His wife is Chilean, but he has a dual nature by birth too, that provides an internationalist perspective:
Boris Sokratov is a Bulgarian-Māori and has whakapapa to Te Rarawa, Ngāti Haua. He was the producer of the Nutters Club Radio Show. He helped establish the Key to Life Charitable Trust that supports mental health advocate Mike King.
Yes, it does seem an unprecedented achievement. It exposes the reality of cultural/political/ethnic Aotearoa – a social contract based on history. Seymour reckons it's time to renegotiate that contract. Maori are uniting to oppose doing so. Makes me think of the Springsteen song of 1980: The Ties That Bind. Bondage constrains.
The electoral franchise established under the 1852 New Zealand Constitution Act was supposed to be colour-blind. Truth is it wasn’t (on purpose) because voting was linked to private land ownership. And guess who owned the majority of private land? Only men who owned land were entitled to vote. Māori land ownership was collective.
That meant the majority who were Māori (80,000 people) were excluded from voting. While the settler population (6000) could. On top of that Māori wāhine weren’t allowed to vote until 1893. Only 100 or so Māori voted in the first general election in 1853, out of a total electorate of 5849.
The Treaty preserves the political contract between Crown & Maori chiefs. It is largely seen as an ongoing social contract between pakeha & Maori – so widely that it approximates common sense to see it that way. Encoded into law, this interpretation has become authoritative in recent decades. Seymour wants out of this tradition, but his rationale – same rights for all – is mere ideology.
In 1859 the British Crown Law Office confirmed that Māori could not vote unless they had individual title granted by the Crown.
Anchoring democracy in property rights was valid insofar as it brought feudalism through into the 19th century, which suited the empire just fine. Our state was six years old then, and the constitutional framework has evolved somewhat since, but not to the point of including indigenous rights as far as I'm aware. So those rights conferred by the Treaty remain chiefly and are not specifically allocated to other Maori, which makes them contestable…
Here's a helpful summary of what Seymour wants to overthrow:
In 1986, the government passed the State-Owned Enterprises Act, which included a provision stating that “nothing in this Act shall permit the Crown to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi”. A year later, our highest court was required to determine what those principles were. Much of what we know about the principles still comes from that case. Among other things, the court discussed the principles of partnership (that te Tiriti/the Treaty was a partnership between Māori and the Crown), active protection (that te Tiriti/the Treaty creates a duty on the Crown to actively protect certain Māori interests), and of redress (that breaches of te Tiriti/the Treaty oblige the Crown to compensate Māori).
It also discussed the obligation on both Treaty partners to act reasonably and in good faith towards each other [which] remains central to understandings of te Tiriti/the Treaty today. Treaty principles are also increasingly included in legislation. There is a trend towards provisions being more specific, requiring the Crown to take specific actions in order to uphold its Tiriti/Treaty duties.
That outlines the legal view, which sees the Treaty as an ongoing contract between partners. The obvious flaw that the judiciary seems blind to is that Maori generally were not partners: only their chiefs were. Trying to pretend that the social contract extends to all Maori is delusional when there's no historical basis for doing so. I presume the judiciary feels that they & the govt have created sufficient law to make it so – but who will believe them??
To summarise so far: the principles have evolved over time, come from multiple sources, and for most of the past 40 years have been the main way in which lawmakers, public officials, and courts have navigated the differences between the two texts of te Tiriti/the Treaty.
Putting aside the myth of the cession of sovereignty, it is perhaps unsurprising the Government has stated that further clarity would be useful. The problem, however, is that what is being proposed is not really an attempt to clarify Treaty principles, but an attempt to erase them.
Erasure of judicial decisions can be achieved by parliamentary legislation, since parliament is supreme law-maker. Is doing so in our national interest? Not obviously, and very likely only feasible on an evidently mutual-interest basis. Any positive alternative to the status quo would have to spell that out clearly for all to agree.
"The obvious flaw that the judiciary seems blind to is that New Zealand European settlers were not partners: only the wealthy male landowners were. Trying to pretend that the social contract extends to all European is delusional when there's no historical basis for doing so."
Quite so! Imagine being born into a cultural matrix in which history proceeded on the basis of historical misconceptions. Who would take them seriously??
True believers in democracy, that's who. Democracy is a cerebral concept that keeps believers within the mental strait jacket it was devised to clamp them down in.
I don't see that "only the chiefs were partners" is a problem. The chiefs would be presumed to be acting as representatives of their people in any discussions or negotiations with the crown.
"Opposition MPs from the Green and Labour parties described the governing parties as lions willing to rip the nation apart, spiders coming to plague te ao Māori, taniwhā to be feared, and hoariri – enemies – akin to the red suits of the New Zealand wars who came to kill Māori and steal their taonga.
These speeches, from Labour’s Peeni Henare and Kelvin Davis and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, were unequivocal in their dire assessments about the current state of Crown-Māori relations.
What’s worse for the Government is how warmly mana whenua welcomed these MPs to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds."
LOTs of great reading this weekend: Pablo piece on our very own junta is excellent, if troubling.
"In October an election was held in which the major rightwing party (National) did not reveal its true policy intentions, preferring to instead focus on the usual canards of lower taxes, high crimes rates and too many regulations and bureaucratic red tape on property owners. They were assisted by a compliant corporate media interested in generating clickbait material rather than dealing deeper into party policy platforms, and who supported the “change for change sake” attitude of the NZ public by focusing on personal scandals within the Labour-led government ranks. It mattered little that, in public at least, the major rightwing party had little to offer. What mattered was that it win, be it in coalition or outright. As it turns out, it needed coalition partners in order to do so.
The more extreme rightwing parties, ACT and NZ First, were a bit more honest in their campaigns about their reactionary intent, but the corporate media chose to ignore the extent of their connections to extremist groups and foreign donors/patrons such as anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists and Atlas Institute seed-funded astroturf groups such as the overlapping Free Speech Coalition/Taxpayer’s Union that contributed to their campaigns. Nor did the political press seriously look into the backgrounds of candidates in these parties, instead preferring to focus on the leaders and their immediate subordinates."
Great minds think alike Robert. I linked to those two paragraphs yesterday on OM. 🙂
Good to see you repeat them because, imo, they lay bare some of the bullshit we have been fed by some on this site as well as in the media. The whole post needs to be read to see the full impact on the election.
Comprehending the real reason behind the loss is a big stepping stone towards regaining control of the narrative and getting the misguided amongst us back on track.
So here's hoping Labour, the Greens and Te Pato Maori are listening to Paul Buchanan – along with other good commentators like Nick Korero and David Slack.
Given how fundamental the Treaty is to NZ self-identity, at that point it is an open question whether the repressive apparatuses of the State– the police, the courts, the intelligence services, even the military– will side with the elected authoritarians. Stay tuned.
It will be interesting indeed. Given their warrior background, the military has many Maori soldiers, sailors and airmen in their ranks. Maori are also well represented in the Police. I wonder what they are thinking right now?
Something to think about there. What price Craig Harrison's Broken October now? A totally outdated social, political and technological scenario, of course, but it can still pose some disturbing questions.
In October an election was held in which the major rightwing party (National) did not reveal its true policy intentions
The notion that a political party ought to reveal future intentions seems to be embedded within the psyche of the author. Such moral finger-wagging is presumably being recycled from an earlier epoch of history since I've been observing politics for approx 6 decades and I've never seen any evidence of conformity to the proposition.
It would be helpful if the author could specify when in history this actually happened, to validate his thesis. Otherwise readers are likely to see it as a sign of dementia.
Sorry if you have taken offence, but that was a tongue-in-cheek reversal of a word D Frank used against another person and is clearly untrue. D Frank can bombard this site with thinly disguised smears about others with impunity.
[the only offence taken here is you wasting my goddam moderator time. Again. Up to you whether you want to learn here or not. My original mod note stands, I’m sick of explaining it to you – weka]
if you don't like something another commenter says, then say so clearly and explain what the problem is. This is helpful to moderators and the community. Flamming another commenter is really unhelpful and just builds up ill will over time.
Sorry Weka, but I'm out of here for the duration, I thought Anne's comment was as usual very thoughtful and made a good point about our fellow traveller Dennis Frank's 'thinly disguised smears about others with impunity'. It's been a worthwhile journey hearing what other left leaning commenter publish here, but so as to not earn a life time ban from you, I'm not going to partake for a long while, if ever again.
You're not even close to being on my moderator radar Jilly, I have no idea why you think you might get banned.
Anne on the other hand has a history and pattern of behaviour that is a problem. Short sharp bans have long been used in this way on TS.
