I think it is fair to speculate on the fate of recreational boat trips or recreational plane trips, both of whom have closed windows in general and air conditioning. And yes, i can see people forgoing both in the future as an option for holiday making if they fear contamination.
that of course leaves out those that travel for other then pleasure.
Worst case scenario for air travel (short of elimination) is they spend more fuel drawing in fresh air and putting in better filters on the recirculated air, rather than recirculating contaminated air.
Worst case for cruise ships short of elimination is they have to completely redesign the ventilation, onshore activities, food service, onboard facilities, and passenger monitoring in order to become marginally less infectious.
Best case for aircraft is they can get away with returning to BAU as soon as regions get vaccinated.
Best case for cruise ships is they take a few years to recover their PR from their latest infectious disease problems.
They'll probably have to do something about the airports as well, you know, queues, baggage handling, seating, all the stuff ppl touch, travel to and from..
I agree absolutely.
Air travel and cruise industry are not equivalant.
One polluting, loss making industry, is being bailed out with hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, and one is not.
No, you didn’t; it was (partly) my mistake and I was the one who was rushing it 🙁
FYI, on 15 March, you started using a different user name here, i.e. TheNZJerster instead of NZJester, and another Moderator approved it. That continued for a little while until you changed it to TheNZJester, without the “r”. Moderators are wasting much time running around checking/correcting/approving people who use slightly changed user names, accidentally or willingly; sometimes it is caused by a wayward cursor 🙁
MSD is continually tell people they won't be providing emergency housing when the rules say the person's eligible. Again, it took embarrassing media coverage to get MSD to back down, and it's always a "mistake". How many other people are being told the same thing but nothing gets done about it? We all know there's a housing shortage, and that this must put pressure on MSD, but they shouldn’t be trying to hide the demand by refusing people wrongly. They should be welcoming the information about how need isn’t being met so that government and policy makers get to how things aren’t working.
Difficult to say why this is. Maybe personal bias? Maybe a directive? Maybe that lady still had some shoes so she must be ok (sarc)? Who knows and I think we never will. Political correctness will make sure of that. Suffice to say that I hope I never will depend on people or organizations like that.
[please remove “WTB” from the user name field before you next submit a comment, thanks]
The link from No Right Turn to The Standard has been broken for a while now. It's probably just a glitch in an address link with a site update or something, but does mean that I (& probably others) are less likely to drop by the site. Just thought I'd mention it, while onsite today in case there's an easy fix.
Works for me, in two different browsers on two different computers. However, I noticed it is not secure, but it does open for me. I had a similar problem recently with this site (i.e. TS) and my bookmark didn’t open any longer. I had to put “https:// ” in front of the URL and it was fine again. Lprent was stumped too 🙂 I felt ‘pretty special’ because it seemed that I was the only experiencing that problem with TS …
If the government can spend 400 $ a night on unsafe emergency housing in a slum motel then it should be able to simply pay for a week of rental in a proper house and call it 'government housing'.
I am so sick of this. It is everywhere in Rotorua. Young kids on unlisenced, unplated dirt bikes hooning and ripping up parks, non of them wearing helmets of course, beggars and babys in gang colors. My shopping fringe is 'blue' where i have my business, and every now and then i just close the door to be safe. Go figure.
Fights in the open street. Drug handling in the open street. You simply do not want to go to certain parts on main street Fenton or 'downtown' Rotorua for fear of a mugging or worse after 6 pm.
This is as bad as it was under National with overcrowding and run down camp ground housing of homeless in West Auckland. And sadly Rotorua ain't as big as Auckland, so they can hide is less. God only knows where the Labour doodas are that ran and lost the last election despite their nice Billboards with dear Jacinda ' Lets keep moving'? Moving to where dear Lady? She may hope for a nice 6 figure job at a thinktank somewhere like her Labour Predecessor when she is done Prime Ministering, but the rest of us has to continue to live here. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-housing-woman-beaten-unconscious-children-being-put-at-risk/E7BFU4ULMAV2TORDWMC7LRX5BA/
Distressing revelations about life in emergency housing continue to emerge, including a woman being punched unconscious by another motel resident, putting her in hospital.
The 49-year-old was left so terrified she refused to go back into any form of shared living.
Those at the coal face say there's not enough oversight, with families mixed in with gang members, and many places rife with crime and intimidation.
And there are further warnings about the significant potential for abuse and sexual violence, with one Auckland charity saying women escaping from an abusive home can end up going back after staying in emergency housing, because at least "they know that violence".
Severe concern too about the plight of children; in some cases taken out of school, cut off from their communities and confined to their motel room by their parents because it's too dangerous to venture outside.
While short term and quickly accessible motel rooms are required to get people in urgent need somewhere to stay, officials laid out the case last year against continuing their use in such high numbers: emergency housing costs more, it only provides the accommodation and none of the extra services needed to help residents with the likes of budgeting or addiction, and the government is less able to monitor exactly what's going.
A Rotorua motelier, speaking anonymously for fear of backlash, refuses MSD clients to focus instead on business and tourism clientele.
"As sad and rude as it may sound," she says, "they're often return guests and we can't allow them to come to accommodation that has drugs, fighting, abuse, and the police there all the time".
However, other moteliers are "showing signs of greed now because the payments are phenomenally high", she says, with motels initially being being offered $119 per night, per unit but now up to $400 a night.
Let them find the houses to rent and then pay the fucking rent that would only be about 150 more the week then what these useless eaters in governmetn pay right now for one night.
