The man who died when his car left the Tasman Valley Rd in
Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park on Tuesday has been named. He
was Mark Roland Ellis (23), of Christchurch.
Like the majority of young visitors, Matt Schoonmaker-Gates,
of California, is travelling on a budget and says charging
international visitors to enter national parks would
discourage people like him.
Pedestrians who choose to walk on roads
at night, whether drunk or sober, ought to carry a light and
wear a dayglow or reflective jacket, Otago-Southland region
coroner David Crerar says.
Twenty-two school pools have closed in the Otago region in
the past decade, and water safety officials believe the
closures are a major factor in creating a generation of young
people who cannot swim.
The Otago Regional Council will meet in private on Wednesday
to discuss a confidential report on plans and likely costs to
overcome overcrowding in its Stafford St office block.