From a moderator's pov, if commenters don't like a specific commenter and they choose to harass that commenter instead of explaining what the issues are, it just creates a bad atmosphere and more work for the mods.
So like I said, anyone can point out the problems with people's commenting style, and this is helpful for moderation as well as the community.
Sorry to see you take leave Jilly Bee. I have found your comments relevant, thought provoking and highly constructive, as are Anne's.
Both you and Anne in IMHO, have always had a great deal to offer from those of us of the senior left perspective, as does Patricia Bremner. You will be missed.
Nope, I just pointed out how he had set himself up sufficiently for readers to jump to that conclusion. The guy must be old enough to take responsibility for what he wrote. If he wanted his vapourings to be taken seriously, he would not have set himself up like that. He would, instead, have pointed to an historical rationale for his opinion: that democracy incorporates a rule requiring parties to declare their future intentions at each election.
You may also believe democracy contains his imaginary rule. If so, why not have a go at providing the historical evidence? Presuming he is incapable of doing so, you'd be doing him, and us all, a good turn.
You think he's a victim of his incompetence? That angle hadn't occurred to me but I suppose you're right. However I don't blame him for being himself – he can only perform at the level he naturally slots into.
[While being a sanctimonious and patronising arse isn’t technically against the site Policy, there is the discretion for moderators to step in on patterns of behaviour that cause problems for the commentariat. You now have multiple people taking potshots at you, and you seem to be quite poor at taking feedback on what is pissing people off.
Maybe you don’t care. I do though, and I’m giving you a holiday from the site for a week to let things cool down. This is to reduce moderator load, but I strongly encourage you to think about how how you communicate here. I will note you’ve had feedback on this kind of thing before here As always, feel free to ask for clarification about anything when you return. – weka]
Yes Robert. An impulsive response to a nasty little dig at someone with both national and international mana and respect. If it had been a one-off I would have passed, but its not.
and as I have pointed out, if you had named the problem without throwing something at another commenter, then that would have been helpful. The moderation issue here is that you seem to think you are above moderation.
No weka, I have never ever considered myself above moderation. Do I respond impulsively from time to time? Yes I do. Do I try to keep some comments too brief thus not making myself clear? Guilty as charged. Am I bit too forthright sometimes? Yes.
Some of the recent bullshit on this site has riled me and I can't be the only one. It must be even more frustrating for the authors who put time and effort into the site. It also turns some people off commenting for fear of ridicule. That's a shame because TS has the power to be very influential and with all the astroturfing going on at present, it is even more desperately needed.
There are only a small handful of people responsible, and they only turn up when there are major controversies in progress as is currently the case. They troll the regulars or fill the pages with distorted facts and misinformation.
They need to be discouraged, but have just picked up you have started. Thanks.
Anne – it's difficult for those of us who love pith, as in pithy, comments.
Detailed, drawn out descriptions are an invitation for some to nit-pic words and phrases; pithy one-liners seem an elegant way to stifle that sort of film-flam, but the down-side of being brief, is…apparent 🙂
Thanks Anne and Robert, for linking to the Kiwipolitico post.
The odd fellow who disparages me in this thread does have a point when saying that there is no universal rule of democracy that says that political parties should and must campaign honestly and transparently about their true policy agendas. Of course not. But that was not my point. My point was that, like many authoritarian-minded cabals who know that announcing their true policy agendas during campaigns will never see them get elected, the recently installed junta deliberately concealed their true intentions while hiding under milquetoast rightwing talking points about taxes, crime and housing. They fully knew that their true agenda would be rejected at the polls if announced in advance, so they deliberately hid it from the electorate, as well as the fact that many of their policy prescriptions were basically written by their big political donors and sponsors.
This amounts to a type of false advertising or "bait and switch" campaigning. It is utterly cynical and dishonest at its core. It is a clear manipulation of the electoral process, which it sees in instrumental terms (a means to achieve power and pursue their real agenda even if it runs against the public good) rather than as an intrinsically valuable form of political voice for the electorate. But sure, it did not break any ironclad rule of democratic politics even if it demonstrates utter contempt for the public who otherwise would have never voted them into office had they known what the junta is really about and who it really serves.
I will say that by pulling the thread into a meaningless sidebar, the odd fellow has performed a textbook example of successful trolling, so credit must given where it is due. Cheers!
Well, yes; meaningless sidebars serve their purpose, I suppose.
The "false advertising" from this junta, as you title it, causes them to recoil in a faint when charged with opaqueness, and they'll point to sidebars of their own that clearly state what they intend to do; details of the minor party's platform are available to the public and prove they have been open and transparent. It's a tricky discussion for the average Jo, but reeks of sinister behaviour from Seymour, Peters and co, imo.
Thanks Pablo for responding. As Robert Guyton has said… its a tricky discussion for the average Jo (and Mary) who don't study the intricacies of politics. For my part, Seymour is the truly dangerous one. He has been very well schooled in the art of astroturfing and stands to cause a level of strife in this country never seen before.
Just like Pinochet had to look over his shoulder at Air Force General Leigh in his junta, so must Luxon keep an eye on Seymour because he is the tail that wags the NZ junta's dog.
A libertarian who wants the president to have more power while government below is diminished.
While they approved the omnibus legislation in general terms … about articles relating to the privatization of state companies and the delegation of legislative powers to the president.
Other articles in the bill aim to lift state controls over the economy, reform the administrative, health and education sectors, and raise public service and utility rates.
"In October an election was held in which the major rightwing party (National) did not reveal its true policy intentions
You wrote
The notion that a political party ought to reveal future intentions seems to be embedded within the psyche of the author
The topic was not about ought to, as political practice, but comment on what National was doing and placing the direction of – in it for the few – as posing the risk of a junta era (use of fear of being the next target after Maori for conformity to the roused majority). Such methods of distraction draw attention away from the elitist oligarchy being established.
Your point that expectation of honesty (from those involved in the political practice) was not based on observation is mere cynicism – the risk of experience creating a curmudgeon is well known.
Apropos to our authoritarian minded junta and it's corporate media enablers.
Pretty obvious the groundwork is being laid for the government to punish Wellington's left leaning politics but sacking the council and appointing a commissioner.
This situation could have been avoided if repeated councils over the last 30 years had not ignored the impending issues.
Some other councils around the country have managed to plan, and find solutions to these types of problems, but seemingly not the coolest little capital.
Fine for opposition MPs to speak well at Waitangi, but National have set the map for future Treaty discourse.
With 16 years to the Bicentennial, both Maori and National are showing there's nothing to do but start talking properly right at the level of principles.
Labour/Greens/Maori Party may not like it but it's the right thing to do and at the right time.
I thought 3 Waters had a number of problems and was badly instituted, which is part of why we are where we are. The debate around it likewise, because there were plenty of people like me who objected to how it was being done but the debate often called dissenters racist as if that could be the only objection.
If we deny there were problems with it, and frame it solely as objectors to be neutralised, we are throwing fuel of the culture war fire. A war we are currently loosing badly.
Ah, but I didn't say "objectors", I said "the agents that caused its rejection", by which I meant the monied players who enabled and encouraged the take down, with their mass-email programmes, their expensive billboards and so on.
I'm still mystified why Labour chose not to explain 3 Waters and its (apparent) co-governance rationale. Consequently it became evident that their choice was producing a negative reaction.
Since I've often commented here in support of their policy initiative (whilst being agnostic re co-governance), I'm puzzled at your reluctance to admit that Labour shot themselves in the foot.
Isn't it obvious that the right won by default due to Labour choosing not to fight for the thing??
The agents I referred to, and the mechanisms they employed to create strong opposition to 3 Waters, are not the only factor in the failing of the proposal, but they are significant. If they were not active, the Government could have succeeded, through tailoring the programme and it's media, differently.
It was a good idea, shot down by agents from the opposite end of the spectrum, using money as ballistics, imo.
I'm not one of those agents. But this is the problem with the debate. People make unclear statements that end up being catchalls.
But now that you have clarified 🙂 I don't see how neutralising those people will solve the problem Ad is talking about. It might be necessary but it's not sufficient.
And talk of neutralising may in fact make it more difficult for large parts of NZ to relearn how to talk with each other.
"Counter", then. If those Atlas-backed agents have free-rein here in NZ, we will be shepherded by them, into the yards – not a comfortable place to find yourself in, imo.
In addition to that, I think we also at the same time have to build common ground with the people are are leaning towards the people representing those energies and politics, and call them back in. If we only tell them that those evil people over there must go or be stopped, this doesn’t tell them what is good and useful about our own position. Doubly important where people are being told that they themselves are bad/wrong because they haven’t accepted the progressive demand.
