WARNING FOR DOG OWNERS

Dog owners who have not renewed their dog registration risk a $300 fine, Auckland Council says. Auckland Council’s regulatory committee deputy chair councillor Wayne Walker said dog owners were legally required to register their dog with their local council and renew the registration each year by 1 August. During July and August, almost 70,000 dog owners did the right thing, with well over a third of these opting to renew and pay online. However about 30,000 known dogs are yet to be registered. There was an element of the dog-owning community that believed they could get away with not registering their dogs, he said. Dog registration fees cover services such as animal shelters for lost and stray dogs, rehoming dogs, and the cost of keeping Aucklanders safe from dogrelated nuisance and harm. Each year Auckland Council issues about 2000 infringement fines for dog owners having an unregistered dog.

TACKLING TAMAKI DRIVE FLOODING

Tamaki Drive will be raised by up to half a metre between Point Resolution and the Ngapipi Bridge to reduce the impact of flooding. Flooding on Tamaki Drive typically occurs during king tides and major weather events. The protection measures include raising parts of Tamaki Drive by up to half a metre, adding a curve to the seawall to assist in deflecting waves from breaking onto the footpath and installation of storm water valves on Tamaki Drive, to reduce the inflow of sea water through the culvert pipes onto the road. The work will be carried out by Auckland Transport.

PAY GAP NARROWS

The gap between what men get paid and what women get paid per hour has narrowed to its smallest margin in five years, Statistics New Zealand figures show. In the June quarter the wage gap was a 9.4 per cent difference. Women’s median hourly pay rose 4.6 percent in the past year to $23.02, the biggest annual percentage increase since the June 2007 quarter and ahead of men’s 1.6 percent annual gain to $25.41 per hour.