Introducing our dedicated Neighbourly reporter - Ripu Bhatia
Hey neighbours,
My name is Ripu, I'm Stuff’s newly appointed Neighbourly reporter for Auckland and Northland. I've worked in Stuff's Auckland newsroom for a year and a half now, and previously covered current affairs and politics.
Neighbourly is growing as a popular tool to access local news and keep in touch with those around us, which we often miss with national media outlets. I'm here to bring you the news closest to you in a role which will work similarly to a community newspaper reporter.
If you have any stories or interesting things happening in your suburb or area, please get in touch!
If you see news posted in your area, please get involved and reply with your comments/thoughts on the issues at hand.
Thanks in advance and I look forward to chatting with you all.
Ripu
What should the rules be for alcohol in public?
We have some proposed amendments to the Alcohol Control Bylaw, and we want to know what you think:
🍷 Have your say on the Alcohol Control Bylaw
The bylaw allows us to ban alcohol completely from specific locations, during certain times of the day, or during certain times of the year. The bans need to reflect the times and places where alcohol causes problems, and can be enforced by police. Only public places are affected by these rules, not homes or licensed premises.
In the new proposal, the city centre alcohol ban would be expanded to include the carparks at Okara Shopping Centre, Cobham Oval and under Te Matau a Pohe bridge. An alcohol ban would also be introduced at Tarewa Park.
We also propose to lift the existing blanket coastal ban that applies to public places within 300m of the mean low tide mark, and narrow the alcohol bans at Oakura, Whananaki North, Whananaki South, Matapōuri/Whale Bay and Pataua North and South - changing the ban from 24 hours a day to just at night time (between 7:00pm and 7:00am).
We appreciate your input to choose appropriate new rules!
Poll: How do you feel about dogs being allowed indoors in cafes?
For most of us, seeing a friendly doggo while out and about instantly brings a smile to our faces. But how do you feel about cafes welcoming pups inside?
Cast a vote and share your thoughts below.
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0% I love it!
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0% Only in designated areas
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0% No, it should be outdoors only.
Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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48.2% Yes
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50% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below