Ask Phoebe: Largely unknown Princes Wharf public space with superb harbour views to be publicised this year

NZ Herald

17 Jun, 2015 05:00 PM3 mins to read

Princes Wharf. Photo / Google Earth

There are great public viewing decks at the end of Princes Wharf, at first floor level. They have seating and wonderful views of the Waitemata. But there is never anyone on them because no one knows they are there! Why isn't there any signage on the wharf telling people about them and how to get to them?

Andrew Smith, Balmoral.

While this area is privately owned, the consent for the building required that there be public access to the seating, and so the result is a space with fantastic views. However, as you note, not a lot of people know about it. A spokesman for Auckland Council has advised that this year, information hubs will be going up nearby outlining areas of interest, and the aim is to have these viewing decks included.

I was delighted to receive my car registration reminder and see that the cost has reduced considerably. It seems not that long ago that I was paying well over $400 a year for this privilege, and my new one seems to cost only $138.04 for a year. While I'm not complaining, I wonder why there has been such a large drop.

Alistair Brownlow, Mt Eden.

It's a rare thing, is it not, the cost of an essential service reducing rather than increasing?

On July 1 the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is introducing "vehicle risk ratings" a new approach that will be used to calculate ACC motor vehicle levies. Your vehicle licensing fee (what we might call the "rego") will go down by an average of 41 per cent, or between $40 and $170, depending on the type of vehicle. Each year light passenger vehicles will be assigned to a band between one (most injury risk) and four (least injury risk).

To find out what band applies to your vehicle you can either download the booklet that ACC has developed in which you can look up the make, model and year, or else go to www.rightcar.govt.nz and enter your plate number.

ACC's risk rating is based on real crash data which takes into account how well a vehicle protects occupants and other road users; this is called the total secondary safety index (TSSI). The crash data used is based on 5.5 million police-reported road crashes across Australia and New Zealand. About 2.6 million light passenger vehicles are eligible for risk rating.

And to make sure that you don't pay more than necessary you may want to consider opting for a shorter licensing renewal period, for example three or six months.