Maybe Joanna Macy is useful there. The three pillars of the Great Turning
So are the principles different from the Treaty proper?
Yes, they are. Despite Te Tiriti o Waitangi being New Zealand’s de facto constitution, we are one of only five nations without a proper written constitution. Because of that, Te Tiriti itself doesn’t feature explicitly in our law – but that’s where the principles come in. They are the Treaty’s representative within law, which seek to define the Treaty’s role in modern Aotearoa-New Zealand. https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/03-02-2024/the-principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi-explained
Really, what about postmodern Aotearoa? Not there yet? Well try & keep up, huh?
the principles are determined on a case-by-case basis. The three Ps – partnership, participation and protection – are the most well-known principles. Together they ensure Māori opportunities to provide input into decision-making and require the government to protect rangatiratanga (Māori authority).
Partnership: the Treaty created a relationship between Māori and the Crown and both parties must act with the utmost good faith.
Participation: the Crown will provide tāngata whenua with opportunities to engage with decision making processes at all levels.
Some other principles include kāwanatanga (the Crown’s right to govern), equality, redress, cooperation (concerning common issues), consultation, development (applying the Treaty to modern resources/technology) and informed decision making. Others include the Crown’s obligation to act in the best interests of Māori and that the law affirms iwi control of their taonga.
Okay that seems to create a list of 11 elements (endecad). Sufficiently complex as to keep law lords puzzling the complexity out for several months if not years.
the problem is that there is so much bad faith coming from ACT in particular, who say they want their version of the Treaty principles. Two problems with that. One is they're not interested in finding the best path for NZ. Two, their principles would essential remove power from Māori.
It's hard to see how to have a clear and useful debate about Te Tiriti and a formal constitution in the current climate.
I massively support Chloe Swarbrick for co-leader of Greens. I think she's the only real successor to James Shaw and I hope she carries on the pro-disability mahi that the Greens are doing.
"Do we really get how deeply 3 Waters has divided us"
nah the divisions were already there. They just became more acted upon and expressed in part due to the same happening in the US with Trump.
Very few Europeans and immigrants even bother to interact with Maori at a social level – white flight from schools, white enclaves such as Havelock North over in Hawkes Bay, or the Euro/Asian enclave of Epsom have very little to no experience of day to day activity on a marae.
During COVID-19, and indeed in other civil defense situations, the Maori response on the ground was quite impressive. The organising of food packages, the contacting of the elderly, the delivery of firewood, the clear protocols and explanations, including historical context, to restricting access to tangi and so on. These things continued throughout the pandemic. It was interesting that my European mother was contacted three times by iwi and not once by any of the usual health / welfare mechanisms during lockdown to make sure she and her neighbours were OK.
This is the view of Maori rarely shown in the media and talked about in on-line forums but more reflects the day to day reality of activity and why we should not be afraid of partnership with Maori as the courts have indicated.
This Waitangi Day how many European will be there at local ceremonies celebrating the signing of the Treaty – based on previous experience no more than half a dozen locally. Europeans don't value the Treaty and until they do any attempts to change to a constitution should be treated with the disdain it and they deserve.
Until we express and value those positive characteristics of Maori society and embrace them as meritful and worthy then we should have no say cause we have no respect. Some of those values are in conflict with the values that European capitalist values have constructed eg individual versus communal land ownership, looking longer term to the future in terms of land use, etc not just an extractive way of thinking and others are different and poorly understood eg kawanatanga. Maori have had to adapt and understand European concepts – we need to reciprocate.
I'm more than happy that my children have had a far better education in this respect than those of us did when we were young. The last people that need to be deciding the future are those that are about to die over the next twenty years – their future is a past they only wish existed and is more about now.
Good comment DOS, those on the Right of the political spectrum, some on the Left and some misguided Maori included, are just carrying on the British Empire superiority complex attitude that saw colonisation as a gift that should be accepted with gratitude, especially by people with a so called "stone age culture".
Basically its an 'our way or the highway' attitude that refuses to evolve, except perhaps as just recently in Ireland where the younger generation is making great strides in reforming and uniting a once troubled and divided society racked by six hundred years of colonisation.
My view is there’s an unwillingness to evolve from some people on both sides of the relationship.
Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed.
Those of us who are more recent arrivals to this country, or their children, tend to sit at the side waiting for those heavily invested to sort their shit out, while we just get on with life.
Do you not make some effort to engage with local Maori communities?
Why sit on the sidelines – all that is is avoidance and leaves you in a vacuum that can only be filled via media or social media. It seems a weird thing to say/do. If I moved to another country I'd always be trying to engage with the local community.
Maybe it is why you think this.
"Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed."
I took a short course on Te Reo as I thought I should know how to pronounce words correctly, but I have my own mix of cultures that I feel comfortable in so don’t feel a great need to adopt someone else’s.
It isn't about adopting it is about understanding that Maori are much more hospitable and engaging and want a better future for all – not just for themselves.
A picture quite different that that painted by media and social media. so you don't believe this sort of nonsense.
"Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed."
Treasury advises government that more revenue would assist the government manage its budget (it would also be mindful of infrastructure deficits, so does not reinforce the governments focus on spending cuts).
And its advice suggests a broader tax revenue base is the right direction to go to realise that.
But it said constraints on the personal tax system were creating increasing pressures and constraining the options for reform.
That was coming from the difference between the personal and company tax rates, and the lack of tax on capital and capital gains.
“These limit options to raise revenue, alter the mix of taxes, or make changes that would meet distributional and economic objectives.
“The lack of a comprehensive capital gains tax restricts the ability to manage gaps between company rates and personal rates and increases costs of income taxation. It has also contributed to higher house prices.
“Based on principles such as sustainability, efficiency and fairness, our first best advice is to address these two structural issues,” Treasury said.
I say place a stamp duty of 5% for locals who buy property over $2M and 15% for foreign investment. And a CGT on all property sold with a value over $2m or to foreigners.
PS And a question, which party with fishing quota wants to sell offshore?
The head of Wellington Water Nick Leggat and Daran Ponter (Chair of the Regional Council) are working as partners of National in
1.pressure on WCC to give more money to Wellington Water
2.require water meters, or impost financial sanctions up to 50% of water cost charges.
The cost of water meters is money not then available for pipe repair, so until they are at at the capacity to fix the pipes they already know they need to fix, adding extra knowledge of leaks via metering adds little.
3.User pays for pipe problems on ratepayer property.
Of course there would be charging of ratepayers for water leaks on their own property (and so ratepayers would be liable until they found someone to fix the pipes at their own expense).
Water meters are essential to provide an asset value for the sale of council assets. Though at first half might go to government – so they have an asset to borrow against when granting money to councils (this allows both the council and government to later sell their half shares to reduce debt).
Jeez…. what is it with New Zealanders and water meters.
The things are seen as existential threats by all sides of the political spectrum. Righties see them as an insult to their integrity and self worth, and 'you're going to give it to a Mawries'. Lefties see them as a portal to privatisation and TEOTWAWKI
Water meters are an essential tool for network management and without them you really haven't a clue where the water is going. In Wellington's case there's a good chance most of the leak problem is on private property, or a proportion of residents who are gross (ab)users. Some people will get by with 300 l/day, most households a bit more. A broken 20mm lateral could loose 20,000 l/day or more.
Without good data on where the water is going the managers are just flying blind and fixing leaks once they come through the ground. In Wellington's climate it's going to be a good leak to do that, and they're a small percentage to the number of leaks. The multitude of small leaks will go un-noticed (in our dry climate in Central Otago even quite small leaks are quite apparent in summer) and will add up to a lot of water.
Sorry, but I found your linked article a jumble of confused and just downright incorrect thinking. Things like,
Council-backed loans could cover the cost of repair with repayments added to the rates bill and attached to the property, not the owner.
Wellington's, and every other municipality in New Zealand's, water problem is due to a very longstanding practice of ratepayers not being willing to pay for the construction and maintenance of water infrastructure.
We can't see it and as long as there's water coming out the tap, all's good. Oh, and we can use as much as we like because it's 'free'.
Mr Osborne's assertion that water charges are regressive doesn't account for reality and human nature. In 40 years of involvement in the water industry I've seen a pretty strong correlation between property value / income and water use. It's very unlikely that a gross user (>10x average use) lives in the bottom end of town, and water use goes up dramatically once you get into the House and Garden set. Under current rates based charging practices this is something worse than regressive, it's downright theft.
From your points,
1.a case to fix the known leaks first with available funding.
