Its become a religion for these believers in the market solving everything, and just like the second coming it may happen but its unlikely to happen in ones lifetime.
If we all take it as a given that Auckland will be allowed to grow to 2M people, then this is what we are going to end up with, even as provincial towns all around the regions continue to slowly die off.
Wanganui/Manawatu median house price $233,000 what the hell are people all doing in fucking $810,000 median Auckland?
Is the minimum wage 4x higher in Auckland or something?
There’s few well paid jobs in the provinces. Whanganui, for example, is a lovely town, but has little in the way of future focussed work. There’s a freezing works, a pet food factory, a place that makes helmets, a shipyard and not much else. Most of the work at those places is paid in the minimum to living wage level. So, houses may be priced reasonably, but the income levels still make them difficult to afford for a lot of residents.
If I was in Auckland, and thinking of getting out, the pressing question is ‘what do I do when I get there?’.
For many women the issue is around being the primary caregiver esp for kids. Jobs have to fit around school hours and be flexible enough for kids being sick.
Sabine is on the money. The options for women in provincial towns are mostly limited to the service industry, so, again, low pay.
As an aside, while there are many women in the meat industry, there are very few holding down the higher paying jobs. Boning and slaughterboard work are extremely physical jobs which are paid on a tally basis (the more you do, the more you get paid) and there aren’t many women represented there. Packing jobs, which are predominantly done by women, are the often the lowest paid positions in a freezing works.
If you’re a woman management professional, or you are a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant, there are plenty of opportunities outside of the big city.
You’re not going to be on big firm money or prestige though. If that’s what you want then by all means go fire up your career in the big city.
But if you have real ambition in a professional field you need to get out of small time Auckland anyway.
And most women in NZ live outside of Auckland Wellington and Christchurch. I doubt they think that the big city types have better lives than they do.
I think you are overestimating both the percentage of women in the workforce who are tertiary educated and the number of jobs available for them in the provinces. In addition, the financial rewards are less outside the bigger cities. The going rate for similar jobs in Auckland and Timaru is always going to be higher in Auckland.
By the way, was your second to last sentence a typo? I’ll think you’ll find that most women (and men) in NZ do live in Ak, Wellington or Christchurch.
It’s not all jobs and income. For me one of the major attractions of Auckland, is the access to the medical care I need at a good price. And a public health system, whilst slow, still works.
Also it gives me a chance to engage in a multicultural city. The weather is half decent as well, as is access to beaches, good food, family, and things like community gardens.
It also a city were by you can have engagement with a good ideas and great things, it also were we see the worst of the worst.
Auckland, will be a battle ground of ideas for years to come, with Maori and Pacific taking the led more and more.
Well said Adam. It troubles me that people still seem, and without question, to lock themselves into a mindset that says having a job is the principle thing in life…and that from that, all else should flow.
And that could be the basis of a huge tech R&D facility – if the government got off it’s arse and started actually trying to develop the nations economy.
That transition out of Auckland is something I have been putting a lot of thought into, because I’m getting ready to in the next few years.
If you sell out of Auckland, you never go back.
If you simply rent your Auckland place out, you can cover the mortgage, but you need quite a bit of the equity to set up properly elsewhere, in my case Wanaka. And you’re a very distant landlord.
We will both largely be jumping off the cliff of salaried life, and starting up a boutique hotel. We will still consult back to Auckland, but just a day or so a week until we really have the business bedded in.
These are not small transitions to make, because they are pretty much irreversible. Better to plan them rather than have them forced on us later in life.
Walking away from the Auckland property also means walking away from family and friends and many networks. But it has to be done if we’re going to get the life we want.
“Wanganui/Manawatu median house price $233,000 what the hell are people all doing in fucking $810,000 median Auckland?
Is the minimum wage 4x higher in Auckland or something?”
Perhaps they are scared of moving to a new city and making new friends.
Maybe they are not organised enough to get a job in a new city before they move there, i have moved to get a higher paying job a shitload of times. The people who rent and are on longterm welfare who won’t move to a more affordable area amaze me the most. Some people are just lazy or they don’t mind living in a shithole.
No, we’re a nation of immigrants. When the grass definitely is greener elsewhere it’s time to move. You can only fit so many generations into a given space. Don’t be so placeist.
“Placeist”? Get a life. It’s called “having friends and family and community”.
Besides, you don’t know that the grass is “most definitely” greener. And what if the parents don’t want to be uprooted at their time of life – you expect the kids to say “screw you, mum, you’re on your own”?
Wriggle and dance all you want, the only thing you’re demonstrating is that you have nobody you genuinely care about.
NZ ENVOY TO HATCH: DON’T WORRY, BE HAPPY: New Zealand Ambassador Tim Groser said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch’s position on biologics in the TPP was “principled” but that the Utah Republican should not be worried about the level of protection the deal will provide for the new class of drugs.
Not enough attention has been paid to TPP language saying that all countries must provide “effective market protection” for biological drugs, Groser told reporters Friday at a lunch hosted by the National Foreign Trade Council.
“[New Zealand] will meet our TPP obligations, which require us to give effective market control through a variety of different mechanisms,” said Groser, who recently served as his country’s trade minister. “The shortest period of time between the marketing of the original [biological drug] and the entry of [a biosimilar] through our regulatory process … the shortest period is over 20 years. So this is not just pure theory I’m spouting.”
The Republican Senator Orrin Hatch who is chair of the Senate Finance Committee is concerned that TPP negotiators failed to secure 12 years of protection for next-generation biological drugs.
Not enough attention has been paid to TPP language saying that all countries must provide “effective market protection” for biological drugs, Groser told reporters Friday at a lunch hosted by the National Foreign Trade Council.
So, what they’re promising is protection from the market effectively guaranteeing profits.
AS PREDICTED: US seeks more in TPP on medicine monopolies at APEC meeting
“The US government is making a desperate attempt to placate domestic US corporate and Republican opposition to the TPP implementing legislation by demanding stronger monopolies for pharmaceutical companies and other concessions at a meeting of TPP ministers to be held this week on the sidelines of the APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Peru,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today.
Jane Kelsey: Heavy hand of US domestic politics evident in TPP
The US has covertly sent officials around the other countries’ capitals to check on their implementation. New Zealand’s proposed new intellectual property laws have already been attacked publicly by US officials and the pharmaceutical industry.
We can only imagine the pressure behind closed doors, because the Government won’t tell us what’s happening.
Why would they “stand fast” against the entirety of something that meets many of their international trade objectives, even if some of it is contrary to their sovereignty issues?
I don’t think that it even made any of their trade objectives and that they had to use the BS that National released to justify saying that it did. You know, the figures that have since been shown to be complete bollocks.
On all counts the TPPA will be bad for NZ and we should not be signing it. Labour still has time to come out fully against it but I’m sure that they won’t as they continue to follow the same failed ideology that brought about the Great Depression and the GFC.
Leaked diplomatic letters sent from Colombia’s Embassy in Washington describe how a staffer with the Senate Finance Committee, which is led by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, warned of repercussions if Colombia moves forward on approving the cheaper, generic form of a cancer drug.
[…]
In the second letter, after a meeting with Senate Finance Committee International Trade Counsel Everett Eissenstat, Flórez wrote that Eissenstat said that authorizing the generic version would “violate the intellectual property rights” of Novartis. Eissenstat also said that if “the Ministry of Health did not correct this situation, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States and related interest groups could become very vocal and interfere with other interests that Colombia could have in the United States,” according to the letter.
In particular, Flórez expressed a worry that “this case could jeopardize the approval of the financing of the new initiative ‘Peace Colombia.’”
The Obama administration has pledged $450 million for Peace Colombia, which seeks to bring together rebels and the government to end decades of fighting that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a shattered civil society. These funds will be used for, among other things, removing land mines. The country has the second-highest number of land-mine fatalities in the world, behind only Afghanistan.
Ukraine was allowed to stand.
It was a country brought down by a coup d’état against an elected government.
Venezuela is on the brink after 2 years + of economic sabotage.
“The US has been a rogue state ever since the 19th century.”
