“I heard [councillor] Chris Darby equate our situation to buying a meal at a restaurant and being asked to pay extra for cutlery. I’d say it’s more accurate to say it’s like paying for a combo from McDonald’s, then being asked to pay extra for the fries and drink.”
Walker suggested the Jansens add a 15-day due diligence clause into the contract so they could find out a bit more. But Jonathan says Imperial was reluctant to put in a due diligence clause, so their lawyer talked again about red flags. She advised them to pull out of the deal.
But they had fallen in love with the house. Jonathan says they agreed to scratch the due diligence clause, but asked to see the plans for the house.
Imperial agreed, but Jonathan says they didn’t receive anything extra.
“So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.”
Then the consultant contacted them again. Jonathan says Imperial told them it was upgrading the flooring from carpet and tiles to laminate because they knew the couple had a dog.
Thanks but no thanks, said Jonathan. They’d stick with the carpet and tiles, which they reckoned were worth more than laminate anyway.
“[She] called three hours later and said someone else was interested in the house. Another family had come in and talked to the director directly, she told us, and those people were happy with the laminate flooring.
“She said the company had already ordered the laminate and she sent us a new quote — up from $44,000 to $48,000 to incorporate the $4000 ‘upgrade’ to laminate.”
A, This situation is the Developer getting squeezed and creating an out.
When we built in the 70s the homeowner had 12 mths to create fences driveways etc.
We just got a 1200 square foot home, bare boards on the floor, lighting we had up graded and that was it. Progress payments assisted in meeting dead lines.
It could be said their developer was using two sets of documents…. one for Council and a variation for the customer…fraud? misleading the Council? Very tricky.
The rules that a developer had to comply with to enable an SHA were specific, and the price level for a finished home was set at the time of the consent being issued.
“sold for no more than 75 per cent of the Auckland region median house price.”
The developer has “Managed” this to comply (??) – and with the extras does the development still comply with the SHA requirements ? Possibly Not. But who will follow up on this ?and it becomes another case of a developer not acting with any integrity, but getting away with it, and profiting. https://www.thefirsthomebuyersclub.co.nz/finding-a-house/special-housing-areas-auckland/
““So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.” – Perhaps the IRD should have a wee look to make sure that everything from a tax position has been accounted for correctly. As it appears from the story, the couple signed away many of the protections that were in place, and the developer was able to use the situation to max. their interest.
Reflecting on the events yesterday regarding CGT, and a lot of the views on here that this was a politically savvy play – I’m not so convinced. I do think that electioneering and the debates in the lead up to an election play quite a significant role in election success. At the moment, National’s talking points will focus on the fact that key election promises made by Labour have either been a failure or dropped. Kiwibuild (currently failing), 1st year free education (expensive, and not showing great stimulus to student numbers), and now CGT dumped (showing that the tail i.e. Winston is wagging the dog). Aside from Jacinda’s handling of Christchurch events, Labour doesn’t have many wins on the board. Labour needs policy wins! The current love in the polls will only last so long..and who knows what sweeteners National will offer NZF to jump ship.
Weekend warrior, it has been stated by National that student numbers haven;t increased. correct…less from overseas. NZ students have increased, especially in teaching by a fifth, and trades are picking up.
So the construction sector and the government need to work together to sort the sector out….
This is clearly yet further evidence of the failure of the free market and neoliberal policies.
Like the finance sector
Like the mining sector
Like the housing sector
Like the farming sector
How much more evidence is needed before everyone realises that free market policies require very careful implementation given their propensity for disastrous outcomes.
Imagine trying to apply it to health???
Or education???
Or housing??… oh wait, it has been and the outcome is a disaster leading to lower home ownership, not increased..
Or employment?? … oh wait, it has been but the employers don’t like it when the demand-supply equation they all voted for works against them, so squeal and cry to nanny state for intervention.
It’s a balancing act. Too little regulation and you get all the outcomes neoliberalism has delivered us since the 80’s. Too much and you stifle risk and innovation, everything slowly stagnates and dies. Understanding this balance is not easy.
A healthy market needs a diversity of players with different appetites for risk. One of the more attractive models that we know works, is that the state should act as the stodgy, low risk, ‘provider of last resort’ across a range of industries.
The desirable fraction of state involvement varies by industry. Health and education are both long term, high stakes industries where the state already has a dominant position. Corner stores and car dealers much less so. Others like housing and insurance the state has a clear role in providing a ‘floor’ in the market below which no other private provider can fall and stay in business.
We already do this to a large extent; we just need to start thinking about it more strategically.
But this government needs to show that it is a pro-market-regulation government.
At the moment its strongest intervention is with wads of poorly-designed cash handouts in the form of a $3 billion slush fund. The regulation is so bad that government oversight agencies are putting the hard ruler over them.
The Chorus mess with oppressive contracts is a direct responsibility of the government through Crown Fibre Holdings, such that MBIE are stepping in much harder.
Waikato Hospital Hospital Board is about to be sacked.
They are proposing to re-regulate the entire secondary school industry, polytech industry, justice industry, and many more in the public arena, before we start getting to their woolly ideas on construction “cooperation”.
There is no common strategy, theme, legislative direction, or collective purpose to any of it. It’s pretty incoherent.
Andre
That little comment dripping with malice. It doesn’t add anything to the discourse or the gathering of facts about Assange. Comes under the old saying that if you haven’t got something that adds usefully to the conversation, don’t say anything. This is a positive input because it is necessary for us to aim at striking a good balance of discussion so we don’t become a little den of gossip, innuendo and slanging matches. The TS needs to be better than that.
It’s good you think it good that he is anyone’s hero.
He is certainly one of Roger Water’s hero’s as he says in this interview
“The most important information, that we, Julians Assange’s fellow citizens of the globe need, is information about the secret malfeasance and wrong doing of government, which are legend”
<i>Good to know he is one of your heros. 4.1.2</i> I suggest that your attacks against Assange are not reasonable. But that is not disappointing – it is your expected common theme. You often sharply defend your personal compatriots so you tcarry that through to refer to an 'unnecessary attack' from me to Andre. Andre is quite capable of answering for himself.
It seems that you are trying to limit free speech except for your own. i think it is malicious of Andre to equate Assange with Slater. That is a reasonable view and you have no right to take me to task over it. Don't play the superior pedagogue with me.
“Protesters target Jeremy Corbyn on day three of Extinction Rebellion”
and then later on
“A few hours later, four protesters glued their hands together and chained themselves to a fence outside Corbyn’s house, saying he was “the best hope this country has got” to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, adding that they were there to “support him” to go further.”
It’s when you realise that the media do this ALL the damn time that you begin to understand the problem we have.
The media have an important role in society; well above any commercial consideration. They are like the eyes and ears of our societies, and when they mislead us we are all in deep trouble.
Thanks for that fransesca. People here who read the Guardian have been very critical of it. I looked at it and kept finding good stuff. Then someone noted their peculiar biases here and there and I think one was Jeremy Corbyn. That heading you quote is a blatant, naked example. Headline porn.
Yes it is misleading but why do it?
Maybe they hate corbyn or they follow the agenda given to them
A big part I think is that imo they are money hungry capitalists that want to sell something to make more money and misleading headlines, which drag people into see wtf, are just a crude technique among many that they use. This example you put up shows how they can twist the whole thing around to mean the opposite whilst technically also being correct. Clever little shits alright.
Back in the ’90s I had a pub in a small town.
One Saturday evening 3 brothers came in, 2 were under age. They were asked to leave.
On their way out, 2 of them assaulted a young kitchen hand, a boy who didn’t get a chance to fight back. He was highly disinclined to raise his voice or his fists.
Front page news on Monday: ‘Teens fighting in local bar’, article went on to name pub and make a few assertions. We didn’t get contacted or questioned.
Contacted editor and three days later on page 5 a wee correction.
It can work the other way, though – years ago I ended up fronting to the local journo for a project I was running (just a wee thing, nothing earth shattering). I was a young chap and had no fucking idea about the usual patter one says in such articles.