Well either Wellington Water is incompetent, or they are being incompetently led by the elected Council. Or the rate payers won't pay the Council enough to fix the problem. Generally it comes back to the rate payers not being prepared to pay for it.
2.this might give time to look at equity in meter charging.
Have a serious look at the equity of current rates based charging first, and how that charging regime shapes usage / entitlement perceptions. I don't see much equity between Mr & Mrs Fancy Garden using as much water as they can get out the tap, and the family at the other end of town who treat every drop of water as their last, because they treat everything like that to get through to the next pay day.
Osborne does have a point around the issues in separating water charging from property charges, particularly in residential rental situations. Water charges should remain with the property, so that the owner is incentivised to fix leaks. In a gross usage situation there will probably be other tenancy issues that the landlord can act on.
Metering and Volumetric Pricing do not necessarily follow. Many water providers have installed meters for data collection to get a picture of where the water is going. QLDC and Central Otago have done this with considerable success. There's also a discrete supply (several hundred properties) where volumetric charging has sorted a very extreme usage / entitlement problem that threatened the viability of the supply.
It's very unlikely that a gross user (>10x average use) lives in the bottom end of town, and water use goes up dramatically once you get into the House and Garden set
Right, but what about the household that has two large low income families living in it, who pay nothing now, but would face a new charge with water metering?
Surely the solution here is to provide a certain amount of water per household without charge and to then charge for excess use?
While someone watering a 3 acre lawn is a problem, won't they just pay for the extra charges if they are wealthy? So the council generates some income, but doesn't solve the problem of excess use. Changing land use culture would go a long way to helping alongside other approaches.
that was one of the issues with 3 Waters right? Whether the legislation was Tory-proof enough to stop them from privatising. Better to not have 3W than to end up in the situation we are with power. I'm sure many would disagree with that, but that's part of the resistance.
In most cases small 20 or 25mm meters at the individual boundary are the cheapest and easiest option. The lateral is in a known location and already quite shallow (< 0.5m) and there's already a valve there. If the valve was installed in the last 20 years installing a meter can be a 10 minute job. Street or neighbourhood meters get expensive, the main is often a couple of meters under the street or footpath so quite a crater and disruption, and everything is bigger so costs go up exponentially.
It's wrongheaded to attack the engineering, we should be focusing on the council and government leadership that wants to try and privatise or use rates reduction, and subsequent under investment, to get elected. Fortunately water privatisation is going to be a hard sell to a New Zealand electorate, rates or tax reduction not so much.
who pay nothing now, but would face a new charge with water metering?
They do not pay nothing now. If they live in a town or city they are paying for water now through their rates. There's a lot of averaging that goes into setting rates, especially water, and low users are getting screwed by the current system. If they have good water habits then volumetric charging should be in their favour.
I feel for low income people under the current rating system as the costs of water failure come through, in many places the rates rises will be brutal. Gore is a town to keep an eye on.
Very much the devil is in the detail of how the charge is set up, some have a base rate pretty much as normal rates based charging with an excess charge on top, others it's a seperate invoice to rates. It depends on whether the water supply entity is council in-house or some sort of arms length entity. If there's going to be amalgamation of utility provision (essentially what 3 Waters was) then charging will get tricky, but with clever design could still be charged through rates. We'll see what National's "Local Water Done Well" brings, but I'm inclined to think they'll find it too hard and nothing changes from pre 3 Waters.
From what I've seen excess charges certainly change behaviours. You'd be surprised how tight entitled arseholes are, they haven't amassed their wealth by spending it. Trick is to make excess town water dearer than alternatives like storage or alternative sources.
Land use change, or more like expectation change is coming. There's a new golf course development coming up across the road. Residential lots (80 odd) are restricted to 100m2 of lawn to restrict water use and the developers have done a lot of deals buying irrigation shares to get water for the course. One little bit of the basin will be bright green and a lot will become fallow.
1.a case to fix the known leaks first with available funding.
Well either Wellington Water is incompetent, or they are being incompetently led by the elected Council. Or the rate payers won't pay the Council enough to fix the problem. Generally it comes back to the rate payers not being prepared to pay for it.
That is irrelevant. $300 M for water meters, is $300M not spent on fixing pipes. Ratepayers will be paying, whatever the $300M is spent on.
2.this might give time to look at equity in meter charging.
Have a serious look at the equity of current rates based charging first, and how that charging regime shapes usage / entitlement perceptions. I don't see much equity between Mr & Mrs Fancy Garden using as much water as they can get out the tap, and the family at the other end of town who treat every drop of water as their last, because they treat everything like that to get through to the next pay day.
In Wellington there is already a water use regime that limits garden watering. And in any case those with a large section (often a lot of trees and owned by older couples) currently pay more rates because of the land component of the capital value and would be better off with a move to water charging than those with larger families in infill sections.
For mine the move to $300M for water meter charges is not a move to equity, because of the opportunity cost of $300M not being spent fixing pipes.
For mine the focus on water metering, when they are so short of money to fix pipes, reflects an intent to set charges to force ratepayers to fix up pipes on their land.
The question is why DP and NL want to prioritise that over spending $300M (they do not yet have) to fix pipes on public land?
Is it because they intend to charge the cost of the water meters on top of rates?
Many people discovered The Taxpayers' Union today after they attempted to criticize the government funding of @davidfarrier& @DylanReeve's critically acclaimed and financially profitable documentary 'Tickled.' So for the initiated, here's a primer on The TPU.
“No laws need to be passed,” … “All that is needed is an executive order to require proof before granting an asylum hearing. That is how it used to be.
We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – Cast your mind back to mid-December. A new Prime Minister had just been sworn in, the new Government started its 100-day programme, and Christmas was only days away.Amid all the haste, a report landed that would have deserved our attention.I am talking about the ...
TL;DR: An unseasonally early icy blast at the same time as some long-overdue maintenance almost caused Aotearoa-NZ’s electricity system to black out this week. That’s because a quadropoly of gentailers1 have prioritised paying dividends from their rising profits and adding debt over investing in 1.5 GigaWatts of new wind farms ...
Hi,Before we crack into today’s Webworm, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that Israel is pushing into Rafah. Over 100,000 Palestinians are now attempting to flee the one place that was deemed “safe”.Trouble is, the place they’re fleeing to is already destroyed. Total annihilation is the end goal here.“Israel is ...
‘It has been said that figures rule the world. Maybe. I am quite sure that it is figures which show us whether it is being ruled well or badly.’ GoetheI was struck at a recent conference on equity for the elderly, how many presenters implicitly relied upon Statistics New Zealand. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveReporting on defence spending late last year, RNZ said the coalition government will have to make some tough calls this term to help the force address staff shortages and ageing infrastructure. “These are huge, huge amounts of government spending. It’s a significant proportion of the government’s ...
Peter Dunne writes – I am always wary when I hear that the Controller and Auditor-General has commented on or made recommendations to the government about an issue of public policy that does not relate strictly to public expenditure. According to the legislation, the role of the Controller ...
How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought NZ to the brink of economic and cultural chaos Chris Trotter writes – TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition ...
And why did the Crown not challenge the Tribunal’s jurisdiction? Gary Judd writes – Retired District Court Judge, David Harvey, has posted on his A Halflings View Substack an excellent summary of Justice Isacs’ judgment declining to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result?As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and ...
Macklemore isn’t someone I’d usually think about. Sure I liked his big hit from a few years back, everybody did it was catchy and cool with some memorable lines. But if I was going to think of artists who might speak out on political matters or world events, he wouldn’t ...
Another week goes by in the Luxon government’s efforts to roll back the past 70 years of social progress. The school lunches programme is to be downgraded by $107 million, and women need bother their heads no longer about pay equity, let alone expect ACC to provide adequate sexual violence ...
Brrr, the first cold snap of the year. Hope you’re rugged up nice and warm. Here are some stories that caught our eye this week… This Week on Greater Auckland On Monday, we had a post from a new contributor, Connor Sharp, who dug into the public feedback ...
Almost all of the Wellington City Council’s recommended zoning changes to allow many more apartments and townhouses in its inner-suburbs have been approved.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guest on geopolitics, ...
Open access notablesA Global Increase in Nearshore Tropical Cyclone Intensification, Balaguru et al., Earth's Future:Tropical Cyclones (TCs) inflict substantial coastal damages, making it pertinent to understand changing storm characteristics in the important nearshore region. Past work examined several aspects of TCs relevant for impacts in coastal regions. However, ...
Do you believe New Zealand runs its general elections fairly and competently? As a voter, can you be confident that the votes on your ballot will be counted towards the final result? As a political scientist, I’ve been asked these questions many times and always answered “yes”, with very few ...
