Students call on local board to fix open drain: South Auckland
Pupils from Papakura Normal School have appealed to the local board to fix an open drain along Walters Rd, which neighbours their school.
Kaige Chase, Gabriel Moaate-Minhinnick, Olivia Kim, Genesis Blakelock and Angelina Tuiono asked the board to take their concerns to Auckland Transport after incidents involving children walking to school.
"We realise this is probably about money but saving money in the old days has just stored up problems for today," they said.
The students told the board a six-year-old boy fell into the drain.
Another boy failed in his attempts to rescue him.
But a motorist intervened and pulled him to safety.
In another incident, a driver leaving the carpark opposite drove into the drain.
“The incident with the boys led to temporary fixes that involved some orange plastic fencing, but it just seems to have become a permanent solution," the students said.
"Now it is breaking down and probably ending up polluting our sea.”
The drain had become overgrown, with the school spending money battling gorse and weeds and building a large fence to keep students safe, they said.
The pupils urged the board to infill the drain to create more parking and drop-off zones.
Board chair Brent Catchpole said he was impressed with the amount of research that went into their deputation.
"These young people did not just come along to complain," he said.
"They gathered evidence, thought about the problem and even outlined possible solutions."
The board will refer the matter to Auckland Transport and Healthy Waters, asking for a quick response, he said.
By-election for Otara-Papatoetoe area
Just to let everyone know that we have another by-election happening, and here is the reason why. Below are details and dates, so keep an eye on your letter boxes.
The Manukau Court’s Ruling
The Manukau District Court determined that the Papatoetoe subdivision result of the Ōtara–Papatoetoe Local Board election was invalid, ruling that the outcome had been “materially affected” by voting irregularities. Judge Richard McIlraith found that the scale and nature of the irregularities met the legal threshold required to void an election under New Zealand’s local electoral laws.
In his decision, Judge McIlraith stated that the evidence presented — including reports of stolen voting papers, fraudulent use of ballots, and other procedural irregularities — was sufficient to conclude that the integrity of the election had been compromised. The court noted that at least 79 voting papers were identified as having been cast without the rightful voter’s knowledge during a judicially supervised examination of ballot boxes.
While the judge acknowledged that the election had been administered “properly and in accordance with all requirements” by Independent Election Services and the electoral officer, he concluded that the fraudulent activity originated outside the official process and nonetheless impacted the final result to a degree that required the election to be voided.
As a result of the ruling, the court ordered that a new election must be held, with Auckland Council confirming that the fresh poll must be completed by 9 April 2026
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Poll: 🗑️ Would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Aucklanders, our weekly rubbish collections are staying after councillors voted to scrap a proposed trial of fortnightly pick-ups.
We want to hear from you: would you be keen to switch to a fortnightly rubbish collection, or do you prefer things as they are?
Keen for the details? Read up about the scrapped collection trial here.
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83.5% Same!
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16.5% Would have liked to try something different
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