The journo needed some copy anyway, so asked questions like “would you say that it’s been well received by people in a variety of circumstances?” and “what about it’s contribution to [issue], would you regard it as being a convenient anchor point for [group]?”.
Reading the published article, the others involved thought I’d done really well in the interview – I had so many eloquent quotes lol 🙂
I’ve been labeled a “sub-optimal person” by a Kiwiblogger.
Yesterday I returned to Kiwiblog after a six week absence. My first comment was a brief driveby shot at the infamous Double Dipper from Dipton. It didn’t go down well….
Morrissey….harden up. You know very well that Farrar’s Ferals don’t play nice, yet off you go….
The whole moderation thing is very, very new over there, give them time. They have had carte blanche since, well, forever. They are still straining against the ropes.
I do recall a few bans for behaviour. Can’t recall banning you for being sub-optimal. Going deliberate diversion off the topic of a post was always your thing.
So much for the free speech fetishists on The Daily Blog. If your criticism against Trotter or Bradbury is too trenchant it will never never seethe light of day
I posted a critical rebuttal to one of Trotter’s blogpost and it vanished
I wouldn’t panic too much Mjolnir. There has been lots of traffic over at TDB and all comments go into moderation, so there could very well be a delay.
Trotter, Bradbury, Macskasy ….they all wear big boy pants now and can cope with strong criticism.
I’ve had a few go down the memory hole, which is one reason I hardly ever comment there now. If your comment is one that would be difficult for Bradbury to rebut, it just never appears.
No doubt there’ll be many learnings going forwid from the Wellington bus fiasco @ grey, the proposed solutions which will probably do SFA to solve anything.
They’re thinking of sacking the Waikato DHB board.
The GRWCouncillors ? yea nah 18 monthgs onward – letalone the ‘officials’ that came up with this bugger’s muddle in the first place.
And then there’s WCC’s involvement which I pick they’ll get away with by shifting blame.
And even if and when they do manage to get things back to some semblance of order, they’ve fucked things up SO badly that it’s going to take some serious persuasion to get a certain demographic to go back to catching buses.
( If you’re one of two from a household, catching an Uber is now just as cheap or fuck-all more expensive for door to door service, and at a time of your choosing ).
Accountability???? There’ll be none
There’s actually a shitload of blame to go around, and it isn’t just Laidlaw and his cronies (elected and/or ensconced in GWRC), but it’s also WCC cronies (elected and ensconced) too.
It’ll be interesting to see who ekshully has the cheek to stand come election time. I hope they put their hands up soon so they can be publicly challenged.
A punk legend in action for 50+ years! Oh bless. Only on RT of course – straight from the propaganda factory. “Westwood: I’ll get Assange out of the embassy”
What do other people do, how do they manage their part of the world? With a less complicated economy and one not dominated by the world system, can a workable system arise? On Yap they have operated their system using stones for currency.. Which reminds us that money is symbolic, and imbued with our ideas of agreed value.
Looking at Yap a small island, now a group, in the North Pacific nearish to Guam a USA military base. Apparently the Chinese will change their tourism from about 4,000 over years by erecting a resort with 4,000 units on the island? End of
culture and simple autonomy to complicated slavery I think with some modern
gew-gaws that alienate the youngsters from the elders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap#Economy
I think more cults will spring up as more people kept pushed to the fringes and to constantly have to search for stability and a settled life that enables a decent standard of living.
“A Hastings principal has slammed an increasing number of parents taking kids on holiday during term time, arguing it could ruin their kids’ and the school’s future results.
St John’s College principal Paul Melloy, who is currently in Chile on a tour with the school’s first XV rugby team…”
The housing market is overpriced, and I am hearing that leases for small businesses are over-valued. The country is riding for a fall, and the rock star will smash his guitar on stage before long. High rents, the people in the rentier game are squeezing the people actually doing the yakka that earns our country’s living. What are we going to do about being hollowed out by these modern aristocrats? A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood? We need businesses to keep going, we need employment, the ability to buy things or enjoyment. We may need to live more simply but can we have a decent standard of living.
But small businesses are having trouble keeping going, big overseas names are flooding in to soak up any money we have spare. The rents are getting too high everywhere. The greed of people with a lot of money is growing. The present economic system is unsustainable madness. What a contrast between the ultra-high income and the ordinary business owner earning what an ordinary person needs.
One of the country’s top chefs, Bosley retired from restaurants after his Wellington eatery Martin Bosley’s Yacht Club went into liquidation in 2014.
“When I opened my restaurant my main courses were $35, I sat 60 people and my rent was just over $40,000.
“When I closed it 13 years later, I still sat 60 people, my main courses were now $45 but my rent was now over $100,000 a year.”
With rents so high, Bosley said meals were essentially being “subsidised” by restaurant owners.
“If you’re a diner right now, this is the best time to be dining.”..
Restaurant Association president Mike Egan estimated the average margin was between three and five per cent for most restaurants. ,,,
Egan said the recent minimum wage rise had left businesses scrambling to cut costs before it hit their bottom line.
As of April 1, the minimum wage was $17.70 an hour.
“A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood?”
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here – the Mongols were not at all keen on bloodshed either, and Genghis was a master of a kind of democratic decision making.
dead right.The OPEX of doing business in NZ is way out of kilter.
Supposedly the free market will correct that.
.A small domestic market with increased competition should be good for the consumer but the reality is the BIG guy with BIG capital can access offshore product and undercut the local and just like the demise of the Made in NZ auto market ,all other high involvement retail will be taken over by the cheapest alternative…eventually.
Whanau Eco Maori has been on the Gisborne man sandflys radar for a few years now they thought my great grandfather was Eco Maori he died in a work accident ???????? ,
My uncle he was a church going man to the state got a hold of him he died they target 2 other males who lived in my great grandmothers house thinking they were Eco Maori .The sandflys now know the target they have been looking for in the last 50 years is ME Eco Maori they are scared of Eco Maori
Our enviroment is what keeps US alive and we are poisioning it fast.
I have said these words before what would happen if you let a child eat what it wants say chocolate well that child would soon become obeast become sick with deibetes many bad thinks would happen to the child and if not corrected the child would die.
Papatuanuku is the same if we keep pumping chemicals into OUR enviroment we are causing our world to become sick if we don’t stop it we will be in the SHIT.
Another story the 00.1 % ARE like a BABY with chocolate with there money the keep wanting more and won’t share fairly they are getting sick on there overindalgence in MONEY they want more and more even if there actions are killing mother earth and our grandchildrens future we the 99.9 have to become the rulers of the world and teach the ruleing class the correct way to behave love thy neighbour respect thy neighbour forgive thy neighbour share with thy neigbour respect for our past our tipuna respect for OUR FUTURE
The report presents a sobering summary of a country starkly different from the ‘Pure New Zealand’ marketing campaign. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
A report on the state of New Zealand’s environment has painted a bleak picture of catastrophic biodiversity loss, polluted waterways and the destructive rise of the dairy industry and urban sprawl.
Environment Aotearoa is the first major environmental report in four years, and was compiled using data from Statistics New Zealand and the environment ministry.
It presents a sobering summary of a country that is starkly different from the pristine landscape promoted in the “Pure New Zealand” marketing campaign that lures millions of tourists every year.
It found New Zealand is now considered one of the most invaded countries in the world, with 75 animal and plant species having gone extinct since human settlement. The once-vibrant bird life has fared particularly badly, with 90% of seabirds and 80% of shorebirds threatened with or at risk of extinction.
‘Their birthright is being lost’: New Zealanders fret over polluted rivers
Almost two-thirds of New Zealand’s rare ecosystems are under threat of collapse, and over the last 15 years the extinction risk worsened for 86 species, compared with the conservation status of just 26 species improving in the past 10 years.
It amazes me why they would not let Maori build on Marae land why would our culture get to strong.
The government has announced it will build six homes at Tuahiwi marae near Kaiapoi, and will repair sixty houses in the region.
It’s a welcome move for Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga chair Arapata Reuben, who has lived in the small pā at Tuahiwi for 25 years. He spent his childhood there and said the new papakāinga development is major.
“For me, it means that all of my children can live next to me,” he said.
