local government
Categories under local government
- auckland supercity (418)
- C&R (18)
- local body elections (119)
- supercity (102)
The possible privatisation of Ports of Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, May 19th, 2017 - 134 comments
The Government is attempting through coercion and cajoling to get Auckland Council to privatise Ports of Auckland.
Brownlee determined that Christchurch should suffer too
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, April 19th, 2017 - 25 comments
Christchurch rebuilt must suffer the same central traffic madness as Auckland. Thus decrees Gerry Brownlee, as short-sighted, bullying, and ignorant as ever.
National’s flawed RMA ripoff still failing
Written By: - Date published: 7:22 am, March 15th, 2017 - 13 comments
Maori Party Co-Leader, Marama Fox, is playing hardball over Nick Smith latest attempts to weasel out of commitments on the deeply flawed RMA changes that National has spent the last few years trying to find any support for in Parliament. The bill is crap. The Maori party should just drop it regardless how many baubles they think they will get from it.
Justin Lester: Why Wellington, why Labour, and how did he make conference cry?
Written By: - Date published: 4:49 pm, March 12th, 2017 - 10 comments
Via Noted, the Mayor of Wellington talks about his city, his mayoralty, and why he’s Labour.
Weak Cities
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 16th, 2016 - 44 comments
Current governance structures for our cities that rely on corporate management are proving to be ineffective and are not delivering the sort of result our democracy needs.
The best you can hope for, after the Local Government elections
Written By: - Date published: 8:07 am, October 11th, 2016 - 55 comments
Now that the local government elections have been completed what is the best that local communities can expect of their elected representatives?
Utopians and pragmatists
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, October 10th, 2016 - 32 comments
Nick Leggett places himself in the “pragmatic” part of the Labour Party spectrum and derides others as being “utopian” and not interested in winning. But given the recent election result for the Mayoralty is he right?
Local Government results good for Labour and terrible for National
Written By: - Date published: 11:18 am, October 9th, 2016 - 80 comments
In Auckland, Christchurch and in mayoral races throughout the country Labour and Progressives had a very good day while National and its proxies must be wondering what they did wrong.
Local Government election results
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, October 8th, 2016 - 119 comments
A running post for people to comment on local government election results as they come in.
Expect results to come in from 1 pm.
Campaigning South Auckland style
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 7th, 2016 - 8 comments
The South has responded to the Matafai West Auckland effort from yesterday. Sua William Sio says that South Auckland is the Gateway to the nation and the land of the young, beautiful and gifted. Judging by this video he may be right.
Campaigning westie style …
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, October 6th, 2016 - 12 comments
The Matafai aiga from West Auckland show how to campaign.
Goff on foreign buyers; and Vote!
Written By: - Date published: 2:06 pm, October 3rd, 2016 - 5 comments
Ban them / tax them, but lets reduce demand. And make sure you get your vote in for local elections!
WMBAD: #PleaseNewZealand, get out and vote
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 30th, 2016 - 14 comments
Your voting papers may be terrifying, but you have to make them count.
Even more local body elections advice
Written By: - Date published: 6:09 pm, September 26th, 2016 - 13 comments
Since first posting Who should you vote for? a week ago I’ve been directed to even more endorsement lists and voting guides for local body candidates up and down the country. So if you still don’t know who to vote for, check them out.
Is Vic Crone racist?
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, September 22nd, 2016 - 198 comments
Vic Crone is trying to make a story out of the fact that Phil Goff is against foreign ownership of our housing stock, but accepted $250,000 from the NZ Chinese community at a fundraiser. Does she not see a difference between NZ Chinese and foreigners?
Who should you vote for?
Written By: - Date published: 6:39 pm, September 20th, 2016 - 39 comments
All the local body election endorsements you could possibly want.
Just vote – Auckland Council version
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, September 18th, 2016 - 31 comments
It is local government election time. If you want to vote for progressive candidates these are some suggestions.
Translating the local government election jargon
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, September 16th, 2016 - 13 comments
The PSA has produced a nice guide to cut through all the buzzwords in local body elections.
The other war of the polls
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 16th, 2016 - 28 comments
The Dominion Post has received not one, but two polls on the Wellington mayoralty. So who’s coming out on top?
Right-wing mayor candidates try to kneecap themselves
Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, September 15th, 2016 - 82 comments
Vic Crone isn’t sure humans are causing climate change, Palino doesn’t think Auckland is all that super, and Mark Thomas just wants people not to vote for Goff… It’s hardly an enticing bunch.
