Auckland City FC celebrate their record third consecutive OFC Champions League title. Photo: Rob MacGregor

The club can now look forward to a December trip to Morocco, where they will compete in the Fifa Club World Cup for a fifth time.

All the scoring action came in the first half, with Auckland City’s Adam Dickinson and Alex Feneridis scoring two quick goals before Chad Coombes nabbed one back for Waitakere just before the interval.

Dickinson opened the scoring in the 16^th minute when Waitakere goalkeeper Danny Robinson parried Takuya Iwata’s low cross into his path just yards from goal. The striker then calmly slotted home his eighth goal of the campaign to put the Navy Blues in front.

Feneridis doubled Auckland City’s advantage just five minutes later when he fiercely struck the ball from outside the box. Robinson will feel he should have saved the low shot after it bounced awkwardly in front of him and ricocheted into the top right corner.

Despite Auckland City’s dominance, Waitakere scored shortly before half time through a simple goal by midfielder Coombes. Roy Krishna got behind Auckland City’s defence to meet Allan Pearce’s looping cross, before passing sideways to Coombes who could make no mistake from close range.

Waitakere came out all guns blazing in the second half but were soon reduced to 10 men when defender Tim Myers was sent off for a second bookable offence.

The ASB Premiership champions had a number of opportunities from set pieces late in the game, but Auckland City’s defence nullified the threat through the leadership of inspirational captain Ivan Vicelich.

Auckland City’s faithful supporters went into delirium at the final whistle, and the players showed their gratitude by celebrating with the fans at the main stand.

Vicelich, who yesterday received his fourth OFC Champions League winner’ medal, lauded the efforts of his team mates in the historic victory.

“We’ve got a really good team and we’ve been playing some good football right through the league. I think we deserved it today. We played really well and got some good goals.”

Before yesterday Waitakere United had defeated Auckland City in four of their six meetings this season.

Auckland City goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley was jubilant in winning the closely contested derby match,

“We always put a lot of emphasis on the O-league so to come away with a result in the final against Waitakere is fantastic, especially because they’ve had the wood on us for most of the season. It just kind of makes the NZFC final a distant memory now.”

Manager Ramon Tribulietx says his team’s unwavering belief helped them avoid conceding a late equaliser when Waitakere were pressing hard.

“They were going to throw everything at us, and even the keeper was going forward.

“We defended how we could, and I think the effort from the boys was fantastic once again. Having lost a few games against them, coming back like this and winning a final, and to get through to the Club World Cup, is unbelievable.”

Blair Tinnely enjoys the conditions at Treble Cone last year despite a late start to the season.. Photo: Hannah Greenslade-Yeats

Manager of the avalanche and snow-sports programme at Otago Polytechnic Peter Bilous says from May to July the country should expect higher-than-usual temperatures and precipitation.

“It means we could either have a lot of rain or a lot of snow,” Mr Bilous says.

According to Turoa Mt Ruapehu sales and communications manager Annah Dowsett forecasters have different predictions for the season.

“We already have snow to low levels so that’s always a good start.”

Season pass sales for Mt Ruapehu have already hit 220,000, topping all other New Zealand ski fields.

“We are happy that the season pass numbers are up, considering we had some bad press about snow conditions last year.”

Both ski fields on Mt Ruapehu, Turoa and Whakapapa, plan to open on June 29 this year, one week later than in 2012.

Ms Dowsett says if the mountain receives “tonnes of snow” before that, operators may revaluate the opening date.

In the Queenstown and Wanaka region, Treble Cone marketing manager Nick Noble hopes the snow they have received to low levels will be topped up ready for opening much earlier than last year.

“Anticipation is high down here,” he says.

Skiers and boarders in Wanaka are disappointed the free skiing mecca Snow Park will not open this year.

Sam Lee and his family have run Snow Park since just April this year.

In a statement Mr Lee said the family had hoped they could get on their feet sooner, but they need more time and so they will not open in 2013.

Mr Noble says Treble Cone is unlikely to benefit from the closure, as it offer “big mountain” skiing, while Snow Park appeals to freestyle skiers and boarders. 

The scene of the crime on the corner of Manukau Road and King Edward Avenue. Graphic: Steve Bolton

The two men, who had been out for dinner in Manukau Rd, returned to their car at 8.30pm, to discover the thief sitting in the driver’s seat having just started the engine.

One of the men ran back to the restaurant to get help while his friend pulled open the door and tried to force the man out of the car.

Witnesses describe hearing the engine racing and loud yelling as the men fought at the open car door.

As help arrived from the restaurant, the car leapt backwards, knocking the owner down before speeding off down King Edward Ave.

Rod Mathers, who was filling his car at the Caltex station on the corner, described how the situation unfolded in front of him.

“The guy was screaming for help and the motor was going at top revs. They got the car into reverse and it jumped out of the parking space into the road, knocking the guy over, before tearing off down the street towards Gillies Ave.”

Detective Bronwyn Matthews, of Glen Innes CIB, who is investigating the case, said the car theft came after a series of seemingly related car burglaries in the area earlier in the evening.

“The same man was seen shining a torch into parked cars and there were a series of break-ins reported in the streets nearby.”

