No decision yet on Undie 500 event

Local authorities have met for a de-briefing of the Undie 500 event but no decision has been made on whether next year's rally will go ahead.

In August the unofficial Undie 500 saw riot police clash with a crowd in the Dunedin student stronghold of Castle St.

The incident followed a trouble-free day as students associated with the Christchurch to Dunedin car rally partied around the city.

The official Undie 500 was cancelled after last year's event resulted in 69 arrests.

Inspector Dave Campbell of Dunedin police said the police still do not support the event.

Mr Campbell said police met with the council and other emergency staff yesterday to talk about last year's event.

"We're interested to hear the views of student leaders," Mr Campbell said.

He said police would be meeting with student representatives from the University of Canterbury and Otago in the near future.

He said a decision on next year's event would not be made until sometime next year after new representatives of the relevant university leaders were elected.

The Undie 500 includes students dressing up in costumes, decorating cheap cars and driving from Christchurch to Dunedin in a motorcade.

- NZHERALD STAFF