“I have already passed over my lands to them already which means they can now build on their whenua next to their mum and dad, they can grow up and raise their children.
“They all want to live at the pā. They know what it is like to be [raised] at the pā. They see their life being the pā.”
Mr Reuben said local government had restricted the building of houses on the pā for decades. Local Māori fought for more than 10 years to lift the restrictions, which eventually happened in 2015 through the post earthquake Canterbury Emergency Act. Ka kite ano links below P.S I loaded that post above 3 hours ago it just loaded ten mins ago and I had to rewrite this post the sandflys are shitting them selves they cannot put Eco Maori back.
Kia ora Newshub.
If you go into a animal whare house you have to show respect for the animals and keep the tamariki safe.
The trump investergating was a sham I have heaps of facts to link to that statement.
Eco Maori says Rotorua is a great destination to have a holiday the place is booked out enjoying a booming tourist season.?
I say that exercise any time is good the producers boggle me mind YEA IGHT
GUIDE horse in Britain that’s a novelty lol.
Kia kaha Ka extinction Protesters I have said the leftys need to harden up.
I don’t use Facebook had a look.
Fejoe problems with a moth larvae there was a problem with them last year to.
Don’t like having a beard just have time to keep the hair tidy let alone cleaning and brushing a beard each to their own my son has a good beard.
Hydrogen cars will be a rich person toy the common people will drive battery elictric car’s. Ka kite ano P.S my Mokopuna take up my time
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Hi,If you’re a New Zealander — you know who Mike King is. He is the face of New Zealand’s battle against mental health problems. He can be loud and brash. He raises, and is entrusted with, a lot of cash. Last year his “I Am Hope” charity reported a revenue ...
Probably about the only consolation available from yesterday’s unveiling of the Half-Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) is that it could have been worse. Though Finance Minister Nicola Willis has tightened the screws on future government spending, she has resisted the calls from hard-line academics, fiscal purists and fiscal hawks ...
The right have a stupid saying that is only occasionally true:When is democracy not democracy? When it hasn’t been voted on.While not true in regards to branches of government such as the judiciary, it’s a philosophy that probably should apply to recently-elected local government councillors. Nevertheless, this concept seemed to ...
Long story short: the Government’s austerity policy has driven the economy into a deeper and longer recession that means it will have to borrow $20 billion more over the next four years than it expected just six months ago. Treasury’s latest forecasts show the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s fiscal strategy of ...
Come and join myself and CTU Chief Economist for a pop-up ‘Hoon’ webinar on the Government’s Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU) with paying subscribers to The Kākā for 30 minutes at 5 pm today.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream to watch our chat. Don’t worry if ...
In 1998, in the wake of the Paremoremo Prison riot, the Department of Corrections established the "Behaviour Management Regime". Prisoners were locked in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, with no fresh air, no exercise, no social contact, no entertainment, and in some cases no clothes and ...
New data released by the Treasury shows that the economic policies of this Government have made things worse in the year since they took office, said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney. “Our fiscal indicators are all heading in the wrong direction – with higher levels of debt, a higher deficit, and ...
At the 2023 election, National basically ran on a platform of being better economic managers. So how'd that turn out for us? In just one year, they've fucked us for two full political terms: The government's books are set to remain deeply in the red for the near term ...
AUSTERITYText within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedMy spreadsheet insists This pain leads straight to glory (File not found) Read more ...
The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi are saying that the Government should do the right thing and deliver minimum wage increases that don’t see workers fall further behind, in response to today’s announcement that the minimum wage will only be increased by 1.5%, well short of forecast inflation. “With inflation forecast ...
Oh, I weptFor daysFilled my eyesWith silly tearsOh, yeaBut I don'tCare no moreI don't care ifMy eyes get soreSongwriters: Paul Rodgers / Paul Kossoff. Read more ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob HensonIn this aerial view, fingers of meltwater flow from the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier descending from the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024, near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the ...
In August, I wrote an article about David Seymour1 with a video of his testimony, to warn that there were grave dangers to his Ministry of Regulation:David Seymour's Ministry of Slush Hides Far Greater RisksWhy Seymour's exorbitant waste of taxpayers' money could be the least of concernThe money for Seymour ...
Willis is expected to have to reveal the bitter fiscal fruits of her austerity strategy in the HYEFU later today. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/TheKakaMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, December 17 in The Kākā’s Dawn Chorus podcast ...
On Friday the government announced it would double the number of toll roads in New Zealand as well as make a few other changes to how toll roads are used in the country. The real issue though is not that tolling is being used but the suggestion it will make ...
The Prime Minister yesterday engaged in what looked like a pre-emptive strike designed to counter what is likely to be a series of depressing economic statistics expected before the end of the week. He opened his weekly post-Cabinet press conference with a recitation of the Government’s achievements. “It certainly has ...
This whooping cough story from south Auckland is a good example of the coalition government’s approach to social need – spend money on urging people to get vaccinated but only after you’ve cut the funding to where they could get vaccinated. This has been the case all year with public ...
And if there is a GodI know he likes to rockHe likes his loud guitarsHis spiders from MarsAnd if there is a GodI know he's watching meHe likes what he seesBut there's trouble on the breezeSongwriter: William Patrick Corgan Read more ...
Here’s a quick round up of today’s political news:1. MORE FOOD BANKS, CHARITIES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHELTERS AND YOUTH SOCIAL SERVICES SET TO CLOSE OR SCALE BACK AROUND THE COUNTRY AS GOVT CUTS FUNDINGSome of Auckland's largest foodbanks are warning they may need to close or significantly reduce food parcels after ...
Iain Rennie, CNZMSecretary and Chief Executive to the TreasuryDear Secretary, Undue restrictions on restricted briefings This week, the Treasury barred representatives from four organisations, including the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi, from attending the restricted briefing for the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update. We had been ...
This is a guest post by Tim Adriaansen, a community, climate, and accessibility advocate.I won’t shut up about climate breakdown, and whenever possible I try to shift the focus of a climate conversation towards solutions. But you’ll almost never hear me give more than a passing nod to ...
A grassroots backlash has forced a backdown from Brown, but he is still eyeing up plenty of tolls for other new roads. And the pressure is on Willis to ramp up the Government’s austerity strategy. Photo: Getty ImagesMōrena. Long stories short, the six things that matter in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
Hi all,I'm pretty overwhelmed by all your messages and emails today; thank you so very much.As much as my newsletter this morning was about money, and we all need to earn money, it was mostly about world domination if I'm honest. 😉I really hate what’s happening to our country, and ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 8, 2024 thru Sat, December 14, 2024. Listing by Category Like last week's summary this one contains the list of articles twice: based on categories and based on ...
I started writing this morning about Hobson’s Pledge, examining the claims they and their supporters make, basically ripping into them. But I kept getting notifications coming through, and not good ones.Each time I looked up, there was another un-subscription message, and I felt a bit sicker at the thought of ...
Once, long before there was Harry and Meghan and Dodi and all those episodes of The Crown, they came to spend some time with us, Charles and Diana. Was there anyone in the world more glamorous than the Princess of Wales?Dazzled as everyone was by their company, the leader of ...
The collective right have a problem.The entire foundation for their world view is antiscientific. Their preferred economic strategies have been disproven. Their whole neoliberal model faces accusations of corporate corruption and worsening inequality. Climate change not only definitely exists, its rapid progression demands an immediate and expensive response in order ...
Just ten days ago, South Korea's president attempted a self-coup, declaring martial law and attempting to have opposition MPs murdered or arrested in an effort to seize unconstrained power. The attempt was rapidly defeated by the national assembly voting it down and the people flooding the streets to defend democracy. ...
Hi,“What I love about New Zealanders is that sometimes you use these expressions that as Americans we have no idea what those things mean!"I am watching a 30-something year old American ramble on about how different New Zealanders are to Americans. It’s his podcast, and this man is doing a ...
What Chris Penk has granted holocaust-denier and equal-opportunity-bigot Candace Owens is not “freedom of speech”. It’s not even really freedom of movement, though that technically is the right she has been granted. What he has given her is permission to perform. Freedom of SpeechIn New Zealand, the right to freedom ...