It goes back to the 1630’s when the prime export of these colonies was a highly addictive narcotic, nicotine (i.e., tobacco). The colonists realized it would easy to grow tobacco in a lot of other places so they made it a capital offense to export tobacco plants, seeds, or cuttings. “Capital offense” as in, we hang you by the neck until dead!
This was the birth of America’s concept of “monopolistic free trade,” a noble tradition they continue to honor in the TPPA.
Ukraine was always a poor country ineptly run by corrupt politicians and officials. Now it is a destroyed country ineptly run by corrupt politicians and officials.
And the US has successfully convinced Ukraine to cut all its economic ties with Russia. Including all the high tech aerospace and defence components they used to make for Russia.
In exchange the Ukraine now gets to export more fruit to the EU. And IMF overlords insisting that the Ukraine “liberalise” its state assets.
He was Roussefs running mate, selected by her. The process stinks but he is a long time leader of Brazils largest party and as Rousseff was in a coalition with other parties compromises are made
How else could it this way, except in Brazil which the politicians are notoriously corrupt, the President is removed for just a government budget measure.
Having screwed the Middle east, the US gaze turns to South America and uses its underhand methods to upset the democratic apple cart when it favours leftist leaders.
Having screwed the Middle east, the US gaze turns to South America and uses its underhand methods to upset the democratic apple cart when it favours leftist leaders.
Amidst predictions of Rousseff’s demise, the mainstream media has consistently downplayed, and occasionally outright ignored, one fact: the social backgrounds of protesters. It is not “the Brazilian people” who are in the streets, but rather a very specific segment of the population whose economic interests are historically opposed to those of the majority. They are largely middle and upper class and, consequently, mainly white. In the 2014 elections they sensed that their time had come to get rid of the PT, only to see their favored candidate, former Minas Gerais PSDB governor Aécio Neves, lose in Brazil’s closest-ever presidential contest. Despite the very real and serious flaws of the current government, this discontent with the PT finds its true source in centuries of elite fear of popular mobilization and a deep resentment of the gains working class people have made since Lula took office in 2003.
The operation known as ‘Car Wash’ (Lava Jato) – which was designed to force Lula to testify – was leaked to the Globo television network in advance so that their helicopter could hover over the former president’s house before the federal police arrived. During the night, Epoca magazine’s editor-in-chief (which belongs to the Globo media network) tweeted about the actions that would take place the following morning. This demonstrated the media’s power to manipulate public opinion with a noticeable coup-driven agenda.
“Having screwed the Middle east, the US gaze turns to South America”
America’s Monroe Doctrine (1823) essentially said, “The Western Hemisphere belongs to us.” From an American foreign policy point of view, the US is simply managing weaker countries that have always belonged to the USA.
(OK, I admit this is a Latin American perspective. The US State Dept. would disagree.)
Love the Natz myth (sarc) about ‘freeing up more land” – yep that old chestnut been saying it for years now, (change the record) but the problem is that there is too many people coming into NZ, not enough building and plenty of land but that does not mean houses!!
Even when they do build the houses are not aimed at Kiwis but at overseas money.
It is the building of the houses that is the problem not the land or resource consents!
Why are they selling off the state houses if they need more affordable housing?
The insane lazy immigration strategy from the Natz so that overseas money can flood into Auckland and hide the major problems in the Natz economic strategy and give them more votes to boot.
P.s If you live in a car can you register to vote? Probably a lot more difficult, win win for the Natz.
It’s not too many people, it’s too much cheap money being sold as debt by our foreign banks. That’s what inflates the bubble. Building more dwellings will not fix it.
A friend of mine says the Chinese can land ready to erect house kits in NZ for $12,000 each. I can’t support this but I do know that mass produced housing units can be built quickly and economically.
We can’t do that. It would cut out the real estate developers who finance National’s elections.
Don’t try and solve the wrong problem. You won’t get anywhere.
The real problem is: not enough $20/hr jobs in the regions.
You are never going to get affordable (less than 4x household income) housing in Auckland. I don’t care if you get a Labour/Greens government in Auckland, they will be able to do nothing to drop median Auckland house prices under $800K. It will keep climbing.
No Government can build the five thousand houses a year in Auckland which is what you will need to even start to make a dent against the city’s projected population growth. And even then all the Government will be doing is taking land which would be used by private developers, hence no net gain in numbers of houses.
how about that?
Why does the majority of migrants need to move to Auckland? Why not incentives them to move to the regions and create their ‘investment businesses’ there?
Why force people that have lived in Auckland for many generations, that have paid rates, that have paid taxes here out?
Oh cause you don’t care about the people that already live here?
Is that your problem?
Stop people from moving to AKL for the next 5 – 10 years, unless they have a. a job and b. housing lined up.
And everyone who still then wants to ‘migrate’ to NZ to buy up properties and keep them empty can do that elsewhere.
The unit next to my house has been empty now for 3 years. And there are many thousands of properties in AKL that are kept empty. We would not need to build several thousands of houses desperatly if we could get those that are kept empty for captial gains back on the market as a house for people that actually want to live in it.
Why force people that have lived in Auckland for many generations, that have paid rates, that have paid taxes here out?
Oh cause you don’t care about the people that already live here?
People can pick and choose for themselves whether or not they want to stay in Auckland, once you give them a way out.
But let’s stop pretending that Auckland is ever going to make an affordable city to live in if it keeps growing.
It’s great for those on the top 5% of incomes though.
i have advocated for the government – any fucking government – to invest in the region now for the longest time. Here, and elsewhere.
What i have not done, is to call for gutsy people elsewhere to just up their families, leave everything behind that they know and move god knows where to start a new life. You however have asked for that yesterday. Are there any gutsy aucklanders that would move to the Waikato. To do what? What jobs? And not only jobs for the blokes, but jobs for the wifes – cause we like to earn a living too and would love to not be completly depended on a man – jobs for the kids, cause well, eventually they grow into adutls. That alone should see you blush with shame, but i guess that is something you don’t have. How many dairy frm workers just do you think live in Auckland?
I have never pretended that Auckland is going to out build its issues. AS for affordable, you and I have vastly different ideas as to what is affordable then you. I actually don’t have an issue with the house prices in AKL, as they are the same world wide for a city that size.
What i have an issue with, is that the government is not investing in decent humanly build appartment blocks that are not leaking, rotting, fire hazards. What i have an issue with is that a tenancy for six month is legal. Anyone who looks for a place to live will most likely not want to move again in six month. Everyone who wants to rent for less then six month could go rent a motel unit for that long.
I have an issue with people leaving previously tenanted or lived in houses empty cause the Carpet, like that fuckwit Gareth Morgan and others of his ilk.
I have an issue with people buying rental properties and then hear them complain that they actually can’t keep up the maintenance of said rental cause they have no money.
i have an issue with the same house being sold several times over and everytime it does the last family that moved in 4 month ago is again on the streets, and the next tenant will pay an extra 100$ per week on the same house, cause we don’t have no fucking regulations for rentals and no protection for tenants.
So frankly, keep your lets move Aucklanders out away for a moment, and lets have a look at the issues that are, and that more often then no are not caused by the o es living in despair.
Namely no job creation what so ever for decades now in the regions other then cows and wine it seems.
Namely, no houses being build to be in the affordable brackets for tenants that live and work for a certain time in AKL, but might not want to actually buy in Akl.
but that would not be quite as easy as saying, if yer can’t afford it just move out.
People every day in the regions are having to up their lives and move to Auckland to try and get work.
It ain’t exactly a new phenomenon.
Regardless of the value of the ideas you propose to improve rental situations in Auckland, they can never keep up with the pressure that 30,000 to 40,000 population growth per year, for the next 20 years, in the city will create.
Which is where my point comes in. People need avenues to move out of Auckland and people need to be discouraged from moving into Auckland.
At that point, your suggestions about rental controls and government apartment blocks, might have a chance to make an impact.
Even then however, average income earners on $60K pa in Auckland will never own their own home. They will be renters for life, enriching some landlord for life.
Let alone the situation for the majority of Auckland workers who make way less than $60K pa.
But the difference between you and me is that i don’t call for them to do that.