Thus far May has followed on from a quiet April in the blogging department, but in fairness, it has been another case of doing what I am supposed to be doing, namely writing original fiction. Plus reading. So don’t worry – I have been productive. But in order to reassure ...
Buzz from the Beehive A new government agency will open for business on July 1 – the Social Investment Agency. As a new standalone central agency effective from 1 July, it will lead the development of social investment across Government, helping ministers understand who they need to invest in, what ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The ...
Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Placards and mourners outside the Kilbirnie Mosque following the Christchurch terror attack: MSD has terminated the Kaiwhakaoranga service, which has been used by 415 families since the attacks. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The Government’s pledge to only cut ‘back office’ staff rather than ‘frontline’ services is on increasingly shaky ground, with ...
There’s been a few smaller public transport announcements over the last week or so that I thought I’d cover in a single post. Fareshare I’ve long called for Auckland Transport to offer a way to enable employer-subsidised public transport options. The need for this took on even more importance ...
Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National Minister Matt Doocey, reflects poorly on Genter and ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
PNG Post-Courier New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph welcomed a C-130 Hercules to Port Moresby this week to support Papua New Guinea’s response to the March 24 earthquake and recent severe flooding. “Papua New Guinea has requested New Zealand’s assistance to transport emergency ...
Grub Street King Luxon rode through the streets Of King’s Landing, and was troubled By the sight of hungry urchins in the mud. “Who would be the best of my Lords To deal with this negative optic?” He pondered. The answer came to him instantly. “Seymour!” he said to himself. ...
“The Bill does not provide environmental protection, good quality decision making, certainty, public participation or speed. It should be withdrawn.” ...
RNZ News Television New Zealand has breached its collective agreement with the E tū union when deciding on discontinuing programmes, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled. It was announced in March that 68 staff members who work for news programmes Midday and Tonight, consumer justice programme Fair Go, current affairs ...
Asia Pacific Report Barangay New Zealand’s Rene Molina has interviewed the country’s first Filipino Green MP Francisco Hernandez who was sworn into Parliament yesterday as the party’s latest member. This is the first interview with Hernandez who replaces former Green Party co-leader James Shaw after his retirement from politics to ...
An Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marlene Longbottom, Associate Professor, Indigenous Education & Research Centre, James Cook University ShutterstockThis article contains information on deaths in custody and the violence experienced by First Nations people in encounters with the Australian carceral system. It also contains references to ...
“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...
MARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...
The body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...
An essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent.I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...
Ella Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...
Out of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...
My husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...
Jaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...
Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...
In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...
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In Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...
Pacific Media Watch Television New Zealand Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to investigative journalism and Pacific communities in a ceremony at Government House, reports 1News. She has been the Pacific correspondent for 1News since 2002, breaking many ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Tuesday’s budget will respond to the deepening public agitation over Australia’s housing shortages by pouring new money into crisis accommodation for women and children, social housing and infrastructure. A specially-convened national cabinet late Friday ticked ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
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Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
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The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
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Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
His wife is Chilean, but he has a dual nature by birth too, that provides an internationalist perspective:
Yes, it does seem an unprecedented achievement. It exposes the reality of cultural/political/ethnic Aotearoa – a social contract based on history. Seymour reckons it's time to renegotiate that contract. Maori are uniting to oppose doing so. Makes me think of the Springsteen song of 1980: The Ties That Bind. Bondage constrains.
The Treaty preserves the political contract between Crown & Maori chiefs. It is largely seen as an ongoing social contract between pakeha & Maori – so widely that it approximates common sense to see it that way. Encoded into law, this interpretation has become authoritative in recent decades. Seymour wants out of this tradition, but his rationale – same rights for all – is mere ideology.
Anchoring democracy in property rights was valid insofar as it brought feudalism through into the 19th century, which suited the empire just fine. Our state was six years old then, and the constitutional framework has evolved somewhat since, but not to the point of including indigenous rights as far as I'm aware. So those rights conferred by the Treaty remain chiefly and are not specifically allocated to other Maori, which makes them contestable…
Here's a helpful summary of what Seymour wants to overthrow:
That outlines the legal view, which sees the Treaty as an ongoing contract between partners. The obvious flaw that the judiciary seems blind to is that Maori generally were not partners: only their chiefs were. Trying to pretend that the social contract extends to all Maori is delusional when there's no historical basis for doing so. I presume the judiciary feels that they & the govt have created sufficient law to make it so – but who will believe them??
Erasure of judicial decisions can be achieved by parliamentary legislation, since parliament is supreme law-maker. Is doing so in our national interest? Not obviously, and very likely only feasible on an evidently mutual-interest basis. Any positive alternative to the status quo would have to spell that out clearly for all to agree.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/04/why-we-are-debating-the-principles-of-the-treaty-of-waitangi/
"The obvious flaw that the judiciary seems blind to is that New Zealand European settlers were not partners: only the wealthy male landowners were. Trying to pretend that the social contract extends to all European is delusional when there's no historical basis for doing so."
Quite so! Imagine being born into a cultural matrix in which history proceeded on the basis of historical misconceptions. Who would take them seriously??
True believers in democracy, that's who. Democracy is a cerebral concept that keeps believers within the mental strait jacket it was devised to clamp them down in.
I don't see that "only the chiefs were partners" is a problem. The chiefs would be presumed to be acting as representatives of their people in any discussions or negotiations with the crown.
Lively few days ahead.
"Opposition MPs from the Green and Labour parties described the governing parties as lions willing to rip the nation apart, spiders coming to plague te ao Māori, taniwhā to be feared, and hoariri – enemies – akin to the red suits of the New Zealand wars who came to kill Māori and steal their taonga.
These speeches, from Labour’s Peeni Henare and Kelvin Davis and Green MP Teanau Tuiono, were unequivocal in their dire assessments about the current state of Crown-Māori relations.
What’s worse for the Government is how warmly mana whenua welcomed these MPs to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350163781/whawhai-waitangi
LOTs of great reading this weekend: Pablo piece on our very own junta is excellent, if troubling.
"In October an election was held in which the major rightwing party (National) did not reveal its true policy intentions, preferring to instead focus on the usual canards of lower taxes, high crimes rates and too many regulations and bureaucratic red tape on property owners. They were assisted by a compliant corporate media interested in generating clickbait material rather than dealing deeper into party policy platforms, and who supported the “change for change sake” attitude of the NZ public by focusing on personal scandals within the Labour-led government ranks. It mattered little that, in public at least, the major rightwing party had little to offer. What mattered was that it win, be it in coalition or outright. As it turns out, it needed coalition partners in order to do so.
The more extreme rightwing parties, ACT and NZ First, were a bit more honest in their campaigns about their reactionary intent, but the corporate media chose to ignore the extent of their connections to extremist groups and foreign donors/patrons such as anti-vaccination conspiracy theorists and Atlas Institute seed-funded astroturf groups such as the overlapping Free Speech Coalition/Taxpayer’s Union that contributed to their campaigns. Nor did the political press seriously look into the backgrounds of candidates in these parties, instead preferring to focus on the leaders and their immediate subordinates."
https://www.kiwipolitico.com/2024/02/the-new-zealand-junta/
Great minds think alike Robert. I linked to those two paragraphs yesterday on OM. 🙂
Good to see you repeat them because, imo, they lay bare some of the bullshit we have been fed by some on this site as well as in the media. The whole post needs to be read to see the full impact on the election.
Comprehending the real reason behind the loss is a big stepping stone towards regaining control of the narrative and getting the misguided amongst us back on track.
So here's hoping Labour, the Greens and Te Pato Maori are listening to Paul Buchanan – along with other good commentators like Nick Korero and David Slack.
A further important quote from the link:
It will be interesting indeed. Given their warrior background, the military has many Maori soldiers, sailors and airmen in their ranks. Maori are also well represented in the Police. I wonder what they are thinking right now?
Something to think about there. What price Craig Harrison's Broken October now? A totally outdated social, political and technological scenario, of course, but it can still pose some disturbing questions.
In October an election was held in which the major rightwing party (National) did not reveal its true policy intentions
The notion that a political party ought to reveal future intentions seems to be embedded within the psyche of the author. Such moral finger-wagging is presumably being recycled from an earlier epoch of history since I've been observing politics for approx 6 decades and I've never seen any evidence of conformity to the proposition.
It would be helpful if the author could specify when in history this actually happened, to validate his thesis. Otherwise readers are likely to see it as a sign of dementia.