Beware, creepy men of the right: Rawshark returns (briefly)
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, September 14th, 2016 - 82 comments
An old handle flickered back into life briefly this afternoon: In 2014 I dumped: https://t.co/UhZSYEYyar — Whaledump2 (@whaledump2) September 14, 2016 Rawshark – presuming the account is still held and operated by the hacker who exposed the dodgy shenanigans between the WhaleOil blog, corporate lobbyists and senior National Party politicians – started with a screenshot from […]
Eileen Brown for CCDHB
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 pm, September 6th, 2016 - 2 comments
Capital Coast DHB candidate Eileen Brown chairs the Newtown Union Health Service Board, a primary care service for people on low incomes. For the last 10 years, Eileen has worked for the Council of Trade Unions as a senior policy analyst; previously she worked in nursing in many areas including mental health and neuro rehabilitation. Eileen is standing as a Labour candidate. She’d be great on the DHB.
Take the power back
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, September 5th, 2016 - 49 comments
The Jobs That Count campaign isn’t just about Talley’s AFFCO. It’s about getting local councils that work for all of us and make sure that the big businesses in our communities give back to us.
The Mayoral candidates and the living wage proposal
Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, September 4th, 2016 - 29 comments
I attended the Living Wage People’s assembly this week in St Matthews in the City. The idea behind the meeting was to get Mayoral and Waitemata ward candidates to express their views on the living wage proposal as well as improved public transport services and rental accommodation standards. The organiser was Living Wage Aotearoa who have been […]
Take back our communities and create Jobs That Count
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, August 21st, 2016 - 22 comments
So often we lose sight of the fact that local government is about much, much more than rates. We’re launching a Jobs That Count ticket to change that.
Why do right wing politicians like stealing dead babies identities?
Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, August 14th, 2016 - 15 comments
Savea Peseta Al Harrington Lavea, Auckland Future candidate for the Whau Local Board, shares an unfortunate similarity with David Garrett.
Auckland Future’s fuster cluck of a campaign
Written By: - Date published: 9:12 am, August 13th, 2016 - 5 comments
Auckland Future’s campaign has struck problems with candidates being nominated for the wrong positions, multiple right wing candidates running for the same positions and questions over whether the vetting of candidates has been as optimal as could be hoped for.
The Unitary Plan: Rodney’s Dream
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, August 7th, 2016 - 59 comments
Rodney Hide must be sleeping well, because Auckland’s proposed Unitary Plan will deliver all he and his NACT patrons ever hoped for. The Council should reject the Plan in its current form, cherry-pick those aspects consistent with a democratic and liveable city and sheet home the responsibility to those that created the mess.
The Unitary Plan will not solve the Housing Crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, August 1st, 2016 - 9 comments
The Unitary Plan has been described as a panacea for the housing crisis by the Government. But will it actually address this most acute of issues?
Unitary Plan – affordability requirements removed
Written By: - Date published: 10:12 am, July 28th, 2016 - 63 comments
What are the Nats doing removing a proposed requirement for affordable housing – exactly the housing that Auckland desperately needs!?
Auckland Unitary Plan
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, July 27th, 2016 - 19 comments
Auckland’s Unitary Plan will be available on the web at 1:30pm today, with a tool for checking the impact on any Auckland address.
- Polytechnics losing foreign enrolments due to study visa wait times, Te Pūkenga warns
NZ is in a "global market" for international students, Te Pūkenga boss says, and those facing delays will often opt to go to other countries. ...3 days ago - To all the TV news we lost in 2024
Bulletins and beloved current affairs programmes fell like flies in an agonising year for screen journalism. You don’t know what you don’t know. The great vanishing of news and current affairs from New Zealand television is a tragedy not simply, or even principally, because of the many hours of compelling ...3 days ago - Carbon credits, fish poo and the push to discover the secrets of the sea floor
Shanti Mathias spends a day in the Hauraki Gulf with a group of British scientists investigating the links between carbon and biodiversity in the seafloor mud. The ocean swell is tilting the boat as the metal tube hovers above the water. “A-Frame out,” calls a marine scientist helping to operate ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 16 December
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 16 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago - Book of the Year: Delirious, by Damien Wilkins
The best novel of the year is also the best book of any kind of 2024, a moving story of a retired couple who downsize, reluctantly, to a retirement village somewhere or other on the Kāpiti Coast – Kāpiti Island looms and broods in the background of the book – just ...3 days ago
- NZ swims against Pacific currents at global climate case
NZ’s arguments before the ‘World’s Court’ look progressive but ultimately align with polluters and developed nations, a law lecturer says The post NZ swims against Pacific currents at global climate case appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Much at stake for a New Caledonia on the brink
The New Caledonian riots which began on May 13 this year, triggered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to change the New Caledonian provincial electoral roll, have left the French territory in economic despair. Around 800 businesses have been destroyed with the loss of more than 20,000 jobs. The economic ...3 days ago
- NZ forestry holds up as China’s property crisis drags on