Equally, there are many Aucklanders that have moved or say retired, to Tauranga and other nice places in NZ fucking up house prices there.
Then you have the Aucklanders that have moved overseas. Quite a few actually.
Then you will have those that will sell within the next few month and also move somewhere nice.
Not everyone needs to buy a house. Full stop there. Have a good look at europe and other places and understand than many do not own the house/apartment they live in, but they rent it. At a decent affordable rent, long term – sometimes several decades even. But then the ‘landlords’ overseas don’t participate in a Volkssport called’ Flip a house, fuck over a tenant’ to get rich.
As for affordable, soon working stiffs won’t be able to buy in Wellington, Tauranga, Wellington, CHCH, well i guess they all can just move to a region and start milking cows for a living.
I’ll ignore your smart big city folk diss of the regions.
If people want to spend an hour in traffic day every day instead of with their families, good on em.
I’m betting that people given the choice won’t.
And my point stands – Auckland is going to cross 2M population by 2035, if not before.
Your schemes with government apartment blocks etc cannot keep pace with that, not even close.
As for young Kiwis giving up their dream of owning their own home. If they stay in Auckland, most of them will have to. Unless they luckily have parents ready to put down a $150K deposit for them.
Young people might value a well-paid, engaging career and diverse lifestyle options over the historic allure of owning a quarter-acre. They already know where they will find those choices.
Stopping people moving to our only world-scale city is not going to help NZ’s future prospects. Investing in regional development however is also important. It’s not a zero-sum thing. We can walk and chew gum.
Any government could boldly fix this housing crisis if they thought voters would support it. Unfortunately those who benefit from our current arrangements vote more than than those who don’t. We need leaders competently presenting a better alternative to change that. Where are they?
If New Zealanders won’t, there’s plenty of UK, Hong Kong, Netherlands, US, and South African couples who will sell up at home and move to specific provinces: North Shore, Queenstown, Wanaka, Wairarapa, Bay of Islands.
But then there’s those pesky OIO rules, anti-foreigner policies, immigration hoops.
Therein the regional policy/immigration/land ownership quandary.
And there are many thousands of properties in AKL that are kept empty.
And everywhere else. Compulsory purchase of all properties that are vacant for a given amount of time on the basis that they are mere instruments of speculation.
Squatter’s rights! Then there’s no need for wrangling in any court over whether a property was deliberately left empty 😉
There is no rational reason not to have legislation along those lines. But we’re talking ideology; an ideology that is never named or examined by even investigative journalistic pieces.
edit: And life long leases that have provisions for running intergenerationally.
The US has a few dairy woes.
“Billions of pounds of cheese are about to go to waste. Clearly America needs your help”
Americans eat an average of 34 pounds of cheese a year however the cheese surplus is mounting partly due to imported cheese from Europe because of the low Euro.
Warehouses are full of curds that may have to be dumped.
This is what happens when an economy is driven by profit. You get huge amounts of ‘waste’ that could be used to help people but it’ll be dumped instead because putting it to use will lower profits.
The UK Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18 (NAP) sets out 13 commitments on transparency, anti corruption and open government. It also sets out how government is making information clearer, easier to interpret and easier to use.
The commitments include:
● The UK becoming the first G7 country to commit to the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) for contracts administered by a central purchasing authority, the Crown Commercial Service.
This means that the whole process of awarding public sector contracts – from the bidding right through to the building – will be visible to the public for the first time by October 2016.
This will be piloted by High Speed Rail 2.
_________________________
Still hiding them under the BS of ‘commercial sensitivity’. Our politicians don’t seem to have woken up to the fact that a contract between a private firm and the government is with us, the people and that we need to know the details of those contracts.
Women should be given every assistance to break the ceiling barriers – as it were – but in the final analysis appoint on ability and merit and not gender.
Looking forward to receiving my invitation to this Mayoral debate.
I’m sure my pro-transparency Mayoral policies will receive support from, in my opinion, many decent business people – particularly those who have been unsuccessful in obtaining contracts for services and regulatory functions with Auckland Council and Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs)?
“Business to Put Tough Questions to Auckland Mayoral Candidates
With the countdown now on to local body elections, and the mayoralty of New Zealand’s largest city being hotly contested, three leading business associations want to put the tough questions to Auckland mayoral contenders around how they will deliver more prosperity to the city.
The powerhouse combination of EMA, Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Heart of the City have partnered up to host two Mayoral Debates.
The first in this series is being held on Friday, June 17 and a second debate is planned for Thursday, September 8. Candidates will include Phil Goff, Victoria Crone and Mark Thomas.
The three business focussed organisations want to ensure the needs of Auckland’s businesses are front and centre in the minds of the candidates.
The objective of the debates is to create an opportunity for Auckland businesses to send strong signals about the outcomes they want to see the successful candidate deliver.
All three organisations agree, that the potential of Auckland has to be unlocked and that business wants to see action, not words, from the city’s future leader.”
________________________________________
(And I’m sure my participation will sharpen, and make far more lively, this Mayoral debate, particularly my view that Auckland is already being run ‘like a business, by business FOR business’ and what need is an Auckland region that is ‘people’ – not ‘business’ friendly 🙂
Will these business associations be brave enough to invite me?
(If the Institute of Directors can invite me to a Mayoral debate at the Northern Club – why not? 😉
Life in the provinces isn’t all bad. I left Auckland twenty years ago, everyone said we would be back after a couple of years but we’re still here. You can buy a very nice house in Whangarei for under $300,000 – close to town and probably with sea views. The wages aren’t as good up here, but they aren’t that bad and there seems to be plenty of work out there for those who want it. The beaches are awesome, the fishing is pretty good and the only time you get a traffic jam is on a friday before a long weekend. If for some strange reason you want to go to Auckland it’s less than 2 hours away.
Two problems, one is that some of us in the provinces don’t want a big influx from Auckland 😉
The other is that Aucklanders migrating out to cheaper places can have the same effect there on house and land prices that wealthy immigrants are having in Auckland. I agree with the general premise that part of Auckland’s problem is too many people want or need to live there. But let’s look at the complexities, not just exporting the problem somewhere else.
…so after Alex Salmond has been informed by the ICC that won’t prosecute Blair for a ‘crime of aggression’ – it isn’t within their jurisdiction – up jumps Jim Sillars with a suggestion that the Scottish Parliament pass retrospective legislation so that he can be hauled before the Scottish courts.
Holyrood is a devolved parliament and certainly doesnt have powers to create a war crime law for outside Scotland
These are its restricted areas of legislation
agriculture, forestry and fisheries
education and training
environment
health and social services
housing
law and order( locally)
local government
sport and the arts
tourism and economic development
many aspects of transport.
Scottish Law is separate to the Law in England and Wales – always has been. Tony Blair was the PM of the UK, not just England and Wales. Scotland is a part of the UK and I’d pick that a person governing the UK has to abide by the law as it stands in England and Wales just as much as by the law as it stands in Scotland – when, where and if they are considering something that impacts both north and south of the English-Scottish border.
There won’t be a retrospective law passed, but it would be interesting if there was.
Well, I’m picking that Jim Sillars wouldn’t have made the suggestion, and the newspaper wouldn’t have reported the suggestion, and the SNP spokesperson wouldn’t merely have responded that they had no plans to table such a piece of legislation, if that facet of Scottish Law (criminal) was ‘reserved’ (ie -came under the purview of Westminster).
For the world of me I can’t imagine why criminal law would be reserved, but hey…
Since none of the actions of the Iraqi war occurred in Scotland or were planned in Scotland, that would make it a very big ask to make it a domestic law and order issue they can legislate on.
There is also the idea of murder its elf, as Blair never directly participated in the war operations ( unlike US , PM isnt commander in chief) he would have to be prosecuted under the political aspect of war crimes. The Hague hasnt even done anything in that regard as far as I’m aware.
AS for why an SNP MP has raised the issue, the idea that MPs are all knowing, is ludicrous. A grandiose idea in their mind of what they do know and can legislate for is more common. Sillars is exactly such a person.
