According to this morning’s media reports, distribution of the voting papers for the so-called anti-smacking referendum has commenced, so we can all expect to find these in our letterboxes in the coming weeks. I would urge you to vote Yes. A yes vote will keep the current law as it is, and continue to criminalise the assault of children – effectively applying the same standards of behaviour and proof to both adults and children.

Retaining the law as it is currently written is supported by many of the groups that spend their days working on the front line of child poverty and abuse. My analysis may be overly simplistic, but if the professionals in Barnados, Plunket and UNICEF support the retention of the law, then I think I should endorse their view.

I will be voting yes, and I urge you to do the same.

Kent Duston
Editor
mtvictoria.org.nz

As posted a few days ago, the Wellington Civic Trust is holding a public meeting on the Basin Reserve precinct on Saturday 8 August, aimed at considering all the issues relating to the area – the proposed flyover, the uneconomic-but-we’re-still-planning-for-it second Mt Victoria tunnel, the changes to the Adelaide Road precinct, and the planned supermarket in Tasman Street.

Commendably, the Civic Trust is demonstrating the joined-up thinking that seems to have eluded the responsible agencies. Information on the event – including a schedule and a brochure – can be found here, and we commend this event to anyone who cares about the future of the southern end of our neighbourhood.

Given that many of these issues affect Mt Victoria, a joint MVRA/Save The Basin meeting is planned for Tuesday 11 August at Crossways, starting at 7.30pm. The purpose of this meeting – hosted by MVRA President Jessica Closson and Save The Basin convener Kent Duston – is to report back to the community on what was discussed at the Civic Trust workshop, and the likely implications of the Council and NZTA plans for our neighbourhood. Everyone is welcome, and no RSVP is required.

For those of you who regularly combine lawn bowls with geek pursuits, the first New Zealand conference of the WordPress community is taking place at the Bowling Club in Pirie Street on the 8th and 9th of August. According to organisers:

WordCamp is a conference that focuses on everything WordPress. WordCamps are informal, community-organized events that are put together by WordPress users like you. Everyone from casual users to core developers participate, share ideas, and get to know each other. WordCamps are open to WordPress.com and WordPress.org users alike.

The event has an excellent line-up of speakers, some heavyweight sponsors, and promises to be a seminal event for the WordPress community. And for those not in the know – such as the people who might be more attuned to the lawn bowls end of the event – WordPress is one of the pre-eminent blogging platforms on the Internet. Around 15 million site depend on WordPress technology, and chances are you regularly frequent a site powered by WordPress (Although not this one – we’re a Drupal shop!)

So a big welcome to all the geeks and geek-esses for Wordcamp. Of course, if a couple of days talking CSS is not your thing, there are alternatives.

The sign on the gate says it all, really.

The Wellington Civic Trust has a long history of convening public discussions about the future of our city, and on Saturday 8 August they’ll be hosting a forum on the Basin Reserve precinct. The intention is to look at the entire Basin Reserve area as a whole, given the large number of initiatives in the area. Subjects will include:

• The Adelaide Road precinct and the effects of proposed Council development
• The impact of the proposed supermarket on the site of the old Boys Institute in Tasman Street
• The proposed Basin Reserve flyover
• The on again/off again park in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Buckle Street


The Trust has the view that all these changes are being considered separately by different officials, and that Wellingtonians need a holistic view of how the Basin Reserve precinct will be changed if all these projects proceed.

The venue for the forum is St Joseph’s Church at the southern end of Brougham Street, and we’ll post an agenda and further details as soon as they come to hand.