Ask Phoebe: No missing out - no matter when Anzac and Waitangi days fall

For employees who would otherwise work on that Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday must be treated as falling on that day. Photo / NZME.

Q: I would like to know when the statutory holidays of Waitangi and Anzac Days will be Mondayised (Anzac Day is a Saturday this year). Jeanette Brown, Auckland.

The bill Mondayising Anzac Day and Waitangi Day if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday - the Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day) Amendment Act 2013 - passed into law on January 1, 2014.

This means if Waitangi Day or Anzac Day fall on a Saturday or Sunday, for employees who would not otherwise work on that Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday must be treated as falling on the following Monday.

For employees who would otherwise work on that Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday must be treated as falling on that day.

Celebration of Waitangi Day and Anzac Day will still occur on the actual holiday date.

Q: Why do some cruise ships berth bow-in in Auckland and others berth stern-in? Stuart Williams, Titirangi.

Apparently there are a number of reasons why ships berth the way they do. Most captains prefer to berth bow-in as the ship looks nicer from the shore this way. For some vessels it may be due to where the door openings are; for example, a suitable gangway opening or storage door may be only on the port side. And sometimes the captain may ask to berth stern-in so the crew can undertake some work on the port side and it is easier to do from the wharf than from the water.

Q: I am a daily early-morning walker on Tamaki Drive, and wonder how the port authorities manage to get all the lights on the marker buoys to flash simultaneously? They cover a large area but all flash in unison. Margaret Wood, St Heliers.

Technology is wonderful, isn't it? The shipping channel markers, all 20 of them, have global positioning system (GPS) units synchronised by satellite clocks, so that they all work together, as you have observed. The buoys are also fitted with AIS (automated identification system) transponders, so each is clearly visible on screen both on the vessel in transit and in the harbour control centre. Clever stuff indeed.

The system was installed in 2007, at a cost of $27,000 to $28,000 per buoy, to keep Ports of Auckland in line with international best practice.

The co-ordinated lights, red on the port (left) side coming into port and green on the starboard side, flash one second on, one second off to give a runway effect similar to that at an airport.

The red buoys have even numbers and the green buoys are odd-numbered. The entrance to the commercial shipping channel is marked by "A" buoy, which is red.

At the time Waitemata Harbour's system was installed few ports in the world had such a system in place.

The red/port and green/starboard convention is reversed in ports in the Americas, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

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Do you have a question for Phoebe? It can be about transport or any Auckland issue. Email askphoebe@nzherald.co.nz.