One other aspect that wouldnt be a problem, is retrospective, as the UKs own War Crimes Act of 1991, which only covered crimes in Europe under german occupation, is clearly retrospective .
Interestingly, that law was one of only a few last century that was passed in spite of the House of Lords rejecting it. ( and probably doomed the hereditary lords who did so.)
As I understand it, only applied to individuals who were now resident in UK, and were participants in particular war crimes during the war.
There have been a few things this I really had a great belly laugh over this year. Larry Wilmore speech at Obama’s last correspondents dinner, was one time. I thought it was up their with Stephen Colbert, and in some ways better for it’s frankness. Now this, sheesh he hit, and he hit hard it seems.
Hadn’t seen or heard his speech. So I searched it out (link below). The first 15 minutes were kind of taking no prisoners and I found I didn’t necessarily have to know who he was referring to to ‘get it’ – one very uncomfortable audience, but then it kind of washed out about the point of the Zodiac Killer stuff. (btw – I got the impression that him and Lemon are mates – that wasn’t really a go so much as a jibe you might hear between two mates. Lemon just seems to be laughing “You bastard”. That’s how I took it anyway.
“Saw you (Obama) hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. That was cool, yeah. You know it kinda makes sense, too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances, right? What? Am I wrong?”
“Saw you (Obama) hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. That was cool, yeah. You know it kinda makes sense, too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances, right? What? Am I wrong?”
I don’t play a huge amount of games but I tend to play a select few games a lot, (Saints Row series, Skyrim and Fallout are my go to games) and I’m so hanging out for the release of Far Harbour on the 19th
But yeah it makes you wonder what else is stashed in museums around that area and if other items are out in the open and no ones noticed them
Theres a crap load hidden away in Museums, there’s something like only 10% of the collection on display at any one time so I heard from a curator once, & thats just the documented stuff.
Yeah ploughing my way through Fall Out 4, I def recommend Uncharted 4, will have a look at Far Harbour, I am relatively new at these things but totally hooked!
I would like to get other games but if I did it would sit on around for ages before I started playing it, I tend to focus on one game until I get sick of it then switch to another
Filing systems take a lot less space than display cabinents. But accredited folk who can be trusted (relatively speaking) to not drop the exhibits or cover them in toffee can usually get access for research purposes.
And most museums and galleries create different public display collections over time, both to get people through the door and to illuminate different aspects and events for the regular patrons.
But also these days there’s a trend towards turning museums into theme parks mostly aimed at kids.
Otago Museum has this huge sword collection that hasn’t been displayed in years, its bloody impressive.
Re: games, yeah pr I am the same, I can only play a handful of games, the Star Wars is a good dumb online free-for-all shoot ’em up, Fall Out 4 is freakin’ hard & a total mindf*ck that takes up all my concentration, I am still at the top of the map so it’s slow going (though my settlement is healthy & safe), but Uncharted 4 is a great treasure hunt adventure like Indiana Jones & it grooves along at a cracking pace & the online version is just mean! I am really wanting some kinda WW2 game but so far not found any for the PS4. Better than movies!
Otago museum’s sword display (not collection, haven’t seen the full thing) really pissed me off the last few times I swung by (haven’t been in a few years, though). There was a little note basically saying that violence is bad but part of history, sorry we have to show this stuff, and a couple of dozen swords were hung up with no arrangement and little information.
Thing is, there was one piece from most eras and most regions across the globe, and if you knew where/when they were from you could actually trace the drift of design elements e.g. from Greece to Persia to India to China, and back the other way. It just seemed such a waste – I really like shit like that, where it really brings the world together and provdes context through the pieces themselves.
re: WW2 games, I read today that the latest Battlefield iteration is set in WW1. Might be interesting, although apparently one clip from the advertising showed a guy in a suit of armour hip-firing an MG that weight 20kilos in real life. Possible big-boss bs.
Oh my goodness Mcflock that new Battlefield looks incredible, cheers for that, will keep an eye out for it! & going to check out Skyrim too, heard a lot about but will have a look.
Guardian is for all the international justice warriors por la Revolucion. Of course, they love stories like this. The paper thrives upon their readers’ bleeding hearts.
[BLiP: Attack the messenger diversion. Moved to Open Mike. First and last warning.]
Not harsh at all. You want people to abandon weekly visitation with their kids (because the ex doesn’t want to move) and try to relocate their parents simply on the offchance of getting better paying work elsewhere in the country.
Economic migration is the product of economic desperation multiplied by the inverse of social integration. “Social integration” is the concept that seems alien to you, but most humans experience it to greater or lesser degrees.
Are you funking serious? You advocate ghettoising and call it social integration. Keep all the lumps in one place eh. Your bogus garbled ‘equation’ is meaningless. What exactly do a homeless family owe to a social ‘network’ that has failed them?
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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 ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
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April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dA7KJZ2t1U
Its a very ineffective government that can’t get some houses built,
The village chief is not looking after the villagers
Fail 101
Ever the question, ideology or incompetency.
Both.
The ideology is incompetent as well.
Its become a religion for these believers in the market solving everything, and just like the second coming it may happen but its unlikely to happen in ones lifetime.
Some are true believers and others ( the majority) cynically use this amoral philosophy to fit her their own interests.
If we all take it as a given that Auckland will be allowed to grow to 2M people, then this is what we are going to end up with, even as provincial towns all around the regions continue to slowly die off.
Wanganui/Manawatu median house price $233,000 what the hell are people all doing in fucking $810,000 median Auckland?
Is the minimum wage 4x higher in Auckland or something?
There’s few well paid jobs in the provinces. Whanganui, for example, is a lovely town, but has little in the way of future focussed work. There’s a freezing works, a pet food factory, a place that makes helmets, a shipyard and not much else. Most of the work at those places is paid in the minimum to living wage level. So, houses may be priced reasonably, but the income levels still make them difficult to afford for a lot of residents.
If I was in Auckland, and thinking of getting out, the pressing question is ‘what do I do when I get there?’.
Basically there needs to be more jobs in the provinces.
Having said that, 3 mates on the minimum wage can put together and buy a $233,000 Wanganui/Manawatu house. They can never do that in Auckland.
the more pressing question is, what will your wife or partner do.
All the jobs you listed for the largest part are jobs for men.
You want there to be different womens jobs now?
IMO women do just as fine as the men in the freezing works and in factory process worker jobs, thanks.
For many women the issue is around being the primary caregiver esp for kids. Jobs have to fit around school hours and be flexible enough for kids being sick.
Sabine is on the money. The options for women in provincial towns are mostly limited to the service industry, so, again, low pay.
As an aside, while there are many women in the meat industry, there are very few holding down the higher paying jobs. Boning and slaughterboard work are extremely physical jobs which are paid on a tally basis (the more you do, the more you get paid) and there aren’t many women represented there. Packing jobs, which are predominantly done by women, are the often the lowest paid positions in a freezing works.
At least in the provinces, if you aint got no money, you can go hunt and gather. And in pleasant surrounds no less.
The emptier the place the better if you got no money or job, really…
If you’re a woman management professional, or you are a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant, there are plenty of opportunities outside of the big city.
You’re not going to be on big firm money or prestige though. If that’s what you want then by all means go fire up your career in the big city.
But if you have real ambition in a professional field you need to get out of small time Auckland anyway.
And most women in NZ live outside of Auckland Wellington and Christchurch. I doubt they think that the big city types have better lives than they do.
I think you are overestimating both the percentage of women in the workforce who are tertiary educated and the number of jobs available for them in the provinces. In addition, the financial rewards are less outside the bigger cities. The going rate for similar jobs in Auckland and Timaru is always going to be higher in Auckland.
By the way, was your second to last sentence a typo? I’ll think you’ll find that most women (and men) in NZ do live in Ak, Wellington or Christchurch.
It’s not all jobs and income. For me one of the major attractions of Auckland, is the access to the medical care I need at a good price. And a public health system, whilst slow, still works.
Also it gives me a chance to engage in a multicultural city. The weather is half decent as well, as is access to beaches, good food, family, and things like community gardens.
It also a city were by you can have engagement with a good ideas and great things, it also were we see the worst of the worst.