All those tears on your cheeksJust like deja vu flow nowWhen grandmother speaksSo tell me a story (I'll tell you a story)Spell it out, I can't hear (What do you want to hear?)Why you wear black in the morning?Why there's smoke in the air? Songwriter: Greg Johnson.Mōrena all ☀️Something a ...
National has only been in power for a year, but everywhere you look, its choices are taking New Zealand a long way backwards. In no particular order, here are the National Government's Top 50 Greatest Misses of its first year in power. ...
The Government is quietly undertaking consultation on the dangerous Regulatory Standards Bill over the Christmas period to avoid too much attention. ...
The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...
The Ministry of Regulation’s report into Early Childhood Education (ECE) in Aotearoa raises serious concerns about the possibility of lowering qualification requirements, undermining quality and risking worse outcomes for tamariki, whānau, and kaiako. ...
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...
Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...
Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick has today launched a Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as the All Out For Gaza rally reaches Parliament. ...
After years of advocacy, the Green Party is very happy to hear the Government has listened to our collective voices and announced the closure of the greyhound racing industry, by 1 August 2026. ...
In response to a new report from ERO, the Government has acknowledged the urgent need for consistency across the curriculum for Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in schools. ...
The Green Party is appalled at the Government introducing legislation that will make it easier to penalise workers fighting for better pay and conditions. ...
Thank you for the invitation to speak with you tonight on behalf of the political party I belong to - which is New Zealand First. As we have heard before this evening the Kinleith Mill is proposing to reduce operations by focusing on pulp and discontinuing “lossmaking paper production”. They say that they are currently consulting on the plan to permanently shut ...
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick, has written to Mayor Wayne Brown requesting he stop the unnecessary delays on St James Theatre’s restoration. ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says Health New Zealand will move swiftly to support dozens of internationally-trained doctors already in New Zealand on their journey to employment here, after a tripling of sought-after examination places. “The Medical Council has delivered great news for hardworking overseas doctors who want to contribute ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has appointed Sarah Ottrey to the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). “At my first APEC Summit in Lima, I experienced firsthand the role that ABAC plays in guaranteeing political leaders hear the voice of business,” Mr Luxon says. “New Zealand’s ABAC representatives are very well respected and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced four appointments to New Zealand’s intelligence oversight functions. The Honourable Robert Dobson KC has been appointed Chief Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, and the Honourable Brendan Brown KC has been appointed as a Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants. The appointments of Hon Robert Dobson and Hon ...
Improvements in the average time it takes to process survey and title applications means housing developments can progress more quickly, Minister for Land Information Chris Penk says. “The government is resolutely focused on improving the building and construction pipeline,” Mr Penk says. “Applications to issue titles and subdivide land are ...
The Government’s measures to reduce airport wait times, and better transparency around flight disruptions is delivering encouraging early results for passengers ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Improving the efficiency of air travel is a priority for the Government to give passengers a smoother, more reliable ...
The Government today announced the intended closure of the Apollo Hotel as Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) in Rotorua, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. This follows a 30 per cent reduction in the number of households in CEH in Rotorua since National came into Government. “Our focus is on ending CEH in the Whakarewarewa area starting ...
The Government will reshape vocational education and training to return decision making to regions and enable greater industry input into work-based learning Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds says. “The redesigned system will better meet the needs of learners, industry, and the economy. It includes re-establishing regional polytechnics that ...
The Government is taking action to better manage synthetic refrigerants and reduce emissions caused by greenhouse gases found in heating and cooling products, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Regulations will be drafted to support a product stewardship scheme for synthetic refrigerants, Ms. Simmonds says. “Synthetic refrigerants are found in a ...
People travelling on State Highway 1 north of Hamilton will be relieved that remedial works and safety improvements on the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway were finished today, with all lanes now open to traffic, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“I would like to acknowledge the patience of road users ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister, Penny Simmonds, has announced a new appointment to the board of Education New Zealand (ENZ). Dr Erik Lithander has been appointed as a new member of the ENZ board for a three-year term until 30 January 2028. “I would like to welcome Dr Erik Lithander to the ...
The Government will have senior representatives at Waitangi Day events around the country, including at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, but next year Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has chosen to take part in celebrations elsewhere. “It has always been my intention to celebrate Waitangi Day around the country with different ...
Two more criminal gangs will be subject to the raft of laws passed by the Coalition Government that give Police more powers to disrupt gang activity, and the intimidation they impose in our communities, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. Following an Order passed by Cabinet, from 3 February 2025 the ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Justice Christian Whata as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Whata’s appointment as a Judge of the Court of Appeal will take effect on 1 August 2025 and fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Hon Justice David Goddard on ...
The latest economic figures highlight the importance of the steps the Government has taken to restore respect for taxpayers’ money and drive economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Data released today by Stats NZ shows Gross Domestic Product fell 1 per cent in the September quarter. “Treasury and most ...
Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Minister of Education David Seymour today announced legislation changes to strengthen freedom of speech obligations on universities. “Freedom of speech is fundamental to the concept of academic freedom and there is concern that universities seem to be taking a more risk-averse ...
Police Minister, Mark Mitchell, and Internal Affairs Minister, Brooke van Velden, today launched a further Public Safety Network cellular service that alongside last year’s Cellular Roaming roll-out, puts globally-leading cellular communications capability into the hands of our emergency responders. The Public Safety Network’s new Cellular Priority service means Police, Wellington ...
State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge has officially reopened today, providing a critical link for Northlanders and offering much-needed relief ahead of the busy summer period, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“The Mangamuka Gorge is a vital route for Northland, carrying around 1,300 vehicles per day and connecting the Far ...
The Government has welcomed decisions by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and Ashburton District Council confirming funding to boost resilience in the Canterbury region, with construction on a second Ashburton Bridge expected to begin in 2026, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Delivering a second Ashburton Bridge to improve resilience and ...
The Government is backing the response into high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in Otago, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says. “Cabinet has approved new funding of $20 million to enable MPI to meet unbudgeted ongoing expenses associated with the H7N6 response including rigorous scientific testing of samples at the enhanced PC3 ...
Legislation that will repeal all advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and public holidays has passed through first reading in Parliament today, Media Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “As a growing share of audiences get their news and entertainment from streaming services, these restrictions have become increasingly redundant. New Zealand on ...
Today the House agreed to Brendan Horsley being appointed Inspector-General of Defence, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Mr Horsley’s experience will be invaluable in overseeing the establishment of the new office and its support networks. “He is currently Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, having held that role since June 2020. ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the final regulations for the levy on insurance contracts that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand from July 2026. “Earlier this year the Government agreed to a 2.2 percent increase to the rate of levy. Fire ...
The Government is delivering regulatory relief for New Zealand businesses through changes to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. “The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Amendment Bill, which was introduced today, is the second Bill – the other being the Statutes Amendment Bill - that ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed further progress on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway Road of National Significance (RoNS), with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board approving funding for the detailed design of Stage 1, paving the way for main works construction to begin in late 2025.“The Government is moving at ...
The Government today released a request for information (RFI) to seeking interest in partnerships to plant trees on Crown-owned land with low farming and conservation value (excluding National Parks) Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced. “Planting trees on Crown-owned land will drive economic growth by creating more forestry jobs in our regions, providing more wood ...
Court timeliness, access to justice, and improving the quality of existing regulation are the focus of a series of law changes introduced to Parliament today by Associate Minister of Justice Nicole McKee. The three Bills in the Regulatory Systems (Justice) Amendment Bill package each improve a different part of the ...
A total of 41 appointments and reappointments have been made to the 12 community trusts around New Zealand that serve their regions, Associate Finance Minister Shane Jones says. “These trusts, and the communities they serve from the Far North to the deep south, will benefit from the rich experience, knowledge, ...
The Government has confirmed how it will provide redress to survivors who were tortured at the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital Child and Adolescent Unit (the Lake Alice Unit). “The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care found that many of the 362 children who went through the Lake Alice Unit between 1972 and ...
It has been a busy, productive year in the House as the coalition Government works hard to get New Zealand back on track, Leader of the House Chris Bishop says. “This Government promised to rebuild the economy, restore law and order and reduce the cost of living. Our record this ...