Low prices and reliable supply has helped to weather the worst of China’s downturn for NZ forestry The post NZ forestry holds up as China’s property crisis drags on appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- As 2024 ends, central banks take victory lap as interest rate relief buoys sentiment
Inflation returns to within its target band faster than predicted but 2025 could see Trump’s import tariffs derail that The post As 2024 ends, central banks take victory lap as interest rate relief buoys sentiment appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Somewhere along the line someone always pays
Opinion: Govt thinks if they stop funding something in favour of private provision, then the cost disappears The post Somewhere along the line someone always pays appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 16 December
The post Daily crossword, Monday 16 December appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Student allowance recipient numbers drop 40% in a decade
The number of people in tertiary study receiving the student allowance has dropped almost 40 percent since 2013 amid a freeze on eligibility income thresholds and falling enrolments. The allowance is available if your parents earn under a certain threshold or you’re at least 24 and have an eligible income. It ...3 days ago
- More spending and weaker revenue hits budget bottom line in some years: Chalmers
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wednesday’s mid-year budget update will downgrade company tax receipts by $8.5 billion over the four years to 2027-28, and show “slippage’ in the bottom line in some years of the forward estimates, Treasurer Jim Chalmers ...3 days ago - Seven foreigners in Fiji suspected alcohol poisoning case now in Lautoka hospital
By Anish Chand in Lautoka Fiji’s Ministry of Health has confirmed all seven foreigners who had consumed a cocktail at the Warwick Resort on the Coral Coast and became sick have now been transferred to Lautoka hospital. The ministry said out of the seven, four were Australians, one American, and ...4 days ago
- Bali five return to Australia, and don’t have to serve more prison time
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The remaining five members of the Bali Nine – Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens, Si Yi Chen, and Michael Czugaj – arrived back in Australia from Indonesia on Sunday. Despite earlier suggestions, and ...4 days ago
- New Zealand Far-Right Government’s Anti-Democratic “Law And Order” Agenda
The legislation is part of the far-right government’s sweeping “law and order” agenda targeting the most alienated and vulnerable layers of society, including impoverished youth and welfare beneficiaries. Sooner rather than later, the crackdown will extend ...4 days ago - RNZ Mediawatch: Under the sinking lid from offshore tech companies
By Colin Peacock, RNZ Mediawatch presenter This week, Minister of Racing Winston Peters announced the end of greyhound racing in the interests of animal welfare. Soon after, a law to criminalise killing of redundant racing dogs was passed under urgency in Parliament. The next day, the minister introduced the Racing ...4 days ago
- Government launches new plan for reducing family and sexual violence
The second Te Aorerekura - the National Strategy to Eliminate Family Violence and Sexual Violence - has been launched. ...4 days ago
- Parliament on the home stretch, but first, a 30-hour sitting week
The bills ...4 days ago
- An Ode to .. Nicola Willis
The Horror! The Horror!“Now Captain,” says Admiraless Willis,Striding onto the bridgeOf the antique ferry Roi des BelgesAs it winds up the endless brown riverThrough a steaming jungle.“I expect you to follow my commandsTo the letter. Do you understand?”The Captain is silentAs he steers between treacherous sandbars.“We’ve entrusted you with this ...4 days ago
- Mental Health Bill: ‘No place for compulsory care’ in new law, academic says
The legislation is "completely inconsistent with expert advice and international law and best practice", associate professor says. ...4 days ago
- Why is Israel bombing Syria? – ‘because it can get away with it’, says Bishara
Asia Pacific Report Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, has condemned Israel’s extensive airstrikes on Syrian installations — reportedly 500 times in 72 hours, comparing them to historic Israeli actions justified as “security measures”. He criticised the hypocrisy of Israel’s security pretext endorsed by Western powers. Asked why Israel ...4 days ago
- Ōtaki highway tolls to reach vital services unfair – mayor
Ōtaki and surrounding communities could be split off from vital resources they depend on - or hit in the pocket - if a planned toll goes ahead on State Highway 1, a mayor says. ...5 days ago
- Damascus and Gaza prisoners: Syrians and Palestinians search for ‘disappeared’ loved ones
Democracy Now! AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Syria, where tens of thousands of people gathered at the Great Mosque of Damascus for the first Friday prayers since longtime authoritarian President Bashar al-Assad was toppled by opposition fighters. DAMASCUS RESIDENT: [translated] Hopefully this Friday is the Friday of ...5 days ago
- This year’s sports superstars and triumphs – and who’ll be big in 2025
The Paris Olympics, a cricketing marvel, a shooting star in tennis and coaches who pulled off wonders: some of the LockerRoom highlights of a super year for NZ women’s sport.Best individual sports achievementKristy Havill: Lydia Ko’s Olympic gold followed quickly by her Women’s Open win at St Andrews a fortnight ...5 days ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Xmas songs
CHRIS HIPKINSIt was Christmas Eve, babeIn the Beehive bar.An old man said to me,“What’s your name, son?”And then he sank his glassOf cold clear Mountain Dew.I looked him in the eyeAnd sank a glass too.Had a quiet yearWithout a single care.I’ve got a feelingNext year’s much the same.So happy Christmas,Old ...5 days ago
- Our report to you – Newsroom in 2024
We want to thank you for the support you’ve given us to continue delivering groundbreaking, robust and independent journalism of public importance. That support is through your subscriptions and donations – and critically, it’s also through you sharing and championing our work to friends, family and colleagues. We’re grateful.We owe it to you to ...5 days ago
- The Treaty principles bill – bad execution of a good idea?
