Protestors Waiting For Prince William To Arrive In Wellington

We hear that Prince William, second in line to the British throne, is due to open the new Supreme Court Building in Wellington on Monday.

Republican groups are said to be lying in wait for him and are planning to make an issue out of the establishment of the court representing the end of a long link with Britain.

The prince has already caused problems by daring to ask for healthy salmon in place of red meat at a hangi to be held in his honour, which means that hundreds of dollars spent on showcasing the "best cuts of meat from all over NZ" (ed. we thought those were all exported?) may have been a little excessive. Perhaps someone should've asked him what he wanted to eat before ordering it?

It is not known at this time whether the Prince's has also asked for salad or whether his dietary choices are likely to lead to a new export opportunities for NZ salmon, but we're sure that someone is likely to make the most of it very soon.

Professor Noel Cox, chairs of Monarchy New Zealand, has already said the Prince's trip is free advertising for NZ (see Prince's tour is value for money)

"Every time Prince William’s trip to Aotearoa is mentioned, it is a bold advertisement for New Zealand,” says Professor Noel Cox, Chair of Monarchy New Zealand.

References to the Prince’s impending trip have been made in every major newspaper in both countries (Australian and UK) “If we were going to pay for this kind of advertisement, it would cost a fortune.”

A single full page ad in the British newspaper, The Times costs $56,000 NZD. “Kiwis are already getting a great return on their investment.” By raising New Zealand’s profile through his visit, Prince William is giving a huge boost to our tourism industry."

The family firm sees his trip a little differently :

"St James’s Palace insisted that the Prince would not be distracted by any Republican protests. “It is not about Prince William becoming enmeshed in politics."

Buckingham Palace will be hoping that Prince William, who is more popular than his father in most polls, will enhance the standing of the Royal Family. "We are planning for large crowds. There is huge interest,” said Mr Lowther-Pinkerton."

One wonders if those Republican groups have heard the one about the goose and its golden egg.

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Vietnamese Man Killed In Maraekakaho Named As Kim Sol

The Vietnamese vineyard worker who died when his van rolled had only been living in New Zealand for a couple of months. Various news outlets are carrying the following the story about the loss of control crash on a road bend:

 "A Vietnamese man killed when the van he was in rolled near Hastings on Thursday had moved to New Zealand two months ago.
Kim Sol died in Hawke's Bay Hospital yesterday. He was one of eight family members in the van, which rolled after it failed to negotiate a bend on Kereru Road near Maraekakaho, southwest of Hastings, Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter spokeswoman Louise Harvey said.
Six, including Mr Sol, arrived in New Zealand in November and had residency, the Dominion Post reported.
The other two family members, including the driver, had moved to New Zealand about 10 years ago."

He is thought to be the second Vietnamese national to have died this week. So far 21 people have lost their lives in 19 fatal crashes during January.

See also other posts tagged: Dangerous Roads

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Vietnamese Man, Lam Xuan Hu, Dies From Truck Wheel Injuries

Today we heard that the Vietnamese man struck by a loose truck wheel yesterday has died after his life support machine was turned off. Later reports named him as  Lam Xuan Hu, a 24-year-old living in Manukau on a student visa.


News reports said that the he was a passenger on a bus that was hit by one of two large wheels that came flying off a passing truck. The incident happened yesterday in rush hour traffic on the motorway between Otahuhu and Mount Wellington, Auckland.

One of the wheels crashed through the front screen of the bus, rolled down the aisle, rebounded and hit Lam Xuan Hu. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends for their sad loss.

We'll leave aside for one moment the issue that yet another foreign national had met an untimely end on New Zealands roads. We'll focus on the point that this incident was one of many in New Zealand recently that have involved trucks.

German cyclist Mia Pusch, the mother and child in Hastings, the two Spanish tourists, the 7 killed on a holiday weekend, the woman in her 60s south of Napier, the Swedish tourists in Northland, German cyclist Stephan Stoermer, Des Eyre, police superintendent Steve Fitzgerald, and many others all met their end in a truck 'accident'.

Some reports say that the truck was recently serviced and that specialist reports into the vehicle's condition had started. We wonder if road-worthiness was a factor in any of the other crashes and if it is time for a review of truck servicing and maintenance and time to tighten-up Certificate of Fitness checks.


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