Across the Ditch: SA Power Outage + Auckland Outage Revisited + Auckland Election Quirks

Across the Ditch: Australian radio FiveAA’s Peter Godfrey and New Zealand’s EveningReport editor Selwyn Manning deliver their weekly news bulletin Across the Ditch. This week Peter and Selwyn discuss South Australia’s power outage and recall how Auckland was without power for five weeks way back in 1998. Also was the weather and a headlines roundup. PLUS AUCKLAND MAYORAL ELECTIONS TURN OUTRAGEOUS: Kiwis get to vote for their preferred mayoral candidates and councillors over the next week as the local government campaigning nears its end. In Auckland, the expectation is former Minister of Foreign Affairs, of Trade, of Justice, of Defence, of Housing… … Phil Goff will poll well, with National’s preferred candidate Vic Crohn nipping at his heals. The Auckland campaign has also had its storage and bizarre moments especially this week while some of the lower polling candidates gathered to debate policy at Auckland University students’ association bar, Shadows. One candidate objected to the presence of another who had recently pulled out of the race. Next thing the audience knew, pushing and shouting erupted. It took the sane and persuasive talents of 23 year old candidate Chloe Swarbrick to intervene and cool the older heads down. She said she wasn’t worried about her own safety – which makes sense as she is quite an achiever in martial arts.Her policies are impressive too and she looks likely to be the favourite with younger voters and quite probably a political force in the future. Across the Ditch broadcasts live on Australia’s FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz and LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz.]]>