Aussie govt won't back down on Christchurch warning
The Australian government is not backing down from a travel advisory warning its citizens to "exercise a high degree of caution" if visiting Christchurch - putting the garden city on a par with Rwanda.
The advice on its Smart Traveller website was last updated on March 19. There are no immediate plans to change it.
Yesterday, Canterbury Tourism said the warning put people off and was "unreasonable." Australian visitor numbers are down 20% over 2010.
Under an Additional Information tab on New Zealand, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade warns:
Aftershocks are continuing and may further damage infrastructure such as roads, bridges and power and water supply.
Australians in Christchurch and Lyttleton should exercise a high degree of caution because of damage to buildings, public infrastructure, and essential services caused by the series of earthquakes affecting the area. While damage is concentrated in the CBD, eastern and seaside suburbs of Christchurch, pockets of serious damage to buildings are present in other parts of the city.
Christchurch was hit by a magnitude 4.0 earthquake Friday July 2, and a magnitude 4.8 yesterday, Friday July 6.
The entry on New Zealand also contains a warning for Australians on the risk of travelling to Tauranga. It reads:
The MV Rena broke in two in the Bay of Plenty region on 8 January 2012. Australians visiting the area should monitor the Bay of Plenty District Health Board website for current health warnings.
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Comments and questions10
who cares if they said that
Perfectly reasonable advice I would've thought.
This annoys me. Australia has venemous snakes and spiders, heat waves, draughts, bush fires, and a lot of crime, but the NZ govt go around saying not to go to Aus because of this. No matter where you travel, there'll always be risks!
Sh*t, I meant 'don't go around saying.'
This annoys me. Australia has venemous snakes and spiders, heat waves, draughts, bush fires, and a lot of crime, but the NZ govt go around saying not to go to Aus because of this. No matter where you travel, there'll always be risks!
I also thought that this was perfectly reasonable advice. We had a 4.9 aftershock on Friday and who knows how many more bigger ones to come. People should be warned about this. I myself wouldn't be staying in a high rise hotel in ChCh. Why put tourists in any danger?
Demolition is all around in the CBD. With asbestos equally spread about. I do not go there and consider those who do visit to be dicing with a pretty slow death. The Oz comments are not strong enough.
I thought it was about the high degree of violent crime in Tauranga not the Rena. I have lived in some of the most violent cities in America and Europe and think you have more chances of getting attacked at night in Tauranga. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10818177
"Exercise a high degree of caution"
What an understatement ! NZ is the mongrel armpit of the South Pacific and from the moment the uniforms at the airport try to empty your wallet for not declaring a wooden pencil the chances only then go up for having your car smashed into or the locked rooms of any establishment even host schools busted open and all your stuff thieved. Strewth and I thought Rome was bad.
Maybe NZ needs to issue travel warnings about Kng Street, Melbourne niteclubs and Kings Cross and certain Perth bars' run' by bikie gang bouncers.....