“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
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
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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