Auckland, will be a battle ground of ideas for years to come, with Maori and Pacific taking the led more and more.
Well said Adam. It troubles me that people still seem, and without question, to lock themselves into a mindset that says having a job is the principle thing in life…and that from that, all else should flow.
Yes, I would really miss the potential of living in the biggest Polynesian city in the world. So much to learn.
If you’re doing nothing at present, doesn’t really matter does it?
And that could be the basis of a huge tech R&D facility – if the government got off it’s arse and started actually trying to develop the nations economy.
That transition out of Auckland is something I have been putting a lot of thought into, because I’m getting ready to in the next few years.
If you sell out of Auckland, you never go back.
If you simply rent your Auckland place out, you can cover the mortgage, but you need quite a bit of the equity to set up properly elsewhere, in my case Wanaka. And you’re a very distant landlord.
We will both largely be jumping off the cliff of salaried life, and starting up a boutique hotel. We will still consult back to Auckland, but just a day or so a week until we really have the business bedded in.
These are not small transitions to make, because they are pretty much irreversible. Better to plan them rather than have them forced on us later in life.
Walking away from the Auckland property also means walking away from family and friends and many networks. But it has to be done if we’re going to get the life we want.
Those are huge steps to be making, but exciting ones, Ad. Best of luck!
Cheers.
Design process and business plan and structure coming up.
“Wanganui/Manawatu median house price $233,000 what the hell are people all doing in fucking $810,000 median Auckland?
Is the minimum wage 4x higher in Auckland or something?”
Perhaps they are scared of moving to a new city and making new friends.
Maybe they are not organised enough to get a job in a new city before they move there, i have moved to get a higher paying job a shitload of times. The people who rent and are on longterm welfare who won’t move to a more affordable area amaze me the most. Some people are just lazy or they don’t mind living in a shithole.
Some people have more ties in their lives than you do.
Some people have phones.
Yes. Because phoning is just as good when elderly parents need work done around the house, or when your kids live the ex. /sarc
That’s their fault for getting old, personal responsibility and all that.
You mean they wouldn’t take in their elderly parents? Some people are so rude.
No. “rude” is expecting people to uproot themselves and now their parents just in the hope that the grass is greener elsewhere.
You seem unfamiliar with the idea of social and familial ties to a place. That’s your loss.
No, we’re a nation of immigrants. When the grass definitely is greener elsewhere it’s time to move. You can only fit so many generations into a given space. Don’t be so placeist.
“Placeist”? Get a life. It’s called “having friends and family and community”.
Besides, you don’t know that the grass is “most definitely” greener. And what if the parents don’t want to be uprooted at their time of life – you expect the kids to say “screw you, mum, you’re on your own”?
Wriggle and dance all you want, the only thing you’re demonstrating is that you have nobody you genuinely care about.
It’s very effectively shifting our wealth into the hands of the rich.
This man is representing our country?!!!
Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-trade#ixzz48qlDIWcs
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The Republican Senator Orrin Hatch who is chair of the Senate Finance Committee is concerned that TPP negotiators failed to secure 12 years of protection for next-generation biological drugs.
+100 TMM
jonkey Nacts representative Tim Groser is a disgrace!…have these people no shame?!
Lets hope Trump or Sanders becomes President and kills the TPP dead in the water!
…Hillary Clinton who works for the USA corporates certainly won’t!
https://www.rt.com/usa/334754-sanders-attacks-clinton-debates/
(oops doesnt Andrew Little support Hillary Clinton for President?)
Yep if they don’t put Bernie through I think just as democrats will vote Trump rather than Clinton or not vote.
So, what they’re promising is protection from the market effectively guaranteeing profits.
AS PREDICTED:
US seeks more in TPP on medicine monopolies at APEC meeting
“The US government is making a desperate attempt to placate domestic US corporate and Republican opposition to the TPP implementing legislation by demanding stronger monopolies for pharmaceutical companies and other concessions at a meeting of TPP ministers to be held this week on the sidelines of the APEC Trade Ministers meeting in Peru,” Dr Patricia Ranald, Convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network said today.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1605/S00210/us-seeks-more-in-tpp-on-medicine-monopolies-at-apec-meeting.htm
Jane Kelsey: Heavy hand of US domestic politics evident in TPP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11639804
And our government will cave. That was a given right from the word go.
Labour and Little lost a golden opportunity to stand fast against the TPP.
🙁
Why would they “stand fast” against the entirety of something that meets many of their international trade objectives, even if some of it is contrary to their sovereignty issues?
“Baby” and “bathwater” come to mind.
I don’t think that it even made any of their trade objectives and that they had to use the BS that National released to justify saying that it did. You know, the figures that have since been shown to be complete bollocks.
On all counts the TPPA will be bad for NZ and we should not be signing it. Labour still has time to come out fully against it but I’m sure that they won’t as they continue to follow the same failed ideology that brought about the Great Depression and the GFC.
If Labour shared your assessment of it, they probably would.
But they don’t so they won’t.
But then Labour think NZ needs international trade to get stuff we want and stuff we need. And we’ve had that discussion before.
Stand over tactics, buy our shit – or land mines.
Leaked diplomatic letters sent from Colombia’s Embassy in Washington describe how a staffer with the Senate Finance Committee, which is led by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, warned of repercussions if Colombia moves forward on approving the cheaper, generic form of a cancer drug.
[…]
In the second letter, after a meeting with Senate Finance Committee International Trade Counsel Everett Eissenstat, Flórez wrote that Eissenstat said that authorizing the generic version would “violate the intellectual property rights” of Novartis. Eissenstat also said that if “the Ministry of Health did not correct this situation, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States and related interest groups could become very vocal and interfere with other interests that Colombia could have in the United States,” according to the letter.
In particular, Flórez expressed a worry that “this case could jeopardize the approval of the financing of the new initiative ‘Peace Colombia.’”
The Obama administration has pledged $450 million for Peace Colombia, which seeks to bring together rebels and the government to end decades of fighting that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and a shattered civil society. These funds will be used for, among other things, removing land mines. The country has the second-highest number of land-mine fatalities in the world, behind only Afghanistan.
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/14/leaks-show-senate-aide-threatened-colombia-over-cheap-cancer-drug/
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/05/april_public_polls-2.html
I’m not sure that the exact numbers are correct but the margin of differences seem about right to me (based on nothing more than a feeling)
How far we’ve fallen, now we appear to be demanding and/or accepting bribes…..
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/80062197/land-sale-approved-after-funding-of-school-ipads-and-laptops
Yeah, that should have had the buyers not pass the good character test as well.
This is how democracy now works (not) in Brazil
https://theintercept.com/2016/05/11/brazils-democracy-to-suffer-grievous-blow-today-as-unelectable-corrupt-neoliberal-is-installed/
illegal overthrow of an elected government again
outright coup d’état
it cannot be allowed to stand
And wikileaks has released doc which show that the new interim president is a US government informant.
Ukraine was allowed to stand.
It was a country brought down by a coup d’état against an elected government.
Venezuela is on the brink after 2 years + of economic sabotage.
America is a rogue state.
The US has been a rogue state ever since the 19th century. It’s never followed international law or anything to with ethics or morals.
@ Draco
“The US has been a rogue state ever since the 19th century.”
It goes back to the 1630’s when the prime export of these colonies was a highly addictive narcotic, nicotine (i.e., tobacco). The colonists realized it would easy to grow tobacco in a lot of other places so they made it a capital offense to export tobacco plants, seeds, or cuttings. “Capital offense” as in, we hang you by the neck until dead!
This was the birth of America’s concept of “monopolistic free trade,” a noble tradition they continue to honor in the TPPA.
Ukraine was always a poor country ineptly run by corrupt politicians and officials. Now it is a destroyed country ineptly run by corrupt politicians and officials.
And the US has successfully convinced Ukraine to cut all its economic ties with Russia. Including all the high tech aerospace and defence components they used to make for Russia.
In exchange the Ukraine now gets to export more fruit to the EU. And IMF overlords insisting that the Ukraine “liberalise” its state assets.
Un-electable ?