Comment: To anyone genuinely interested in resolving the role of the Treaty of Waitangi in modern New Zealand, the arrival of the Treaty principles bill must be deeply disappointing.Part circus, part political stunt. Part farce, part tragedy.A ‘phantom’ bill that will never be enacted, Act and Te Pāti Māori politicking ...5 days ago
- The Weekend: The phrase of the year is ‘gingle malt’
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. This is my final weekend editorial for the year and I was struggling to think of how I could sum up the year in a clever, succinct way. At our Spinoff Year in Review event in Auckland on Wednesday, host Anna Rawhiti-Connell ...5 days ago
- I see hundreds of ads for togs so why is it so hard to find a decent pair?
Togs, togs, everywhere and not a pair I want to wear. A few years ago, during another round of Cranium, my dad announced that as he only had a certain number of “good summers left”, he would not be spending them playing board games with his family. He has no ...5 days ago
- ‘I’m very happy about that’: Frankie Stevens on being the voice of Christmas
New Zealand’s ‘Godfather of Christmas’ looks back on his life in TV and music. When The Spinoff reaches Frankie Stevens, he’s in a festive mood. Christmas is barely two weeks away, and he’s riding the high of having emceed his local Waverley Summer Christmas Jam last Sunday while also looking ...5 days ago
- ‘A great song is one you can dance and cry to’: Elliott Dawson’s perfect weekend playlist
Art rock singer-songwriter Elliott Dawson shares his perfect weekend playlist. It’s nighttime in the world of Pōneke-based musician Elliott Dawson, the perfect period for introspection, stargazing and letting the singer serenade you in dim light. “I’m talking about that 20-30 minute period after the sun has gone below the horizon ...5 days ago
- Wasteland: A response to a university restructure
This essay is the joint winner of this year’s Landfall Essay Competition and was first published in Landfall 248: Spring 2024. “What is most distinctive, and perhaps distinctively valuable, about what universities do is precisely what cannot be captured by the metrics societies increasingly use to measure value.” – Stefan ...5 days ago
- A love letter to my five friends
After nearly 50 years of friendship, Venetia Sherson thanks her inner circle. Over a decade ago, when British anthropologist Robin Dunbar deduced humans typically have 150 friends, of whom just five are intimate, I did a head count. My inner circle aced the test. I have five close women friends ...5 days ago
- RSF says global attacks on journalists ‘alarming’, Gaza ‘most dangerous’ and seeks ‘urgent...
Pacific Media Watch The global media freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has revealed an “alarming intensification of attacks on journalists” in its 2024 annual roundup — especially in conflict zones such as Gaza. Gaza stands out as the “most dangerous” region in the world, with the highest number of ...5 days ago
- Report card shows some mental health services hit targets, others fall short
There is "still work to do" around getting people timely treatment when they go to ED for mental health. ...6 days ago
- Eugene Doyle: The dismemberment of Syria is a crime
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle What we are witnessing is not just the end of a regime but quite possibly the destruction of the Syrian state. We are being told by the Western media that we should join Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe ...6 days ago
- No plans for scaling back of Whangārei’s hospital redevelopment
Health Minister Shane Reti says stage one is still on budget and on track to be completed by 2031. ...6 days ago
- The Coalition reveals the cost of its nuclear power plan – but the devil is in the missing detail
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Thomas Longden, Senior Researcher, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University The Coalition has released long-awaited detail on its nuclear energy policy, claiming its plan to build seven nuclear power stations would be A$263 billion cheaper than Labor’s renewables-only approach. The figures ...6 days ago
- What is the drug captagon and how is it linked to Syria’s fallen Assad regime?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicole Lee, Adjunct Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne based), Curtin University After the fall of the al-Assad regime in Syria, large stockpiles of the illicit drug captagon have reportedly been uncovered. The stockpiles, found by Syrian rebels, are ...6 days ago
The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
Recent Comments