP Poto
Williams.
The general election campaign
gets into high gear in mid-July,
but Davidson said he will stay on
the board for as long as it takes,
because he wants to finish jobs
he started. He won’t say when he
will be resigning from the community
board, which will force a
by-election, likely to cost ratepayers
about $35,000.
Davidson wouldn’t rule out
staying on the board until the
election in October, although he
said “it is very unlikely”.
He said he intends to move
from Lyttelton to Christchurch
East before the election and is
donating his $385 a week board
salary to the Mayoral Relief Fund
until he resigns.
• By Nathan Morton
FOUR PEOPLE were rescued
from the water after a boat
capsized in rainy weather at
Sumner Beach on Tuesday.
The boat’s skipper, Simon
England, said the small yacht
was sailing fine until one of its
three bungs went missing, causing
the vessel to drift further
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
CLOSE CALL: Four people had a lucky escape after their boat capsized at Sumner Beach on Tuesday. The mildly
hypothermic crew faired better than their boat, which was hauled ashore. PHOTOS: NZ HERALD, JOHN SPURDLE
Four rescued after boat overturns
into the open water.
He said watching the rescue
boat arrive was a moment of
relief.
“It was like ‘finally’, it’s what
they’re there for and it’s good
they found us quickly,” England
said after being rescued.
“I just said ‘thank you’ to them
and tried to get everyone into
the boat, get them warm.”
• Watch the video on
starnews.co.nz
While he’s grateful to have the
crew safe and sound, his boat
isn’t likely to be as lucky.
“I think the boat’s screwed
with all the waves,” he said.
“But we were just worried
about getting people rescued
– we’ll take care of the boat
afterwards.”
Coastguard Sumner Lifeboat
skipper Heather McDonald said
her rescue team had been called
by police to help an overturned
yacht on the bar.
The four rescued people were
mildly hypothermic, she said.
“The water was about waistdeep,
they were waving to the
boat so it went straight to them.
It was a quick response, we’re
happy we found them quickly.”
– NZ Herald
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