He was Roussefs running mate, selected by her. The process stinks but he is a long time leader of Brazils largest party and as Rousseff was in a coalition with other parties compromises are made
Major advance for the US in destabilising the BRICS rival block.
Yes it seems to be the case.
How else could it this way, except in Brazil which the politicians are notoriously corrupt, the President is removed for just a government budget measure.
Having screwed the Middle east, the US gaze turns to South America and uses its underhand methods to upset the democratic apple cart when it favours leftist leaders.
Well, them and their allies.
Amidst predictions of Rousseff’s demise, the mainstream media has consistently downplayed, and occasionally outright ignored, one fact: the social backgrounds of protesters. It is not “the Brazilian people” who are in the streets, but rather a very specific segment of the population whose economic interests are historically opposed to those of the majority. They are largely middle and upper class and, consequently, mainly white. In the 2014 elections they sensed that their time had come to get rid of the PT, only to see their favored candidate, former Minas Gerais PSDB governor Aécio Neves, lose in Brazil’s closest-ever presidential contest. Despite the very real and serious flaws of the current government, this discontent with the PT finds its true source in centuries of elite fear of popular mobilization and a deep resentment of the gains working class people have made since Lula took office in 2003.
https://nacla.org/news/2015/04/09/who%E2%80%99s-protesting-brazil-and-why
The operation known as ‘Car Wash’ (Lava Jato) – which was designed to force Lula to testify – was leaked to the Globo television network in advance so that their helicopter could hover over the former president’s house before the federal police arrived. During the night, Epoca magazine’s editor-in-chief (which belongs to the Globo media network) tweeted about the actions that would take place the following morning. This demonstrated the media’s power to manipulate public opinion with a noticeable coup-driven agenda.
http://newint.org/blog/2016/04/14/brazil-and-its-democracy/
@ dukeofurl
“Having screwed the Middle east, the US gaze turns to South America”
America’s Monroe Doctrine (1823) essentially said, “The Western Hemisphere belongs to us.” From an American foreign policy point of view, the US is simply managing weaker countries that have always belonged to the USA.
(OK, I admit this is a Latin American perspective. The US State Dept. would disagree.)
Love the Natz myth (sarc) about ‘freeing up more land” – yep that old chestnut been saying it for years now, (change the record) but the problem is that there is too many people coming into NZ, not enough building and plenty of land but that does not mean houses!!
Even when they do build the houses are not aimed at Kiwis but at overseas money.
It is the building of the houses that is the problem not the land or resource consents!
Why are they selling off the state houses if they need more affordable housing?
The insane lazy immigration strategy from the Natz so that overseas money can flood into Auckland and hide the major problems in the Natz economic strategy and give them more votes to boot.
P.s If you live in a car can you register to vote? Probably a lot more difficult, win win for the Natz.
It’s not too many people, it’s too much cheap money being sold as debt by our foreign banks. That’s what inflates the bubble. Building more dwellings will not fix it.
A friend of mine says the Chinese can land ready to erect house kits in NZ for $12,000 each. I can’t support this but I do know that mass produced housing units can be built quickly and economically.
We can’t do that. It would cut out the real estate developers who finance National’s elections.
Don’t try and solve the wrong problem. You won’t get anywhere.
The real problem is: not enough $20/hr jobs in the regions.
You are never going to get affordable (less than 4x household income) housing in Auckland. I don’t care if you get a Labour/Greens government in Auckland, they will be able to do nothing to drop median Auckland house prices under $800K. It will keep climbing.
No Government can build the five thousand houses a year in Auckland which is what you will need to even start to make a dent against the city’s projected population growth. And even then all the Government will be doing is taking land which would be used by private developers, hence no net gain in numbers of houses.
Get people out of Auckland. It is the only way.
or lets stop people from moving into auckland?
how about that?
Why does the majority of migrants need to move to Auckland? Why not incentives them to move to the regions and create their ‘investment businesses’ there?
Why force people that have lived in Auckland for many generations, that have paid rates, that have paid taxes here out?
Oh cause you don’t care about the people that already live here?
Is that your problem?
Stop people from moving to AKL for the next 5 – 10 years, unless they have a. a job and b. housing lined up.
And everyone who still then wants to ‘migrate’ to NZ to buy up properties and keep them empty can do that elsewhere.
The unit next to my house has been empty now for 3 years. And there are many thousands of properties in AKL that are kept empty. We would not need to build several thousands of houses desperatly if we could get those that are kept empty for captial gains back on the market as a house for people that actually want to live in it.
Let’s go ahead and do both.
Give people ways to move out of Auckland.
Disincentivise people from moving into Auckland.
People can pick and choose for themselves whether or not they want to stay in Auckland, once you give them a way out.
But let’s stop pretending that Auckland is ever going to make an affordable city to live in if it keeps growing.
It’s great for those on the top 5% of incomes though.
i have advocated for the government – any fucking government – to invest in the region now for the longest time. Here, and elsewhere.
What i have not done, is to call for gutsy people elsewhere to just up their families, leave everything behind that they know and move god knows where to start a new life. You however have asked for that yesterday. Are there any gutsy aucklanders that would move to the Waikato. To do what? What jobs? And not only jobs for the blokes, but jobs for the wifes – cause we like to earn a living too and would love to not be completly depended on a man – jobs for the kids, cause well, eventually they grow into adutls. That alone should see you blush with shame, but i guess that is something you don’t have. How many dairy frm workers just do you think live in Auckland?
I have never pretended that Auckland is going to out build its issues. AS for affordable, you and I have vastly different ideas as to what is affordable then you. I actually don’t have an issue with the house prices in AKL, as they are the same world wide for a city that size.
What i have an issue with, is that the government is not investing in decent humanly build appartment blocks that are not leaking, rotting, fire hazards. What i have an issue with is that a tenancy for six month is legal. Anyone who looks for a place to live will most likely not want to move again in six month. Everyone who wants to rent for less then six month could go rent a motel unit for that long.
I have an issue with people leaving previously tenanted or lived in houses empty cause the Carpet, like that fuckwit Gareth Morgan and others of his ilk.
I have an issue with people buying rental properties and then hear them complain that they actually can’t keep up the maintenance of said rental cause they have no money.
i have an issue with the same house being sold several times over and everytime it does the last family that moved in 4 month ago is again on the streets, and the next tenant will pay an extra 100$ per week on the same house, cause we don’t have no fucking regulations for rentals and no protection for tenants.
So frankly, keep your lets move Aucklanders out away for a moment, and lets have a look at the issues that are, and that more often then no are not caused by the o es living in despair.
Namely no job creation what so ever for decades now in the regions other then cows and wine it seems.
Namely, no houses being build to be in the affordable brackets for tenants that live and work for a certain time in AKL, but might not want to actually buy in Akl.
but that would not be quite as easy as saying, if yer can’t afford it just move out.
People every day in the regions are having to up their lives and move to Auckland to try and get work.
It ain’t exactly a new phenomenon.
Regardless of the value of the ideas you propose to improve rental situations in Auckland, they can never keep up with the pressure that 30,000 to 40,000 population growth per year, for the next 20 years, in the city will create.
Which is where my point comes in. People need avenues to move out of Auckland and people need to be discouraged from moving into Auckland.
At that point, your suggestions about rental controls and government apartment blocks, might have a chance to make an impact.
Even then however, average income earners on $60K pa in Auckland will never own their own home. They will be renters for life, enriching some landlord for life.
Let alone the situation for the majority of Auckland workers who make way less than $60K pa.
But the difference between you and me is that i don’t call for them to do that.
Equally, there are many Aucklanders that have moved or say retired, to Tauranga and other nice places in NZ fucking up house prices there.
Then you have the Aucklanders that have moved overseas. Quite a few actually.
Then you will have those that will sell within the next few month and also move somewhere nice.
Not everyone needs to buy a house. Full stop there. Have a good look at europe and other places and understand than many do not own the house/apartment they live in, but they rent it. At a decent affordable rent, long term – sometimes several decades even. But then the ‘landlords’ overseas don’t participate in a Volkssport called’ Flip a house, fuck over a tenant’ to get rich.
