Transit New Zealand has agreed to the contribution of $400,000 towards heritage projects in the Hobsonville area following consultation with the Waitakere City Council about the roading authority's offer to relocate the house at 2-4 Sinton Road.

After an initial investigation, in partnership with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, the Transit Authority decided in June to relocate the Sinton Road house at an estimated cost of $725,000 to make way for the new motorway through the upper harbour area.

However, after engineering reports indicated a significant risk of the house (built essentially with rubble material) crumbling if moved, or that the heritage values of the house could be significantly reduced following relocation, the Waitakere City Council came to the conclusion that relocating the house was not a feasible option.

Instead, it was agreed that Transit will demolish the house under close supervision by an archaeologist and will attempt to remove a segment of the building for display in a museum, probably in Hobsonville, at a cost of $100,000. Transit also agreed to contribute a further $300,000 towards heritage projects in the Waitakere City area, with a preference for Hobsonville.

Regional Manager, Wayne McDonald, says a number of relocation options were investigated at length, by both Transit and the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. One option to take the motorway around the house was discarded because of the high cost (nearly $3M), and the significant negative impact a rerouting would have had on the area in general.
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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>