According to crime statistics, in the year ending December 31 2012, there were 17,807 cars reported stolen and 32,128 separate incidents of theft from cars in New Zealand. In Auckland there were 3,224 and 8,050 incidents respectively.

An employee at the Caltex service station, who asked not to be named, said that in the one year he had been at the Manukau Rd station, there had been three similar instances and numerous smash and grab robberies from cars parked in the area.

Detective Matthews said the investigation is on-going and as yet no one has been apprehended.

She said the car was recovered the same evening less than 500m from where it was stolen in the Burger King car park across the road.

“He must have driven around the block before dumping the car and leaving.”

She said police are reviewing incidents from the area and are considering highlighting the Manukau Rd and King Edward Ave intersection as a crime “hot-spot”.

“We get a lot of this sort of crime in the area. The street lighting’s pretty poor and you get a lot of people parking their cars in the side street when they go to dinner or the movies.”

 Detective Matthews said the man who had been knocked down was fine and that all the men’s property was still in the vehicle.

“The only thing that didn’t belong was a single black glove the thief left behind which our forensic team are testing for DNA”.

Auckland Girls Grammar students at the Writer Reader Festival in Auckland. Photo: Jane Jeffries

Festival director  Anne O’Brien says the line up is impressive.

“I am very happy with the line-up I have. It’s quiet different from last year where there was a stronger focus on fiction. This year there is a stronger focus on non-fiction,” she says.

It is impossible to summarise the range of the 150 writers, subjects and events that make up this year’s festival, says Ms O’Brien.

“I have ideas about the sort of conversations I would like to see at the festival. It is good to have a mix of big name literary authors, stories that appeal, stories with issues and also people who are not as well known but are great writers,” she says.

The festival programme is divided broadly into six categories: Those Faraway Lands, Science and Reasons, Life’s Easy Pleasures, Art, Music and Poetry, Books We Love and World at War.

Yvonne Van Dongen, New Zealand journalist and award-winning travel writer, will spend an hour on Sunday May 18 with travel writer Peter Riordan talking about his book Gods of the Stone: Travels in the Middle East. The book won the TravCom Book of the Year award for 2012.

Riordan travelled through the religious and historical sites retracing the birth of Christianity.

Travel writing is a funny genre, says Ms Van Dongen. “It’s so broad you can make it what you want. It can be history based, memoirs, comedy or anything you like.”

 Riordan’s book is a dense read, very well researched with a lot of fascinating history, she says.

 Riordan followed in the footsteps of the famous English travel writer H V Morton who made the same journey 80 years ago. 

“Many of Morton’s books were on Scotland, Wales and Ireland but what really took my attention was his trilogy on the Middle East, ” says Riordan.

 He travelled though Egypt, where the  Siwna Oasis was the highlight of his four-month trip, as well as  Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus and Greece.

At the festival Riordan will discuss the journey with Ms Van Dongen, and talk about the craft of travel writing.

 Ticket sales are already well up on last year. The festival is expecting more than 12,000 individuals with more than 30,000 tickets sold.

 In addition, 3000 intermediate and college student will take part in workshops and sessions.

Welcome to TWN’s live budget special.

This afternoon TWN reporters will bring you up-to-date news and analysis from Finance Minister Bill English’s fifth budget. Follow the links below or follow the developments on our home page.

Housing – reporters Alison Grant and Hannah Greenslade-Yeats
Child Poverty – reporters Jane Nixon and Jamie Small
Education – reporters Amy Baker and Elizabeth Davies
Health – reporters Beatrice Randell and Becky Rutherford
Student debt – reporters Clayton Barnett and Holly Ryan

Photo: National Party/Flickr

PM John Key. Photo: US Embassy/Flickr

This is a noble pre-budget salute to tackling child poverty. But I wonder if Mr Key forgot to finish his sentence.

I wonder if he actually meant to say this: “Children who aren’t fed become victims and the Government has to deal with that because we, the Government support problem gambling and have decided that it’s a great idea to trade off society’s vulnerable and addicted for a great big convention centre.

“Yes, we think skipping past the taxpayer on this deal will win us some votes and of course, it will get the anti-gambling folks all riled up -  but we know that 200 or so more pokies will not increase problem gambling because we are experts in the field.

“Here at National Party headquarters, we love to do deals. We will do deals on almost anything: refugees, China, GCSB appointments . . . If we can’t strike a deal we will find something to ‘deal’ with. And this week, it will be child poverty. What a great deflection that will be for those opposing the Sky City deal.

“If we can create the conditions needed to bring about poverty by increasing the number of problem gamblers, then it is indeed our job to fix the consequences. In fact I wonder what other social problems this Sky City deal will afford us?

“By jove, Mr English, I do believe I have just discovered the definition of irony! We must add that to the list of National’s achievements.”

It is one thing to promote the sport of casino gambling by increasing pokie machine numbers, but it’s a whole different story when a prime minister starts to gamble vulnerable members of society in exchange for a building.

It’s ironic he wants to address child poverty when he’s setting up the conditions that help create it.

Mr Key might think he has hit the jackpot, but time will only tell of the potential spin-offs his wheeling and dealing will create.