As for affordable, soon working stiffs won’t be able to buy in Wellington, Tauranga, Wellington, CHCH, well i guess they all can just move to a region and start milking cows for a living.
I’ll ignore your smart big city folk diss of the regions.
If people want to spend an hour in traffic day every day instead of with their families, good on em.
I’m betting that people given the choice won’t.
And my point stands – Auckland is going to cross 2M population by 2035, if not before.
Your schemes with government apartment blocks etc cannot keep pace with that, not even close.
As for young Kiwis giving up their dream of owning their own home. If they stay in Auckland, most of them will have to. Unless they luckily have parents ready to put down a $150K deposit for them.
Young people might value a well-paid, engaging career and diverse lifestyle options over the historic allure of owning a quarter-acre. They already know where they will find those choices.
Stopping people moving to our only world-scale city is not going to help NZ’s future prospects. Investing in regional development however is also important. It’s not a zero-sum thing. We can walk and chew gum.
Any government could boldly fix this housing crisis if they thought voters would support it. Unfortunately those who benefit from our current arrangements vote more than than those who don’t. We need leaders competently presenting a better alternative to change that. Where are they?
If New Zealanders won’t, there’s plenty of UK, Hong Kong, Netherlands, US, and South African couples who will sell up at home and move to specific provinces: North Shore, Queenstown, Wanaka, Wairarapa, Bay of Islands.
But then there’s those pesky OIO rules, anti-foreigner policies, immigration hoops.
Therein the regional policy/immigration/land ownership quandary.
And everywhere else. Compulsory purchase of all properties that are vacant for a given amount of time on the basis that they are mere instruments of speculation.
Squatter’s rights! Then there’s no need for wrangling in any court over whether a property was deliberately left empty 😉
There is no rational reason not to have legislation along those lines. But we’re talking ideology; an ideology that is never named or examined by even investigative journalistic pieces.
edit: And life long leases that have provisions for running intergenerationally.
FTFY
CV
“No Government can build the five thousand houses a year in Auckland”
You definitely can. It’s been done elsewhere time and time again. But there was always a powerful sense of urgency, such as a war or natural disaster.
The US has a few dairy woes.
“Billions of pounds of cheese are about to go to waste. Clearly America needs your help”
Americans eat an average of 34 pounds of cheese a year however the cheese surplus is mounting partly due to imported cheese from Europe because of the low Euro.
Warehouses are full of curds that may have to be dumped.
http://www.upworthy.com/billions-of-pounds-of-cheese-are-about-to-go-to-waste-clearly-america-needs-your-help?c=upw1
The free market strikes again.
This is what happens when an economy is driven by profit. You get huge amounts of ‘waste’ that could be used to help people but it’ll be dumped instead because putting it to use will lower profits.
More transparency regarding contracting with the private sector one of the outcomes of the recent UK Anti-Corruption Summit?
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-contracts-to-be-open-to-public-for-the-first-time
The UK Open Government National Action Plan 2016-18 (NAP) sets out 13 commitments on transparency, anti corruption and open government. It also sets out how government is making information clearer, easier to interpret and easier to use.
The commitments include:
● The UK becoming the first G7 country to commit to the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) for contracts administered by a central purchasing authority, the Crown Commercial Service.
This means that the whole process of awarding public sector contracts – from the bidding right through to the building – will be visible to the public for the first time by October 2016.
This will be piloted by High Speed Rail 2.
_________________________
Good.
What’s New Zealand doing?
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
Still hiding them under the BS of ‘commercial sensitivity’. Our politicians don’t seem to have woken up to the fact that a contract between a private firm and the government is with us, the people and that we need to know the details of those contracts.
+ 100
Helen Clark wants the top UN job only if she is considered to be the best person for the job. And that’s the way it should be.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/304049/clark-don't-give-me-un-job-on-gender
Women should be given every assistance to break the ceiling barriers – as it were – but in the final analysis appoint on ability and merit and not gender.
So we are happy that an all male selection panel is ok to determine the merit of female applicant?
The UN P5 isnt all male at the present time.
The US representative is Samatha Power
I find it interesting that Helen wants the top job, but not because she’s a woman, while Hilary wants the top job because she is a woman!
Well, I think Hilary is using her gender. Helen wants it based on her skills.
I know which one I respect the more…
Edit: to be fair they are playing to totally different audiences.
Looking forward to receiving my invitation to this Mayoral debate.
I’m sure my pro-transparency Mayoral policies will receive support from, in my opinion, many decent business people – particularly those who have been unsuccessful in obtaining contracts for services and regulatory functions with Auckland Council and Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs)?
“Business to Put Tough Questions to Auckland Mayoral Candidates
With the countdown now on to local body elections, and the mayoralty of New Zealand’s largest city being hotly contested, three leading business associations want to put the tough questions to Auckland mayoral contenders around how they will deliver more prosperity to the city.
The powerhouse combination of EMA, Auckland Chamber of Commerce and Heart of the City have partnered up to host two Mayoral Debates.
The first in this series is being held on Friday, June 17 and a second debate is planned for Thursday, September 8. Candidates will include Phil Goff, Victoria Crone and Mark Thomas.
The three business focussed organisations want to ensure the needs of Auckland’s businesses are front and centre in the minds of the candidates.
The objective of the debates is to create an opportunity for Auckland businesses to send strong signals about the outcomes they want to see the successful candidate deliver.
All three organisations agree, that the potential of Auckland has to be unlocked and that business wants to see action, not words, from the city’s future leader.”
________________________________________
(And I’m sure my participation will sharpen, and make far more lively, this Mayoral debate, particularly my view that Auckland is already being run ‘like a business, by business FOR business’ and what need is an Auckland region that is ‘people’ – not ‘business’ friendly 🙂
Will these business associations be brave enough to invite me?
(If the Institute of Directors can invite me to a Mayoral debate at the Northern Club – why not? 😉
Penny Bright
2016 Mayoral candidate.
Perhaps invitations are only to rate payers?
Penny’s remora sucker fish Indiana swimming close by.!
Life in the provinces isn’t all bad. I left Auckland twenty years ago, everyone said we would be back after a couple of years but we’re still here. You can buy a very nice house in Whangarei for under $300,000 – close to town and probably with sea views. The wages aren’t as good up here, but they aren’t that bad and there seems to be plenty of work out there for those who want it. The beaches are awesome, the fishing is pretty good and the only time you get a traffic jam is on a friday before a long weekend. If for some strange reason you want to go to Auckland it’s less than 2 hours away.
Sounds about right. I lived in Auckland for five years. Never again.
Two problems, one is that some of us in the provinces don’t want a big influx from Auckland 😉
The other is that Aucklanders migrating out to cheaper places can have the same effect there on house and land prices that wealthy immigrants are having in Auckland. I agree with the general premise that part of Auckland’s problem is too many people want or need to live there. But let’s look at the complexities, not just exporting the problem somewhere else.
i have no problem with your approach lol
This brought a smile to my face…
…so after Alex Salmond has been informed by the ICC that won’t prosecute Blair for a ‘crime of aggression’ – it isn’t within their jurisdiction – up jumps Jim Sillars with a suggestion that the Scottish Parliament pass retrospective legislation so that he can be hauled before the Scottish courts.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14496662.Jim_Sillars__Holyrood_should_pass_a_war_crimes_law_allowing_Tony_Blair_to_be_tried_for_the_Iraq_war/
Now, it won’t happen. But I’m enjoying all the nipping at the heels and the apparent determination to ‘get the bastard’ 🙂
That was such a good read, thanks Bill
Holyrood is a devolved parliament and certainly doesnt have powers to create a war crime law for outside Scotland
These are its restricted areas of legislation
agriculture, forestry and fisheries
education and training
environment
health and social services
housing
law and order( locally)
local government
sport and the arts
tourism and economic development
many aspects of transport.
Scottish Law is separate to the Law in England and Wales – always has been. Tony Blair was the PM of the UK, not just England and Wales. Scotland is a part of the UK and I’d pick that a person governing the UK has to abide by the law as it stands in England and Wales just as much as by the law as it stands in Scotland – when, where and if they are considering something that impacts both north and south of the English-Scottish border.