"sign of dementia"? A bit of of projection going on there.
if I see you making that kind of comment again, I will ban you. To make it clear:
Sorry if you have taken offence, but that was a tongue-in-cheek reversal of a word D Frank used against another person and is clearly untrue. D Frank can bombard this site with thinly disguised smears about others with impunity.
[the only offence taken here is you wasting my goddam moderator time. Again. Up to you whether you want to learn here or not. My original mod note stands, I’m sick of explaining it to you – weka]
if you don't like something another commenter says, then say so clearly and explain what the problem is. This is helpful to moderators and the community. Flamming another commenter is really unhelpful and just builds up ill will over time.
Sorry Weka, but I'm out of here for the duration, I thought Anne's comment was as usual very thoughtful and made a good point about our fellow traveller Dennis Frank's 'thinly disguised smears about others with impunity'. It's been a worthwhile journey hearing what other left leaning commenter publish here, but so as to not earn a life time ban from you, I'm not going to partake for a long while, if ever again.
You're not even close to being on my moderator radar Jilly, I have no idea why you think you might get banned.
Anne on the other hand has a history and pattern of behaviour that is a problem. Short sharp bans have long been used in this way on TS.
From a moderator's pov, if commenters don't like a specific commenter and they choose to harass that commenter instead of explaining what the issues are, it just creates a bad atmosphere and more work for the mods.
So like I said, anyone can point out the problems with people's commenting style, and this is helpful for moderation as well as the community.
Sorry to see you take leave Jilly Bee. I have found your comments relevant, thought provoking and highly constructive, as are Anne's.
Both you and Anne in IMHO, have always had a great deal to offer from those of us of the senior left perspective, as does Patricia Bremner. You will be missed.
Kia Kaha my friend.
Thank you Jilly Bee for your support. I will miss your equally thoughtful responses to those commenters who use this site for mischievous ends.
Sorry to see you go, Jilly and Anne. I'm hopeful you both can return.
mod note.
Dennis, are you implying that Pablo has dementia?
Nope, I just pointed out how he had set himself up sufficiently for readers to jump to that conclusion. The guy must be old enough to take responsibility for what he wrote. If he wanted his vapourings to be taken seriously, he would not have set himself up like that. He would, instead, have pointed to an historical rationale for his opinion: that democracy incorporates a rule requiring parties to declare their future intentions at each election.
You may also believe democracy contains his imaginary rule. If so, why not have a go at providing the historical evidence? Presuming he is incapable of doing so, you'd be doing him, and us all, a good turn.
Ah, victim blaming, I see.
If Pablo hadn't said those things, you'd not have had to link his name to the disease.
Not feeling the love.
Anne was right to comment, though not quite careful enough with her reflection, imo.
Sorry to see Jilly Bee announcing a holiday.
You think he's a victim of his incompetence? That angle hadn't occurred to me but I suppose you're right. However I don't blame him for being himself – he can only perform at the level he naturally slots into.
[While being a sanctimonious and patronising arse isn’t technically against the site Policy, there is the discretion for moderators to step in on patterns of behaviour that cause problems for the commentariat. You now have multiple people taking potshots at you, and you seem to be quite poor at taking feedback on what is pissing people off.
Maybe you don’t care. I do though, and I’m giving you a holiday from the site for a week to let things cool down. This is to reduce moderator load, but I strongly encourage you to think about how how you communicate here. I will note you’ve had feedback on this kind of thing before here As always, feel free to ask for clarification about anything when you return. – weka]
mod note.
Yes Robert. An impulsive response to a nasty little dig at someone with both national and international mana and respect. If it had been a one-off I would have passed, but its not.
and as I have pointed out, if you had named the problem without throwing something at another commenter, then that would have been helpful. The moderation issue here is that you seem to think you are above moderation.
No weka, I have never ever considered myself above moderation. Do I respond impulsively from time to time? Yes I do. Do I try to keep some comments too brief thus not making myself clear? Guilty as charged. Am I bit too forthright sometimes? Yes.
Some of the recent bullshit on this site has riled me and I can't be the only one. It must be even more frustrating for the authors who put time and effort into the site. It also turns some people off commenting for fear of ridicule. That's a shame because TS has the power to be very influential and with all the astroturfing going on at present, it is even more desperately needed.
There are only a small handful of people responsible, and they only turn up when there are major controversies in progress as is currently the case. They troll the regulars or fill the pages with distorted facts and misinformation.
They need to be discouraged, but have just picked up you have started. Thanks.
Anne – it's difficult for those of us who love pith, as in pithy, comments.
Detailed, drawn out descriptions are an invitation for some to nit-pic words and phrases; pithy one-liners seem an elegant way to stifle that sort of film-flam, but the down-side of being brief, is…apparent 🙂
Thanks Anne and Robert, for linking to the Kiwipolitico post.
The odd fellow who disparages me in this thread does have a point when saying that there is no universal rule of democracy that says that political parties should and must campaign honestly and transparently about their true policy agendas. Of course not. But that was not my point. My point was that, like many authoritarian-minded cabals who know that announcing their true policy agendas during campaigns will never see them get elected, the recently installed junta deliberately concealed their true intentions while hiding under milquetoast rightwing talking points about taxes, crime and housing. They fully knew that their true agenda would be rejected at the polls if announced in advance, so they deliberately hid it from the electorate, as well as the fact that many of their policy prescriptions were basically written by their big political donors and sponsors.
This amounts to a type of false advertising or "bait and switch" campaigning. It is utterly cynical and dishonest at its core. It is a clear manipulation of the electoral process, which it sees in instrumental terms (a means to achieve power and pursue their real agenda even if it runs against the public good) rather than as an intrinsically valuable form of political voice for the electorate. But sure, it did not break any ironclad rule of democratic politics even if it demonstrates utter contempt for the public who otherwise would have never voted them into office had they known what the junta is really about and who it really serves.
I will say that by pulling the thread into a meaningless sidebar, the odd fellow has performed a textbook example of successful trolling, so credit must given where it is due. Cheers!
Well, yes; meaningless sidebars serve their purpose, I suppose.
The "false advertising" from this junta, as you title it, causes them to recoil in a faint when charged with opaqueness, and they'll point to sidebars of their own that clearly state what they intend to do; details of the minor party's platform are available to the public and prove they have been open and transparent. It's a tricky discussion for the average Jo, but reeks of sinister behaviour from Seymour, Peters and co, imo.
Thanks Pablo for responding. As Robert Guyton has said… its a tricky discussion for the average Jo (and Mary) who don't study the intricacies of politics. For my part, Seymour is the truly dangerous one. He has been very well schooled in the art of astroturfing and stands to cause a level of strife in this country never seen before.
Anne:
Just like Pinochet had to look over his shoulder at Air Force General Leigh in his junta, so must Luxon keep an eye on Seymour because he is the tail that wags the NZ junta's dog.
A libertarian who wants the president to have more power while government below is diminished.
https://apnews.com/article/argentina-milei-reforms-chamber-deputies-libertarian-bdf04cc55e9bdcc1f5a4f2ba90b8ecf7
He wrote
You wrote
The topic was not about ought to, as political practice, but comment on what National was doing and placing the direction of – in it for the few – as posing the risk of a junta era (use of fear of being the next target after Maori for conformity to the roused majority). Such methods of distraction draw attention away from the elitist oligarchy being established.
Your point that expectation of honesty (from those involved in the political practice) was not based on observation is mere cynicism – the risk of experience creating a curmudgeon is well known.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/heather-du-plessis-allan-wellington-city-council-is-the-most-poorly-run-council-in-new-zealand/LAIOEH4IXBF5TEXRZXXPGENWCI/
Apropos to our authoritarian minded junta and it's corporate media enablers.
Pretty obvious the groundwork is being laid for the government to punish Wellington's left leaning politics but sacking the council and appointing a commissioner.
This situation could have been avoided if repeated councils over the last 30 years had not ignored the impending issues.
Some other councils around the country have managed to plan, and find solutions to these types of problems, but seemingly not the coolest little capital.
Someone has to clean up the mess.
Can you name those councils, give examples of their problem-solving and link to evidence, Chess? Please.
Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
That seems to be the case with the government's new policy which, yet again, involves gutting the environment to prop up our economy: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/fast-track-consenting-fast-lane
The underlying approach is one of "getting things done" without pesky objections like community values standing in the way.
And you can bet the house that anyone objecting to this approach will be introduced to the Natz old friend TINA – there is no alternative.
Fine for opposition MPs to speak well at Waitangi, but National have set the map for future Treaty discourse.
With 16 years to the Bicentennial, both Maori and National are showing there's nothing to do but start talking properly right at the level of principles.
Labour/Greens/Maori Party may not like it but it's the right thing to do and at the right time.
can you please explain that a bit more?