“Accelerated silicosis is an emerging occupational disease caused by unsafe work such as engineered stone benchtops. I am running a standalone consultation on engineered stone to understand what the industry is currently doing to manage the risks, and whether further regulatory intervention is needed,” says Workplace Relations and Safety Minister ...
Mehemea he pai mō te tangata, mahia – if it’s good for the people, get on with it. Enhanced reporting on the public sector’s delivery of Treaty settlement commitments will help improve outcomes for Māori and all New Zealanders, Māori Crown Relations Minister Tama Potaka says. Compiled together for the ...
Mr Roger Holmes Miller and Ms Tarita Hutchinson have been appointed to the Charities Registration Board, Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Louise Upston says. “I would like to welcome the new members joining the Charities Registration Board. “The appointment of Ms Hutchinson and Mr Miller will strengthen the Board’s capacity ...
More building consent and code compliance applications are being processed within the statutory timeframe since the Government required councils to submit quarterly data, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “In the midst of a housing shortage we need to look at every step of the build process for efficiencies ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey is proud to announce the first three recipients of the Government’s $10 million Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund which will enable more Kiwis faster access to mental health and addiction support. “This fund is part of the Government’s commitment to investing in ...
New Zealand is providing Vanuatu assistance following yesterday's devastating earthquake, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. "Vanuatu is a member of our Pacific family and we are supporting it in this time of acute need," Mr Peters says. "Our thoughts are with the people of Vanuatu, and we will be ...
The Government welcomes the Commerce Commission’s plan to reduce card fees for Kiwis by an estimated $260 million a year, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says.“The Government is relentlessly focused on reducing the cost of living, so Kiwis can keep more of their hard-earned income and live a ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour has welcomed the Early Childhood Education (ECE) regulatory review report, the first major report from the Ministry for Regulation. The report makes 15 recommendations to modernise and simplify regulations across ECE so services can get on with what they do best – providing safe, high-quality care ...
The Government‘s Offshore Renewable Energy Bill to create a new regulatory regime that will enable firms to construct offshore wind generation has passed its first reading in Parliament, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says.“New Zealand currently does not have a regulatory regime for offshore renewable energy as the previous government failed ...
Legislation to enable new water service delivery models that will drive critical investment in infrastructure has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking a significant step towards the delivery of Local Water Done Well, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly say.“Councils and voters ...
New Zealand is one step closer to reaping the benefits of gene technology with the passing of the first reading of the Gene Technology Bill, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. "This legislation will end New Zealand's near 30-year ban on gene technology outside the lab and is ...
ByKoroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) says impending bad weather for Port Vila is now the most significant post-quake hazard. A tropical low in the Coral Sea is expected to move into Vanuatu waters, bringing heavy rainfall. Authorities have issued warnings to people ...
Cosmic CatastropheThe year draws to a close.King Luxon has grown tired of the long eveningsListening to the dreary squabbling of his Triumvirate.He strolls up to the top floor of the PalaceTo consult with his Astronomer Royal.The Royal Telescope scans the skies,And King Luxon stares up into the heavensFrom the terrestrial ...
Spinoff editor Mad Chapman and books editor Claire Mabey debate Carl Shuker’s new novel about… an editor. Claire: Hello Mad, you just finished The Royal Free – overall impressions? Mad: Hi Claire, I literally just put the book down and I would have to say my immediate impression is ...
Christmas and its buildup are often lonely, hard and full of unreasonable expectations. Here’s how to make it to Jesus’s birthday and find the little bit of joy we all deserve. Have you found this year relentless? Has the latest Apple update “fucked up your life”? Have you lost two ...
Despite overwhelming public and corporate support, the government has stalled progress on a modern day slavery law. That puts us behind other countries – and makes Christmas a time of tragedy rather than joy, argues Shanti Mathias. Picture the scene on Christmas Day. Everyone replete with nice things to eat, ...
Asia Pacific Report “It looks like Hiroshima. It looks like Germany at the end of World War Two,” says an Israeli-American historian and professor of holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University about the horrifying reality of Gaza. Professor Omer Bartov, has described Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an ...
The New Zealand government coalition is tweaking university regulations to curb what it says is an increasingly “risk-averse approach” to free speech. The proposed changes will set clear expectations on how universities should approach freedom of speech issues. Each university will then have to adopt a “freedom of speech statement” ...
Report by Dr David Robie – Café Pacific. – COMMENTARY: By Caitlin Johnstone New York prosecutors have charged Luigi Mangione with “murder as an act of terrorism” in his alleged shooting of health insurance CEO Brian Thompson earlier this month. This news comes out at the same time as ...
Pacific Media Watch The union for Australian journalists has welcomed the delivery by the federal government of more than $150 million to support the sustainability of public interest journalism over the next four years. Combined with the announcement of the revamped News Bargaining Initiative, this could result in up to ...
MONDAY“Merry Xmas, and praise the Lord,” said Sheriff Luxon, and smiled for the camera. There was a flash of smoke when the shutter pressed down on the magnesium powder. The sheriff had arranged for a photographer from the Dodge Gazette to attend a ceremony where he handed out food parcels to ...
It’s a little under two months since the White Ferns shocked the cricketing world, deservedly taking home the T20 World Cup. Since then the trophy has had a tour around the country, five of the squad have played in the WBBL in Australia while most others have returned to domestic ...
Comment: If we say the word ‘dementia’, many will picture an older person struggling to remember the names of their loved ones, maybe a grandparent living out their final years in an aged care facility. Dementia can also occur in people younger than 65, but it can take time before ...
Piracy is a reality of modern life – but copyright law has struggled to play catch-up for as long as the entertainment industry has existed. As far back as 1988, the House of Lords criticised copyright law’s conflict with the reality of human behaviour in the context of burning cassette ...
As he makes a surprise return to Shortland Street, actor Craig Parker takes us through his life in television. Craig Parker has been a fixture on television in Aotearoa for nearly four decades. He had starring roles in iconic local series like Gloss, Mercy Peak and Diplomatic Immunity, featured in ...
The Ōtautahi musician shares the 10 tracks he loves to spin, including the folk classic that cured him of a ‘case of the give-ups’. When singer-songwriter Adam McGrath returns to Kumeu’s Auckland Folk Festival from January 24-27, he’s not planning on simply idling his way through – he wants the late ...
Alex Casey spends an afternoon on the job with River, the rescue dog on a mission to spread joy to Ōtautahi rest homes.Almost everyone says it is never enough time. But River the rescue dog, a jet black huntaway border collie cross, has to keep a tight pace to ...
Asia Pacific Report Fiji activists have recreated the nativity scene at a solidarity for Palestine gathering in Fiji’s capital Suva just days before Christmas. The Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre and Fijians for Palestine Solidarity Network recreated the scene at the FWCC compound — a baby Jesus figurine lies amidst the ...
By 1News Pacific correspondent Barbara Dreaver and 1News reporters A number of Kiwis have been successfully evacuated from Vanuatu after a devastating earthquake shook the Pacific island nation earlier this week. The death toll was still unclear, though at least 14 people were killed according to an earlier statement from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard Scully, Professor in Modern History, University of New England Bunker.Image courtesy of Michael Leunig, CC BY-NC-SA Michael Leunig – who died in the early hours of Thursday December 19, surrounded by “his children, loved ones, and sunflowers” – was the ...
The House - On Parliament's last day of the year, there was the rare occurrence of a personal (conscience) vote on selling booze over the Easter weekend. While it didn't have the numbers to pass, it was a chance to get a rare glimpse of the fact ...
A new poem by Holly Fletcher. bejeweled log i was dreaming about wasps / wee darlings that followed me / ducking under objects / that i was fated to pickup / my fingers seeking / and meeting with tiny proboscis’s / but instead / i wake up / roll sideways ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Flora Hui, Research Fellow, Centre for Eye Research Australia and Honorary Fellow, Department of Surgery (Ophthalmology), The University of Melbourne Versta/Shutterstock Australians are exposed to some of the highest levels of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the world. While we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Terry, Professor of Business Regulation, University of Sydney Michael von Aichberger/Shutterstock Even if you’ve no idea how the business model underpinning franchises works, there’s a good chance you’ve spent money at one. Franchising is essentially a strategy for cloning ...