There won’t be a retrospective law passed, but it would be interesting if there was.
Scottish law may be separate, but Holyrood has limited powers to indroduce new laws,
I would have though the SNP would have bigger problems of its own.
“The English rose leaving SNP marriages in tatters: Two high-profile MPs leave their wives after they BOTH have affair with blonde writer ..”
Scandal and incompetence stalk the SNP
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/oct/11/scandal-and-incompetence-stalk-snp
The voters think they have replaced one party of careerists, philanders and incompetents with another.
Well, I’m picking that Jim Sillars wouldn’t have made the suggestion, and the newspaper wouldn’t have reported the suggestion, and the SNP spokesperson wouldn’t merely have responded that they had no plans to table such a piece of legislation, if that facet of Scottish Law (criminal) was ‘reserved’ (ie -came under the purview of Westminster).
For the world of me I can’t imagine why criminal law would be reserved, but hey…
Since none of the actions of the Iraqi war occurred in Scotland or were planned in Scotland, that would make it a very big ask to make it a domestic law and order issue they can legislate on.
There is also the idea of murder its elf, as Blair never directly participated in the war operations ( unlike US , PM isnt commander in chief) he would have to be prosecuted under the political aspect of war crimes. The Hague hasnt even done anything in that regard as far as I’m aware.
AS for why an SNP MP has raised the issue, the idea that MPs are all knowing, is ludicrous. A grandiose idea in their mind of what they do know and can legislate for is more common. Sillars is exactly such a person.
One other aspect that wouldnt be a problem, is retrospective, as the UKs own War Crimes Act of 1991, which only covered crimes in Europe under german occupation, is clearly retrospective .
Interestingly, that law was one of only a few last century that was passed in spite of the House of Lords rejecting it. ( and probably doomed the hereditary lords who did so.)
As I understand it, only applied to individuals who were now resident in UK, and were participants in particular war crimes during the war.
There have been a few things this I really had a great belly laugh over this year. Larry Wilmore speech at Obama’s last correspondents dinner, was one time. I thought it was up their with Stephen Colbert, and in some ways better for it’s frankness. Now this, sheesh he hit, and he hit hard it seems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_P1rxrD818
Hadn’t seen or heard his speech. So I searched it out (link below). The first 15 minutes were kind of taking no prisoners and I found I didn’t necessarily have to know who he was referring to to ‘get it’ – one very uncomfortable audience, but then it kind of washed out about the point of the Zodiac Killer stuff. (btw – I got the impression that him and Lemon are mates – that wasn’t really a go so much as a jibe you might hear between two mates. Lemon just seems to be laughing “You bastard”. That’s how I took it anyway.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2016/05/01/the-complete-transcript-of-larry-wilmores-2016-white-house-correspondents-dinner-speech/
“Saw you (Obama) hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. That was cool, yeah. You know it kinda makes sense, too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances, right? What? Am I wrong?”
I thought Lemon took it well.
I think it was Wolf Blitzer that was offended.
Yeah love that line.
“Saw you (Obama) hanging out with NBA players like Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors. That was cool. That was cool, yeah. You know it kinda makes sense, too, because both of you like raining down bombs on people from long distances, right? What? Am I wrong?”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79972497/national-treasure-discovered-under-cromwell-museum-stairwell
Not a political story at all, just one I thought was quite interesting
Hi puckish rogue, is it you who’s the gamer? I was just thinking Uncharted 4 when I saw that story earlier, very nice.
I don’t play a huge amount of games but I tend to play a select few games a lot, (Saints Row series, Skyrim and Fallout are my go to games) and I’m so hanging out for the release of Far Harbour on the 19th
But yeah it makes you wonder what else is stashed in museums around that area and if other items are out in the open and no ones noticed them
Theres a crap load hidden away in Museums, there’s something like only 10% of the collection on display at any one time so I heard from a curator once, & thats just the documented stuff.
Yeah ploughing my way through Fall Out 4, I def recommend Uncharted 4, will have a look at Far Harbour, I am relatively new at these things but totally hooked!
I would like to get other games but if I did it would sit on around for ages before I started playing it, I tend to focus on one game until I get sick of it then switch to another
10% is optimistic.
Filing systems take a lot less space than display cabinents. But accredited folk who can be trusted (relatively speaking) to not drop the exhibits or cover them in toffee can usually get access for research purposes.
And most museums and galleries create different public display collections over time, both to get people through the door and to illuminate different aspects and events for the regular patrons.
But also these days there’s a trend towards turning museums into theme parks mostly aimed at kids.
But also these days there’s a trend towards turning museums into theme parks mostly aimed at kids
– That’s true, its hard to find the balancing line between making something interesting and dumbing it down.
I haven’t been to Te Papa for a while but last time I was there it seemed to be more infomercial, hands on rather than informative
I think the Otago Early Settlers Museum has go the balance right though
Otago Museum has this huge sword collection that hasn’t been displayed in years, its bloody impressive.
Re: games, yeah pr I am the same, I can only play a handful of games, the Star Wars is a good dumb online free-for-all shoot ’em up, Fall Out 4 is freakin’ hard & a total mindf*ck that takes up all my concentration, I am still at the top of the map so it’s slow going (though my settlement is healthy & safe), but Uncharted 4 is a great treasure hunt adventure like Indiana Jones & it grooves along at a cracking pace & the online version is just mean! I am really wanting some kinda WW2 game but so far not found any for the PS4. Better than movies!
A game like Skyrim (the closest I’ve come to D & D in tone) can make me spend all day on my bed just playing the game, it really does take me away
Saves me money as well!
Sins of a Solar Empire Rebellion with the Star Trek Armada 3 total mod…for all you avid Trekkies out there 😉
Far Cry Primal gets good press – I’m into Mount & Blade atm.
Cool, will have to check them out too, ta.
Otago museum’s sword display (not collection, haven’t seen the full thing) really pissed me off the last few times I swung by (haven’t been in a few years, though). There was a little note basically saying that violence is bad but part of history, sorry we have to show this stuff, and a couple of dozen swords were hung up with no arrangement and little information.
Thing is, there was one piece from most eras and most regions across the globe, and if you knew where/when they were from you could actually trace the drift of design elements e.g. from Greece to Persia to India to China, and back the other way. It just seemed such a waste – I really like shit like that, where it really brings the world together and provdes context through the pieces themselves.
re: WW2 games, I read today that the latest Battlefield iteration is set in WW1. Might be interesting, although apparently one clip from the advertising showed a guy in a suit of armour hip-firing an MG that weight 20kilos in real life. Possible big-boss bs.
Well hopefully it’ll be reasonably historically accurate at least (machine gun carrying aside)
Oh my goodness Mcflock that new Battlefield looks incredible, cheers for that, will keep an eye out for it! & going to check out Skyrim too, heard a lot about but will have a look.
Guardian is for all the international justice warriors por la Revolucion. Of course, they love stories like this. The paper thrives upon their readers’ bleeding hearts.
[BLiP: Attack the messenger diversion. Moved to Open Mike. First and last warning.]
Wow. Just wow.
well – im glad your here to solve things
You’re welcome, товарищ Фраму.
Ah, that explains it. You’ve been cowering in your backyard shelter for thirty years.
homeless needs to park there cars on john keys street nice wide verges for the tents there also nice park area at the end of his road
Pretty harsh McFlock, clinging like a limpet to a rock under a sledgehammer might not be Survival Plan A.
Not harsh at all. You want people to abandon weekly visitation with their kids (because the ex doesn’t want to move) and try to relocate their parents simply on the offchance of getting better paying work elsewhere in the country.
Economic migration is the product of economic desperation multiplied by the inverse of social integration. “Social integration” is the concept that seems alien to you, but most humans experience it to greater or lesser degrees.
Are you funking serious? You advocate ghettoising and call it social integration. Keep all the lumps in one place eh. Your bogus garbled ‘equation’ is meaningless. What exactly do a homeless family owe to a social ‘network’ that has failed them?
How does “not moving town” equal “ghettoising”?
And social connections aren’t always about what material benefits you can get out of them. By now I’m well aware that this confuses you.