A simple opening question would be:
How do we talk to each other again after 3 Waters?
Principles of re-engagement are what you do first, well before trying to dialogue content.
completely agree. It's the core political need across a lot of things now.
"How do we talk to each other again after 3 Waters?"
Firstly by exposing then neutering the agents that caused its rejection.
out of curiosity, how do you propose to expose and neuter me?
Wrapping in a towel?
(Meant as a joke).
Neuter isn't the right word; I meant neutralise 🙂
Were you opposed to 3 Waters?
Were you one of the agents actively seeking to destroy it?
I wasn't.
I thought 3 Waters had a number of problems and was badly instituted, which is part of why we are where we are. The debate around it likewise, because there were plenty of people like me who objected to how it was being done but the debate often called dissenters racist as if that could be the only objection.
If we deny there were problems with it, and frame it solely as objectors to be neutralised, we are throwing fuel of the culture war fire. A war we are currently loosing badly.
Ah, but I didn't say "objectors", I said "the agents that caused its rejection", by which I meant the monied players who enabled and encouraged the take down, with their mass-email programmes, their expensive billboards and so on.
I'm guessing you weren't one of those agents.
I'm still mystified why Labour chose not to explain 3 Waters and its (apparent) co-governance rationale. Consequently it became evident that their choice was producing a negative reaction.
Since I've often commented here in support of their policy initiative (whilst being agnostic re co-governance), I'm puzzled at your reluctance to admit that Labour shot themselves in the foot.
Isn't it obvious that the right won by default due to Labour choosing not to fight for the thing??
The agents I referred to, and the mechanisms they employed to create strong opposition to 3 Waters, are not the only factor in the failing of the proposal, but they are significant. If they were not active, the Government could have succeeded, through tailoring the programme and it's media, differently.
It was a good idea, shot down by agents from the opposite end of the spectrum, using money as ballistics, imo.
I'm not one of those agents. But this is the problem with the debate. People make unclear statements that end up being catchalls.
But now that you have clarified 🙂 I don't see how neutralising those people will solve the problem Ad is talking about. It might be necessary but it's not sufficient.
And talk of neutralising may in fact make it more difficult for large parts of NZ to relearn how to talk with each other.
"Counter", then. If those Atlas-backed agents have free-rein here in NZ, we will be shepherded by them, into the yards – not a comfortable place to find yourself in, imo.
Completely agree and it’s a serious risk.
“counter” seems a useful framing.
In addition to that, I think we also at the same time have to build common ground with the people are are leaning towards the people representing those energies and politics, and call them back in. If we only tell them that those evil people over there must go or be stopped, this doesn’t tell them what is good and useful about our own position. Doubly important where people are being told that they themselves are bad/wrong because they haven’t accepted the progressive demand.
Maybe Joanna Macy is useful there. The three pillars of the Great Turning
Another explainer:
Really, what about postmodern Aotearoa? Not there yet? Well try & keep up, huh?
He cites a triad:
Okay that seems to create a list of 11 elements (endecad). Sufficiently complex as to keep law lords puzzling the complexity out for several months if not years.
The Treaty of Waitangi would be better replaced with a proper constitution.
It's a vague, poorly translated, unstable and over-freighted document that mostly just pisses people off – Maori and everyone else.
Do we really get how deeply 3 Waters has divided us, if we didn't understand the election result?
There's all to gain from a fearless reassessment.
the problem is that there is so much bad faith coming from ACT in particular, who say they want their version of the Treaty principles. Two problems with that. One is they're not interested in finding the best path for NZ. Two, their principles would essential remove power from Māori.
It's hard to see how to have a clear and useful debate about Te Tiriti and a formal constitution in the current climate.
Ought we regard other well known constitutions as exemplars?
For instance, that of the United States of America?
Are you saying we should? Why?
This aspect is interesting though,
https://daily.jstor.org/the-native-american-roots-of-the-u-s-constitution/
Māori are pissed off by Te Tiriti o Waitangi?
This I did not know!
I'm pretty sure they are pissed off by the attacks on it.
Certainly seems that way.
Those I work with at local government level aren't noticeably encouraged by those attacks.
I massively support Chloe Swarbrick for co-leader of Greens. I think she's the only real successor to James Shaw and I hope she carries on the pro-disability mahi that the Greens are doing.
Agreed gravel……she is eloquent and understands the issues…..but she has and is working on many other issues in addition to disability over the years.
"Do we really get how deeply 3 Waters has divided us"
nah the divisions were already there. They just became more acted upon and expressed in part due to the same happening in the US with Trump.
Very few Europeans and immigrants even bother to interact with Maori at a social level – white flight from schools, white enclaves such as Havelock North over in Hawkes Bay, or the Euro/Asian enclave of Epsom have very little to no experience of day to day activity on a marae.
During COVID-19, and indeed in other civil defense situations, the Maori response on the ground was quite impressive. The organising of food packages, the contacting of the elderly, the delivery of firewood, the clear protocols and explanations, including historical context, to restricting access to tangi and so on. These things continued throughout the pandemic. It was interesting that my European mother was contacted three times by iwi and not once by any of the usual health / welfare mechanisms during lockdown to make sure she and her neighbours were OK.
This is the view of Maori rarely shown in the media and talked about in on-line forums but more reflects the day to day reality of activity and why we should not be afraid of partnership with Maori as the courts have indicated.
This Waitangi Day how many European will be there at local ceremonies celebrating the signing of the Treaty – based on previous experience no more than half a dozen locally. Europeans don't value the Treaty and until they do any attempts to change to a constitution should be treated with the disdain it and they deserve.
Until we express and value those positive characteristics of Maori society and embrace them as meritful and worthy then we should have no say cause we have no respect. Some of those values are in conflict with the values that European capitalist values have constructed eg individual versus communal land ownership, looking longer term to the future in terms of land use, etc not just an extractive way of thinking and others are different and poorly understood eg kawanatanga. Maori have had to adapt and understand European concepts – we need to reciprocate.
I'm more than happy that my children have had a far better education in this respect than those of us did when we were young. The last people that need to be deciding the future are those that are about to die over the next twenty years – their future is a past they only wish existed and is more about now.
Good comment DOS, those on the Right of the political spectrum, some on the Left and some misguided Maori included, are just carrying on the British Empire superiority complex attitude that saw colonisation as a gift that should be accepted with gratitude, especially by people with a so called "stone age culture".
Basically its an 'our way or the highway' attitude that refuses to evolve, except perhaps as just recently in Ireland where the younger generation is making great strides in reforming and uniting a once troubled and divided society racked by six hundred years of colonisation.
My view is there’s an unwillingness to evolve from some people on both sides of the relationship.
Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed.
Those of us who are more recent arrivals to this country, or their children, tend to sit at the side waiting for those heavily invested to sort their shit out, while we just get on with life.
Do you not make some effort to engage with local Maori communities?
Why sit on the sidelines – all that is is avoidance and leaves you in a vacuum that can only be filled via media or social media. It seems a weird thing to say/do. If I moved to another country I'd always be trying to engage with the local community.
Maybe it is why you think this.
"Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed."
I took a short course on Te Reo as I thought I should know how to pronounce words correctly, but I have my own mix of cultures that I feel comfortable in so don’t feel a great need to adopt someone else’s.
It isn't about adopting it is about understanding that Maori are much more hospitable and engaging and want a better future for all – not just for themselves.
A picture quite different that that painted by media and social media. so you don't believe this sort of nonsense.
"Very entrenched fundamentalist views that may never be changed."
Treasury advises government that more revenue would assist the government manage its budget (it would also be mindful of infrastructure deficits, so does not reinforce the governments focus on spending cuts).
And its advice suggests a broader tax revenue base is the right direction to go to realise that.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/350167952/capital-gains-tax-could-help-balance-govt-books-treasury
The government is planning to reduce the test for Investment in New Zealand down to national security only.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/01/26/plans-to-scale-back-ministers-powers-over-foreign-investment/
https://www.linz.govt.nz/guidance
This will allow the sale of farms, coastal land off farms, beachfront property, islands (and fisheries) to foreigners.
What will WP say.
Even land along the river in Hamilton is going for $4M
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/could-this-be-hamiltons-next-record-breaker-award-winning-home-hits-the-market-44910
I say place a stamp duty of 5% for locals who buy property over $2M and 15% for foreign investment. And a CGT on all property sold with a value over $2m or to foreigners.
PS And a question, which party with fishing quota wants to sell offshore?
