Councilor Says Upgrade To Auckland Museum On Target

Hobson Candidate Says Upgrading Museum A Real Boost For Auckland

Margaret Tapper , Hobson Ward candidate for Auckland City Council said today that the $53 million upgrade to the War Memorial Museum was one of the most important infrastructural projects to benefit not only Auckland but New Zealand as a whole.

The $53 million project will see the Museum increase its space by over 60 percent, including the design of a new Grand Atrium building. The dome on the Grand Atrium building has been designed by award-winning architect Noel Lane, who was also involved in the refurbishment of the Museum in 1999. The building which is rapidly nearing completion will consist of seven levels, two of which are underground as well as a carpark, world-class exhibition halls, educational facilities, plus collection and retail space.

Margaret Tapper , who toured the Museum site with Project Chair Scott Milne and Museum Development Manager Amanda Sutherland (photo available on request), says that investing in a world class public heritage facility with an architecturally pleasing design is a real boost to Auckland as first city of the Pacific.

“This $53 million project demonstrates not only the financial support from Auckland City Council but also the far reaching vision of its elected representatives, “says Tapper.

“It means that we have ensured that one of New Zealand ’s great icons is not only preserved but also upgraded to keep pace with the growth of its many peoples and future generations”.

© Scoop Media

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>>