If something big is going to happen in Ferndale, it’s going to happen at Christmas. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If there’s one episode of Shortland Street you should watch each year, it’s the annual Christmas cliffhanger. The final episode of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By William A. Stoltz, Lecturer and expert Associate, National Security College, Australian National University US President-elect Donald Trump has named most of the members of his proposed cabinet. However, he’s yet to reveal key appointees to America’s powerful cyber warfare and intelligence institutions. ...
Announcing the top 10 books of the the year at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (Faber & Faber, $37) The phenomenal Irish writer is the unsurprising chart topper for 2024 with her fourth novel that, much like her first ...
Imperial Homes eh.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12223339
“I heard [councillor] Chris Darby equate our situation to buying a meal at a restaurant and being asked to pay extra for cutlery. I’d say it’s more accurate to say it’s like paying for a combo from McDonald’s, then being asked to pay extra for the fries and drink.”
Walker suggested the Jansens add a 15-day due diligence clause into the contract so they could find out a bit more. But Jonathan says Imperial was reluctant to put in a due diligence clause, so their lawyer talked again about red flags. She advised them to pull out of the deal.
But they had fallen in love with the house. Jonathan says they agreed to scratch the due diligence clause, but asked to see the plans for the house.
Imperial agreed, but Jonathan says they didn’t receive anything extra.
“So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.”
Then the consultant contacted them again. Jonathan says Imperial told them it was upgrading the flooring from carpet and tiles to laminate because they knew the couple had a dog.
Thanks but no thanks, said Jonathan. They’d stick with the carpet and tiles, which they reckoned were worth more than laminate anyway.
“[She] called three hours later and said someone else was interested in the house. Another family had come in and talked to the director directly, she told us, and those people were happy with the laminate flooring.
“She said the company had already ordered the laminate and she sent us a new quote — up from $44,000 to $48,000 to incorporate the $4000 ‘upgrade’ to laminate.”
A, This situation is the Developer getting squeezed and creating an out.
When we built in the 70s the homeowner had 12 mths to create fences driveways etc.
We just got a 1200 square foot home, bare boards on the floor, lighting we had up graded and that was it. Progress payments assisted in meeting dead lines.
It could be said their developer was using two sets of documents…. one for Council and a variation for the customer…fraud? misleading the Council? Very tricky.
The rules that a developer had to comply with to enable an SHA were specific, and the price level for a finished home was set at the time of the consent being issued.
“sold for no more than 75 per cent of the Auckland region median house price.”
The developer has “Managed” this to comply (??) – and with the extras does the development still comply with the SHA requirements ? Possibly Not. But who will follow up on this ?and it becomes another case of a developer not acting with any integrity, but getting away with it, and profiting.
https://www.thefirsthomebuyersclub.co.nz/finding-a-house/special-housing-areas-auckland/
““So we signed it — we really wanted it. But I was worried about the way it was $44,000 in cash and to a separate company. It was niggling at me.” – Perhaps the IRD should have a wee look to make sure that everything from a tax position has been accounted for correctly. As it appears from the story, the couple signed away many of the protections that were in place, and the developer was able to use the situation to max. their interest.
Reflecting on the events yesterday regarding CGT, and a lot of the views on here that this was a politically savvy play – I’m not so convinced. I do think that electioneering and the debates in the lead up to an election play quite a significant role in election success. At the moment, National’s talking points will focus on the fact that key election promises made by Labour have either been a failure or dropped. Kiwibuild (currently failing), 1st year free education (expensive, and not showing great stimulus to student numbers), and now CGT dumped (showing that the tail i.e. Winston is wagging the dog). Aside from Jacinda’s handling of Christchurch events, Labour doesn’t have many wins on the board. Labour needs policy wins! The current love in the polls will only last so long..and who knows what sweeteners National will offer NZF to jump ship.
Weekend warrior, it has been stated by National that student numbers haven;t increased. correct…less from overseas. NZ students have increased, especially in teaching by a fifth, and trades are picking up.
and since the education funding changes were targeted at local students, I’ll just summarise to
National – lying again.
So the construction sector and the government need to work together to sort the sector out….
This is clearly yet further evidence of the failure of the free market and neoliberal policies.
Like the finance sector
Like the mining sector
Like the housing sector
Like the farming sector
How much more evidence is needed before everyone realises that free market policies require very careful implementation given their propensity for disastrous outcomes.
Imagine trying to apply it to health???
Or education???
Or housing??… oh wait, it has been and the outcome is a disaster leading to lower home ownership, not increased..
Or employment?? … oh wait, it has been but the employers don’t like it when the demand-supply equation they all voted for works against them, so squeal and cry to nanny state for intervention.
It’s a balancing act. Too little regulation and you get all the outcomes neoliberalism has delivered us since the 80’s. Too much and you stifle risk and innovation, everything slowly stagnates and dies. Understanding this balance is not easy.
A healthy market needs a diversity of players with different appetites for risk. One of the more attractive models that we know works, is that the state should act as the stodgy, low risk, ‘provider of last resort’ across a range of industries.
The desirable fraction of state involvement varies by industry. Health and education are both long term, high stakes industries where the state already has a dominant position. Corner stores and car dealers much less so. Others like housing and insurance the state has a clear role in providing a ‘floor’ in the market below which no other private provider can fall and stay in business.
We already do this to a large extent; we just need to start thinking about it more strategically.
I agree with your comment in the abstract.
But this government needs to show that it is a pro-market-regulation government.
At the moment its strongest intervention is with wads of poorly-designed cash handouts in the form of a $3 billion slush fund. The regulation is so bad that government oversight agencies are putting the hard ruler over them.
The Chorus mess with oppressive contracts is a direct responsibility of the government through Crown Fibre Holdings, such that MBIE are stepping in much harder.
Waikato Hospital Hospital Board is about to be sacked.
They are proposing to re-regulate the entire secondary school industry, polytech industry, justice industry, and many more in the public arena, before we start getting to their woolly ideas on construction “cooperation”.
There is no common strategy, theme, legislative direction, or collective purpose to any of it. It’s pretty incoherent.
Another in the long list of journalism awards for Julian Assange
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/julian-assange-wins-eu-journalism-award-20190417-p51euj.html
The Galizia award
Cameron Slater won awards too.
Andre
That little comment dripping with malice. It doesn’t add anything to the discourse or the gathering of facts about Assange. Comes under the old saying that if you haven’t got something that adds usefully to the conversation, don’t say anything. This is a positive input because it is necessary for us to aim at striking a good balance of discussion so we don’t become a little den of gossip, innuendo and slanging matches. The TS needs to be better than that.
Good to know he is one of your heros.
It’s good you think it good that he is anyone’s hero.
He is certainly one of Roger Water’s hero’s as he says in this interview
“The most important information, that we, Julians Assange’s fellow citizens of the globe need, is information about the secret malfeasance and wrong doing of government, which are legend”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=408&v=6smG6po8YVw
Of course I’m guessing you wont watch this video.
The question you could ask yourself though is,
“why?”
I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick… I love Waters! and am interested in what he has to say.
I was referring to Andre’s obvious reverence for Slater.
Yes he is. You aren’t.
Completely unnecessary attack grey… To say I’m disappointed in your comment is an understatement.
maui
<i>Good to know he is one of your heros. 4.1.2</i> I suggest that your attacks against Assange are not reasonable. But that is not disappointing – it is your expected common theme. You often sharply defend your personal compatriots so you tcarry that through to refer to an 'unnecessary attack' from me to Andre. Andre is quite capable of answering for himself.
It seems that you are trying to limit free speech except for your own. i think it is malicious of Andre to equate Assange with Slater. That is a reasonable view and you have no right to take me to task over it. Don't play the superior pedagogue with me.
You know something about an impending arrest there dredre?