NZF and partner want a Crown Monitor for the WCC, she cites Daran Ponter as wanting the same.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/heather-du-plessis-allan-wellington-city-council-is-the-most-poorly-run-council-in-new-zealand/LAIOEH4IXBF5TEXRZXXPGENWCI/
The head of Wellington Water Nick Leggat and Daran Ponter (Chair of the Regional Council) are working as partners of National in
1.pressure on WCC to give more money to Wellington Water
2.require water meters, or impost financial sanctions up to 50% of water cost charges.
The cost of water meters is money not then available for pipe repair, so until they are at at the capacity to fix the pipes they already know they need to fix, adding extra knowledge of leaks via metering adds little.
3.User pays for pipe problems on ratepayer property.
Of course there would be charging of ratepayers for water leaks on their own property (and so ratepayers would be liable until they found someone to fix the pipes at their own expense).
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350132494/wellington-councils-given-ultimatum-water-meters
Water meters are essential to provide an asset value for the sale of council assets. Though at first half might go to government – so they have an asset to borrow against when granting money to councils (this allows both the council and government to later sell their half shares to reduce debt).
Wellington's water…
Watch, as Council incompetence is splashed all over the media. The Coalition government steps in, twisting the council's arm….
Then water meters……
And VOILA! Privatisation!!!!!!!!!!!! Which was the plan all along , of course.
Jeez…. what is it with New Zealanders and water meters.
The things are seen as existential threats by all sides of the political spectrum. Righties see them as an insult to their integrity and self worth, and 'you're going to give it to a Mawries'. Lefties see them as a portal to privatisation and TEOTWAWKI
Water meters are an essential tool for network management and without them you really haven't a clue where the water is going. In Wellington's case there's a good chance most of the leak problem is on private property, or a proportion of residents who are gross (ab)users. Some people will get by with 300 l/day, most households a bit more. A broken 20mm lateral could loose 20,000 l/day or more.
Without good data on where the water is going the managers are just flying blind and fixing leaks once they come through the ground. In Wellington's climate it's going to be a good leak to do that, and they're a small percentage to the number of leaks. The multitude of small leaks will go un-noticed (in our dry climate in Central Otago even quite small leaks are quite apparent in summer) and will add up to a lot of water.
There is
1.a case to fix the known leaks first with available funding.
2.this might give time to look at equity in meter charging.
https://www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/350086660/case-against-water-metering-wellington
Sorry, but I found your linked article a jumble of confused and just downright incorrect thinking. Things like,
Wellington's, and every other municipality in New Zealand's, water problem is due to a very longstanding practice of ratepayers not being willing to pay for the construction and maintenance of water infrastructure.
We can't see it and as long as there's water coming out the tap, all's good. Oh, and we can use as much as we like because it's 'free'.
Mr Osborne's assertion that water charges are regressive doesn't account for reality and human nature. In 40 years of involvement in the water industry I've seen a pretty strong correlation between property value / income and water use. It's very unlikely that a gross user (>10x average use) lives in the bottom end of town, and water use goes up dramatically once you get into the House and Garden set. Under current rates based charging practices this is something worse than regressive, it's downright theft.
From your points,
Well either Wellington Water is incompetent, or they are being incompetently led by the elected Council. Or the rate payers won't pay the Council enough to fix the problem. Generally it comes back to the rate payers not being prepared to pay for it.
Have a serious look at the equity of current rates based charging first, and how that charging regime shapes usage / entitlement perceptions. I don't see much equity between Mr & Mrs Fancy Garden using as much water as they can get out the tap, and the family at the other end of town who treat every drop of water as their last, because they treat everything like that to get through to the next pay day.
Osborne does have a point around the issues in separating water charging from property charges, particularly in residential rental situations. Water charges should remain with the property, so that the owner is incentivised to fix leaks. In a gross usage situation there will probably be other tenancy issues that the landlord can act on.
Metering and Volumetric Pricing do not necessarily follow. Many water providers have installed meters for data collection to get a picture of where the water is going. QLDC and Central Otago have done this with considerable success. There's also a discrete supply (several hundred properties) where volumetric charging has sorted a very extreme usage / entitlement problem that threatened the viability of the supply.
Right, but what about the household that has two large low income families living in it, who pay nothing now, but would face a new charge with water metering?
Surely the solution here is to provide a certain amount of water per household without charge and to then charge for excess use?
While someone watering a 3 acre lawn is a problem, won't they just pay for the extra charges if they are wealthy? So the council generates some income, but doesn't solve the problem of excess use. Changing land use culture would go a long way to helping alongside other approaches.
Maybe street / small area water meters rather than individual household meters can solve most of the problem.
Less cost and would still give a very good indication of usage and where to investigate for issues and high usage.
This is why we don’t trust them. Already our power companies are doing the same thing.
https://www.nationalworld.com/news/environment/sewage-spills-university-research-how-much-profits-water-company-shareholders-4149319
that was one of the issues with 3 Waters right? Whether the legislation was Tory-proof enough to stop them from privatising. Better to not have 3W than to end up in the situation we are with power. I'm sure many would disagree with that, but that's part of the resistance.
In most cases small 20 or 25mm meters at the individual boundary are the cheapest and easiest option. The lateral is in a known location and already quite shallow (< 0.5m) and there's already a valve there. If the valve was installed in the last 20 years installing a meter can be a 10 minute job. Street or neighbourhood meters get expensive, the main is often a couple of meters under the street or footpath so quite a crater and disruption, and everything is bigger so costs go up exponentially.
It's wrongheaded to attack the engineering, we should be focusing on the council and government leadership that wants to try and privatise or use rates reduction, and subsequent under investment, to get elected. Fortunately water privatisation is going to be a hard sell to a New Zealand electorate, rates or tax reduction not so much.
They do not pay nothing now. If they live in a town or city they are paying for water now through their rates. There's a lot of averaging that goes into setting rates, especially water, and low users are getting screwed by the current system. If they have good water habits then volumetric charging should be in their favour.
I feel for low income people under the current rating system as the costs of water failure come through, in many places the rates rises will be brutal. Gore is a town to keep an eye on.
Very much the devil is in the detail of how the charge is set up, some have a base rate pretty much as normal rates based charging with an excess charge on top, others it's a seperate invoice to rates. It depends on whether the water supply entity is council in-house or some sort of arms length entity. If there's going to be amalgamation of utility provision (essentially what 3 Waters was) then charging will get tricky, but with clever design could still be charged through rates. We'll see what National's "Local Water Done Well" brings, but I'm inclined to think they'll find it too hard and nothing changes from pre 3 Waters.
From what I've seen excess charges certainly change behaviours. You'd be surprised how tight entitled arseholes are, they haven't amassed their wealth by spending it. Trick is to make excess town water dearer than alternatives like storage or alternative sources.
Land use change, or more like expectation change is coming. There's a new golf course development coming up across the road. Residential lots (80 odd) are restricted to 100m2 of lawn to restrict water use and the developers have done a lot of deals buying irrigation shares to get water for the course. One little bit of the basin will be bright green and a lot will become fallow.
1.a case to fix the known leaks first with available funding.
That is irrelevant. $300 M for water meters, is $300M not spent on fixing pipes. Ratepayers will be paying, whatever the $300M is spent on.
2.this might give time to look at equity in meter charging.
In Wellington there is already a water use regime that limits garden watering. And in any case those with a large section (often a lot of trees and owned by older couples) currently pay more rates because of the land component of the capital value and would be better off with a move to water charging than those with larger families in infill sections.
For mine the move to $300M for water meter charges is not a move to equity, because of the opportunity cost of $300M not being spent fixing pipes.
For mine the focus on water metering, when they are so short of money to fix pipes, reflects an intent to set charges to force ratepayers to fix up pipes on their land.
The question is why DP and NL want to prioritise that over spending $300M (they do not yet have) to fix pipes on public land?
Is it because they intend to charge the cost of the water meters on top of rates?
Thread.
Many people discovered The Taxpayers' Union today after they attempted to criticize the government funding of @davidfarrier& @DylanReeve's critically acclaimed and financially profitable documentary 'Tickled.' So for the initiated, here's a primer on The TPU.
https://twitter.com/StrayDogNZ/status/1419555716310847488
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1419555716310847488.html
Elon Musk claims that the illegal immigration is a Democratic Party/Biden's plan to make them legal residents for the purpose of a one party state.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/musk-biden-opened-border-floodgates-democrats-can-stay-power
https://www.nationalreview.com/news/musk-calls-out-biden-for-waiting-on-bipartisan-senate-deal-to-shut-down-border/
In the USA Detainee stuff.
Page 18 on
https://www.ice.gov/doclib/eoy/iceAnnualReportFY2023.pdf