Written By: - Date published: 11:31 pm, May 17th, 2021 - 35 comments
Originally posted on Nick Kelly’s Blog In a nation that has suffered over 100,000 COVID-19 deaths, one may be somewhat taken aback to see the latest YouGov Poll where The Conservative Party enjoy a 15% lead over the Labour Opposition. 17 months after the Conservatives won the 2019 General Election, it would be easy to […]
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 23rd, 2021 - 97 comments
As we lead up to Budget 2021, there’s much more shape to the whole direction of this government.
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, April 16th, 2021 - 30 comments
National has released its housing policy and the proposals are predictable. Free up more land, loosen up the RMA, and require Councils in high growth areas to urgently review their district plans.
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, April 10th, 2021 - 11 comments
I’d thought I’d take a moment to celebrate the life of John Edgar, who passed away a few days ago.
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 am, March 31st, 2021 - 5 comments
Auckland Council has released the Ports of Auckland Independent Health and Safety Report and the recommendations are damning.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 18th, 2021 - 80 comments
It appears that the Government and Auckland Council have spent $250 million on an event the organisers of which are now making plans to go overseas in pursuit of the big corporate dollars.
Written By: - Date published: 12:50 pm, March 12th, 2021 - 77 comments
Government should have announced the decision for Auckland to go down to Level 1 first thing this morning.
Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, February 26th, 2021 - 5 comments
David Seymour and Act have likened the institutional suppression of people based on the colour of their skin with a desire to ensure local government representation for Tangata Whenua.
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, February 15th, 2021 - 36 comments
Are our main cities becoming too big for a single civic promenade, and is the multicellular world of mall dominance just the way things are developing?
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, February 14th, 2021 - 27 comments
The Government has introduced under urgency a bill that will change current law that allows for discriminatory attacks on the creation of Māori Wards.
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, February 10th, 2021 - 7 comments
Lawyers for Climate Action is threatening to take Auckland Council to court if they reneg on their climate action promises in the upcoming consultation on the Regional Land Transport Plan.
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, February 2nd, 2021 - 20 comments
The huge tyre fire near Amberley in North Canterbury last Friday is in an area with a high water table, extreme fire risk in summer, two kilometres from a town of 2000 residents, and on the edge of one of NZ’s premier wine regions.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, January 19th, 2021 - 100 comments
A new political blog has appeared. But rather than involving a fresh presentation of new ideas in an attempt to engender debate this blog has three tired old has beens who are well past their use by date engage in some climate change denial and race baiting.
Written By: - Date published: 7:38 am, December 14th, 2020 - 25 comments
Radio New Zealand is reporting that a deal on Ihumātao is imminent and that Cabinet is expected to sign off on the deal today.
Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, December 11th, 2020 - 10 comments
Auckland Mayor Phil Goff’s recently released budget proposal for Auckland Council contains some welcome proposals to address climate change. But of itself this budget will not go near to achieving Auckland’s goal of halving emissions by 50% in 2030.
Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, October 6th, 2020 - 62 comments
A highly critical email about Judith Collins written by National Maungakiekie MP Denise Lee has been leaked and indicates that National’s Auckland policy was made on the hoof and without reference to the person in caucus with actual responsibility for the subject.
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 5th, 2020 - 43 comments
Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, September 2nd, 2020 - 43 comments
The Herald yesterday posted a story suggesting that Aucklanders were split over the second lockdown when the actual reality was the vast majority were supportive. And a subsequent article pointing out how positive the result was does not clear the perception of negative bias.
Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, August 31st, 2020 - 16 comments
New Zealand’s local and regional councils have been given until August 31 2020 to sign up to a ginormous fund that would help them improve their water, wastewater, and stormwater systems. The implications for them doing this are significant and could see the end of Council control of the supply of water.
Written By: - Date published: 1:19 pm, August 17th, 2020 - 36 comments
The Chief Executive of Watercare Raveen Jaduram has resigned. With Auckland Council’s recent Council Controlled Organisation review having been concluded and the recommendations released is this the opportunity to require meaningful change of Watercare?
Written By: - Date published: 5:44 am, July 3rd, 2020 - 6 comments
20 days after being elected President of the Wellington Tramways and Public Passenger Transport Employees Union (we just called it Tramways), drivers at Go Wellington were locked out. The City nearly ground to a halt with thousands unable to get to work and traffic congestion a nightmare. Certain journalists were quick to call this a communist conspiracy.
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, June 25th, 2020 - 16 comments
There is a solid silver lining to the delay in the Auckland light rail to the airport project.
Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, April 29th, 2020 - 45 comments
What would you do so that instead of wandering endlessly through tilt-slab monstrosities soaked in 80s music and fluorescent lighting, surrounded by oppressed minimum-wage slaves who hate being there and you hating being there worried about your wheeled asset damaged in their carpark instead you get freedom?
Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, April 26th, 2020 - 69 comments
Just as most industries in New Zealand are firing thousands of people to cut costs, local government is getting ready to do the same.
Written By: - Date published: 8:44 am, March 12th, 2020 - 12 comments
2020 will now be the year that New Zealand will now rely on Auckland to get its shit together.
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, February 25th, 2020 - 62 comments
Stuff has an article up about last years local body elections in Auckland. As usual the interesting parts are at the end. But I have to reiterate – online voting isn’t the answer. As a programmer, I’d just call it stupid and dangerous.
Written By: - Date published: 7:15 am, February 21st, 2020 - 44 comments
It’s probably time to notice why Jones’ Provincial Growth Fund had to step in and provide several million of funding to patch up the water supply emergency in Northland.
Written By: - Date published: 11:33 am, January 29th, 2020 - 96 comments
The details of the Government’s $12 billion infrastructure announcement have been released.
Written By: - Date published: 8:14 am, November 18th, 2019 - 16 comments
Advantage is testing an idea out. What will a common accountability framework for the government look like?
Written By: - Date published: 8:15 am, October 30th, 2019 - 26 comments
One of the first acts of Wellington mayor-elect, Andy Foster has been to reverse his stance on the council’s 34% holding in Wellington International Airport Ltd (WIAL). Whether he can get his plan to sell the airport stake past a once hostile public or a leftist-dominated council also seems about as likely as his desire to bulldoze through another tunnel through Mt Vic.
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, October 29th, 2019 - 10 comments
It is pretty hard to miss a variety of cities around the world going nuts for apparently minor offences.
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