Re Global Warming and what has to be done
Why are there very few asking about population, our pop of 7.7b – and what is the carrying capacity of the earth especially as we are to reduce our dependancy on oil
https://worldpopulationhistory.org/carrying-capacity/
https://www.livescience.com/16493-people-planet-earth-support.html
The answer’s right there in the question roddy. Doesn’t take a genius.
Wage Slave
Rent Slave
Slave
Final Preferred PM Poll ratings for Leaders just before being Toppled / Replaced
(Colmar Brunton since 1997)
(Main Intra-Party Rival in parentheses)
Bolger (Oct 1997) … 13%
(Shipley … 10%)
Shipley then replaces Bolger
.
Shipley (Sep 2001) … 14%
(English … 5%)
English then replaces Shipley
.
English (Oct 2003) … 7%
(Brash … 3%)
Brash then replaces English
.
Brash (Oct 2006) … 17%
(Key … 11%)
Key then replaces Brash
.
Shearer (July 2013) … 13%
(Cunliffe … 2% / Clark … 2%)
Cunliffe then replaces Shearer
.
Little (July 2017) … 6%
(Ardern … 6%)
.Ardern then replaces Little
.
Compare with
.
Bridges (April 2019) … 5%
(Collins … 5%)
Great stats.
You get my vote for comment of the day.
How about this for misleading headlines?
“Protesters target Jeremy Corbyn on day three of Extinction Rebellion”
and then later on
“A few hours later, four protesters glued their hands together and chained themselves to a fence outside Corbyn’s house, saying he was “the best hope this country has got” to meet the challenges of the climate crisis, adding that they were there to “support him” to go further.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/17/extinction-rebellion-halt-london-docklands-trains-carriage
It’s when you realise that the media do this ALL the damn time that you begin to understand the problem we have.
The media have an important role in society; well above any commercial consideration. They are like the eyes and ears of our societies, and when they mislead us we are all in deep trouble.
OMG, RedLogix actually accepting reality for once…
Well done for noticing, better late than never…
OMG Adam noticed what someone else actually said rather than just making an interpretation up..
RL started saying that on this site about 9-10 years ago. I remember that was the topic of one of the first comments of his that I noticed.
Could it be that you don’t notice what people say unless they agree with you?
OMG lprent, I have not read all his posts – I have a life.
All I have is the ones I have seen of late, which come across as a smug know it all. 🙂
Aren’t we all? Please use a mirror.
When have I not known I'm an arse?
I know I'm a wanker, but others…
Thanks for that fransesca. People here who read the Guardian have been very critical of it. I looked at it and kept finding good stuff. Then someone noted their peculiar biases here and there and I think one was Jeremy Corbyn. That heading you quote is a blatant, naked example. Headline porn.
Yes it is misleading but why do it?
Maybe they hate corbyn or they follow the agenda given to them
A big part I think is that imo they are money hungry capitalists that want to sell something to make more money and misleading headlines, which drag people into see wtf, are just a crude technique among many that they use. This example you put up shows how they can twist the whole thing around to mean the opposite whilst technically also being correct. Clever little shits alright.
Good we keep track of these – thanks.
Back in the ’90s I had a pub in a small town.
One Saturday evening 3 brothers came in, 2 were under age. They were asked to leave.
On their way out, 2 of them assaulted a young kitchen hand, a boy who didn’t get a chance to fight back. He was highly disinclined to raise his voice or his fists.
Front page news on Monday: ‘Teens fighting in local bar’, article went on to name pub and make a few assertions. We didn’t get contacted or questioned.
Contacted editor and three days later on page 5 a wee correction.
Jolly media!
It can work the other way, though – years ago I ended up fronting to the local journo for a project I was running (just a wee thing, nothing earth shattering). I was a young chap and had no fucking idea about the usual patter one says in such articles.
The journo needed some copy anyway, so asked questions like “would you say that it’s been well received by people in a variety of circumstances?” and “what about it’s contribution to [issue], would you regard it as being a convenient anchor point for [group]?”.
Reading the published article, the others involved thought I’d done really well in the interview – I had so many eloquent quotes lol 🙂
Concerning in Peru, a measure of how all countries leaders are stressed? And another nail in democracies coffin-shaped podium.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/387298/peru-s-former-president-alan-garcia-kills-himself-ahead-of-arrest
NZ – another boring report about the poor state of NZ waterways. Ho hum. /sarc!
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/387308/nature-at-risk-damning-report-warns-environment-in-serious-trouble
Sanders on FOX
I’ve been labeled a “sub-optimal person” by a Kiwiblogger.
Yesterday I returned to Kiwiblog after a six week absence. My first comment was a brief driveby shot at the infamous Double Dipper from Dipton. It didn’t go down well….
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2019/04/general_debate_17_april_2019.html/comment-page-1#comment-2475821
The comment deemed “grossly inappropriate” by the “moderator” [sic] at Kiwiblog can be accessed here….
http://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2019/04/brief-kiwiblog-exchange-re-double.html
Morrissey….harden up. You know very well that Farrar’s Ferals don’t play nice, yet off you go….
The whole moderation thing is very, very new over there, give them time. They have had carte blanche since, well, forever. They are still straining against the ropes.
“I’ve been labeled a “sub-optimal person” by a Kiwiblogger.”
Not just Kiwiblog to be fair Moz.
True, the liberal left here are quite quick to quash anyone thinking for themselves.
I do recall a few bans for behaviour. Can’t recall banning you for being sub-optimal. Going deliberate diversion off the topic of a post was always your thing.
It’s Thursday afternoon Aunty Lyn haven’t you got a few moderation messages screeching about men’s privates to post ?
I do recall a few bans for behaviour.
Six, in fact, Mr. Prent. Record so far: two months.
Can’t recall banning you for being sub-optimal. Going deliberate diversion off the topic of a post was always your thing.
Still is, some might say.
Very true, higherstandard, very true. In fact, “sub-optimal” is quite mild compared to some of the calumnies heaped on me on this forum.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Sebastian_(Mantegna)#/media/File:Andrea_Mantegna_088.jpg
So much for the free speech fetishists on The Daily Blog. If your criticism against Trotter or Bradbury is too trenchant it will never never seethe light of day
I posted a critical rebuttal to one of Trotter’s blogpost and it vanished
Free speech?
I call tui
I wouldn’t panic too much Mjolnir. There has been lots of traffic over at TDB and all comments go into moderation, so there could very well be a delay.
Trotter, Bradbury, Macskasy ….they all wear big boy pants now and can cope with strong criticism.
From 2 days ago?.
Yeah I get that everything is placed moderation, but that one was submitted on Tuesday evening. Since then other comments have been published
So free speech is fine but not the thingI said (and I am minding my language, Scarlet Mod made a fair call on me on that one)
I’ve had a few go down the memory hole, which is one reason I hardly ever comment there now. If your comment is one that would be difficult for Bradbury to rebut, it just never appears.
It wasn’t a comment on Trotter’s post entitled “Recognising Hate Speech When You See It”, was it?
Some thoughtful comment on Wellington buses/public transport from someone with depth of background experience. With thoughtful comments below.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=117890
Waiting at the bus stop?
No doubt there’ll be many learnings going forwid from the Wellington bus fiasco @ grey, the proposed solutions which will probably do SFA to solve anything.
They’re thinking of sacking the Waikato DHB board.
The GRWCouncillors ? yea nah 18 monthgs onward – letalone the ‘officials’ that came up with this bugger’s muddle in the first place.
And then there’s WCC’s involvement which I pick they’ll get away with by shifting blame.
And even if and when they do manage to get things back to some semblance of order, they’ve fucked things up SO badly that it’s going to take some serious persuasion to get a certain demographic to go back to catching buses.
( If you’re one of two from a household, catching an Uber is now just as cheap or fuck-all more expensive for door to door service, and at a time of your choosing ).
Accountability???? There’ll be none
There’s actually a shitload of blame to go around, and it isn’t just Laidlaw and his cronies (elected and/or ensconced in GWRC), but it’s also WCC cronies (elected and ensconced) too.
It’ll be interesting to see who ekshully has the cheek to stand come election time. I hope they put their hands up soon so they can be publicly challenged.
A punk legend in action for 50+ years! Oh bless. Only on RT of course – straight from the propaganda factory.
“Westwood: I’ll get Assange out of the embassy”
What do other people do, how do they manage their part of the world? With a less complicated economy and one not dominated by the world system, can a workable system arise? On Yap they have operated their system using stones for currency.. Which reminds us that money is symbolic, and imbued with our ideas of agreed value.
Looking at Yap a small island, now a group, in the North Pacific nearish to Guam a USA military base. Apparently the Chinese will change their tourism from about 4,000 over years by erecting a resort with 4,000 units on the island? End of
culture and simple autonomy to complicated slavery I think with some modern
gew-gaws that alienate the youngsters from the elders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yap#Economy
I think more cults will spring up as more people kept pushed to the fringes and to constantly have to search for stability and a settled life that enables a decent standard of living.
I don’t like the sound of this one.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018691418/inside-the-nxivm-cult
“A Hastings principal has slammed an increasing number of parents taking kids on holiday during term time, arguing it could ruin their kids’ and the school’s future results.
St John’s College principal Paul Melloy, who is currently in Chile on a tour with the school’s first XV rugby team…”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12223056
Goodness me.
The housing market is overpriced, and I am hearing that leases for small businesses are over-valued. The country is riding for a fall, and the rock star will smash his guitar on stage before long. High rents, the people in the rentier game are squeezing the people actually doing the yakka that earns our country’s living. What are we going to do about being hollowed out by these modern aristocrats? A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood? We need businesses to keep going, we need employment, the ability to buy things or enjoyment. We may need to live more simply but can we have a decent standard of living.
But small businesses are having trouble keeping going, big overseas names are flooding in to soak up any money we have spare. The rents are getting too high everywhere. The greed of people with a lot of money is growing. The present economic system is unsustainable madness. What a contrast between the ultra-high income and the ordinary business owner earning what an ordinary person needs.
(https://hub.packtpub.com/jack-ma-defends-the-extreme-996-work-culture-in-chinese-tech-firms/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ma
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/996_working_hour_system)
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/111998900/capital-cuisine-how-hard-is-it-to-run-a-restaurant-in-wellington
Capital Cuisine: What’s killing Wellington’s restaurants?
4/16/2019
STUFF
There are nearly 900 places to grab food and drink in Wellington City.
One of the country’s top chefs, Bosley retired from restaurants after his Wellington eatery Martin Bosley’s Yacht Club went into liquidation in 2014.
“When I opened my restaurant my main courses were $35, I sat 60 people and my rent was just over $40,000.
“When I closed it 13 years later, I still sat 60 people, my main courses were now $45 but my rent was now over $100,000 a year.”
With rents so high, Bosley said meals were essentially being “subsidised” by restaurant owners.
“If you’re a diner right now, this is the best time to be dining.”..
Restaurant Association president Mike Egan estimated the average margin was between three and five per cent for most restaurants. ,,,
Egan said the recent minimum wage rise had left businesses scrambling to cut costs before it hit their bottom line.
As of April 1, the minimum wage was $17.70 an hour.
“A Revolution? Can we think of something clever without blood?”
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here – the Mongols were not at all keen on bloodshed either, and Genghis was a master of a kind of democratic decision making.
https://www.cvltnation.com/mongols-executed-enemies-no-blood-spilled/
I understand the process commences with a request for earth and grass.
dead right.The OPEX of doing business in NZ is way out of kilter.
Supposedly the free market will correct that.
.A small domestic market with increased competition should be good for the consumer but the reality is the BIG guy with BIG capital can access offshore product and undercut the local and just like the demise of the Made in NZ auto market ,all other high involvement retail will be taken over by the cheapest alternative…eventually.
What’s behind Ecuador’s betrayal of Julian Assange?
Some Eco Maori Music for the minute.
https://youtu.be/fKopy74weus
Whanau Eco Maori has been on the Gisborne man sandflys radar for a few years now they thought my great grandfather was Eco Maori he died in a work accident ???????? ,
My uncle he was a church going man to the state got a hold of him he died they target 2 other males who lived in my great grandmothers house thinking they were Eco Maori .The sandflys now know the target they have been looking for in the last 50 years is ME Eco Maori they are scared of Eco Maori
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktvTqknDobU
P.S Ma te wa
Our enviroment is what keeps US alive and we are poisioning it fast.
I have said these words before what would happen if you let a child eat what it wants say chocolate well that child would soon become obeast become sick with deibetes many bad thinks would happen to the child and if not corrected the child would die.
Papatuanuku is the same if we keep pumping chemicals into OUR enviroment we are causing our world to become sick if we don’t stop it we will be in the SHIT.
Another story the 00.1 % ARE like a BABY with chocolate with there money the keep wanting more and won’t share fairly they are getting sick on there overindalgence in MONEY they want more and more even if there actions are killing mother earth and our grandchildrens future we the 99.9 have to become the rulers of the world and teach the ruleing class the correct way to behave love thy neighbour respect thy neighbour forgive thy neighbour share with thy neigbour respect for our past our tipuna respect for OUR FUTURE
The report presents a sobering summary of a country starkly different from the ‘Pure New Zealand’ marketing campaign. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
A report on the state of New Zealand’s environment has painted a bleak picture of catastrophic biodiversity loss, polluted waterways and the destructive rise of the dairy industry and urban sprawl.
Environment Aotearoa is the first major environmental report in four years, and was compiled using data from Statistics New Zealand and the environment ministry.
It presents a sobering summary of a country that is starkly different from the pristine landscape promoted in the “Pure New Zealand” marketing campaign that lures millions of tourists every year.
It found New Zealand is now considered one of the most invaded countries in the world, with 75 animal and plant species having gone extinct since human settlement. The once-vibrant bird life has fared particularly badly, with 90% of seabirds and 80% of shorebirds threatened with or at risk of extinction.
‘Their birthright is being lost’: New Zealanders fret over polluted rivers
Almost two-thirds of New Zealand’s rare ecosystems are under threat of collapse, and over the last 15 years the extinction risk worsened for 86 species, compared with the conservation status of just 26 species improving in the past 10 years.
Ka kite ano links below
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/18/decades-of-denial-major-report-finds-new-zealands-environment-is-in-serious-trouble
It amazes me why they would not let Maori build on Marae land why would our culture get to strong.
The government has announced it will build six homes at Tuahiwi marae near Kaiapoi, and will repair sixty houses in the region.
It’s a welcome move for Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga chair Arapata Reuben, who has lived in the small pā at Tuahiwi for 25 years. He spent his childhood there and said the new papakāinga development is major.
“For me, it means that all of my children can live next to me,” he said.
“I have already passed over my lands to them already which means they can now build on their whenua next to their mum and dad, they can grow up and raise their children.
“They all want to live at the pā. They know what it is like to be [raised] at the pā. They see their life being the pā.”
Mr Reuben said local government had restricted the building of houses on the pā for decades. Local Māori fought for more than 10 years to lift the restrictions, which eventually happened in 2015 through the post earthquake Canterbury Emergency Act. Ka kite ano links below P.S I loaded that post above 3 hours ago it just loaded ten mins ago and I had to rewrite this post the sandflys are shitting them selves they cannot put Eco Maori back.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/te-manu-korihi/387264/new-3-point-7m-housing-development-signals-new-era-for-christchurch-marae
Kia ora Newshub.
If you go into a animal whare house you have to show respect for the animals and keep the tamariki safe.
The trump investergating was a sham I have heaps of facts to link to that statement.
Eco Maori says Rotorua is a great destination to have a holiday the place is booked out enjoying a booming tourist season.?
I say that exercise any time is good the producers boggle me mind YEA IGHT
GUIDE horse in Britain that’s a novelty lol.
Kia kaha Ka extinction Protesters I have said the leftys need to harden up.
I don’t use Facebook had a look.
Fejoe problems with a moth larvae there was a problem with them last year to.
Don’t like having a beard just have time to keep the hair tidy let alone cleaning and brushing a beard each to their own my son has a good beard.
Hydrogen cars will be a rich person toy the common people will drive battery elictric car’s. Ka kite ano P.S my Mokopuna take up my time