Give these people houses rather then what is on offer now. As for those moteliers that don't want to house homeless – like some that i know – almost all couples in their 60s – i don't blame them for not doing it, they are as vulnerable to assault and mayhem as their 'unfortunate' homeless customers. And the police usually shows up when the damage is done.
Last but least this was not OK under Paula Benefit and John Fucking Key, it is not OK under Carmel "See no evil, hear no evil, pretend its not happening" Sepuloni and the current Dear Leader.
These are OUR people, OUR children, OUR women, OUR men that get thrown into the meatgrinder to come out more broken then they were when they got thrown in by governments that don’t give a flying fuck. Kinder, gentler, my lovely backside.
IT is not a Labour or National thing, this is really where we can state simply that 'both sides indeed do it'.
the point that i am trying to make is simply 'pay rents rather then motel rates'.
My post right now is identical to some that i posted 6 odd years ago under J. K and P.B.
It is the lazyness in envisaging a different solution to the same problem. ITs not even that we don't have enough houses, it is that people can't pay for them, and the government rather then pay rents outright, spends 400 NZD a night for someone to sleep in a hovel with no access to anything other then a bed, a kettle and a teabag.
The public outrage at the cost of motels forced the government and MSD to intoduce "transistional housing" which is even worse. Slum properties, often run down or former motel units, policed by incompetent and officious community groups who evict people at the drop of a hat, the government making sure rights under the RTA were removed, MSD washes its hands so the person is then forced to reapply for emergency housing and the whole cycle starts again, MSD often wrongly refusing to assist because of how the previous arrangement ended. The whole mess is completely out of control.
Let them – the people in need of housing – find an appropriate property and have Winz pay for it. That would prevent abuse by landlords of Winz, and Winz / Government would save a tidy a penny for a rainy day by not paying 400 NZD per day.
The government could stipulate how that could work, i.e. in Germany when i was a student the government would pay up to 450 per month (yes per month) for one person. It did absolutly not matter what property you found, so as long as it was not more expensive as that.
What we are doing now is going to be so bad for the future, and it is already so bad for Rotorua.
Given the cost of the complete fiasco that is emergency and transitional housing the idea is attractive. How do you see the legal relationships and responsibilities operating, ensuring security of tenure etc? Does Kāinga Ora lease the property, which then becomes a state house, which is then rented by the tenant? If so, doesn't that just bring us back to the chronic supply shortage?
We don't have a supply shortage, we have an affordability problem.
Rent is too high. Rent could be measured by square meterage, or by rooms i.e. 150 per room per week for a rental. That would be somewhere around 300 – 45 for the common two bedder/ three bedder and then you could add in say 150 for close schools, public transport, shops etc.
The government could actually regulate rent. Currently rent is based on mortgage mainly, plus the maintenance of that mortgage, rates, insurance etc, and then maybe the boat, the holiday and the braces for the kids. But rent should only cover the use of the property, not the owner ship. Which is what a mortgage covers.
Also if the government for example would pay rents for beneficiaries, the market would follow in maybe building for these tenants. Smaller flats, one bed to three/four bedrooms, high density building. Currently we don't do that. We build shitty apartment blocks that fall apart after 6 years with huge co-op costs. Did you know that in Germany people wash down their own stair case 😉 or have a live in Janitor couple (usually rent free plus pay).
The chronic shortage is because we never regulated the market, and now people – even well to do people – can't afford to either rent or buy, or sell for that matter. Cause no matter how much money you have it won't be enough in the long term. And the last announcement of the governments housing policies reflect that by increasing the amount a first home buyer can spend in order to still get the government subsidy.
Gosh Chris that is pure purgatory for those beneficiaries. The disgust is building against Labour, and well founded. They actually have to pull some rabbits out of the hat and not just wave it around with promises. This latest health thing is expensive and time-consuming and could fit in with the polly-watchers theories that Labour was basking in the Covid19 management magic, but that has worn off, and need something else to fill the gap.
So Health instead of Housing which they don't want to touch from a distance closer than a barge pole, and are leaving it to the professionals who know how to build the modern chook-house painted grey with black roof that is regarded as all modern NZs could wish for. And what about the others? They must be feeling like fringe-dwellers lost in one of those desperately sordid dystopian dark stories that get on to tv.
Handing out pamphlets pretending to be the health department. At the very least I'd have thought issuing a trespass notice immediately might help. Plus who paid for this ??
This is an example of looking at one side of a policy's effect. It isn't the most efficient or effective way of handling seasonal work to have people come into the country from Pacific Islands or employ young tourists. But it is really good way to interact with the Pacific Islands people, our neighbours who are small like us and go better when there is a co-operative relationship amongst the Pacific small islands.
As for visitors and tourists, young people being able to visit and learn about other countries is very important for understanding between nations and about being a citizen in this world. And it keeps us on the map, and we don't get forgotten down here at the bottom of the world. So there are more benefits to NZ than a narrow economic survey can demonstrate.
Perhaps we allow them into the country under time limitation, and giving preference to the *Woofers scheme (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). This means they are available to work for food and accommodation mainly, and probably have to have a return ticket booked when they come here,
* Wwoofing – Willing Workers On Organic Farms – is a host system where you exchange hours of work for accommodation and food. … Wwoofing is a well established global host system and New Zealand is one of many participating countries. https://www.backpackingmatt.com/wwoofing-in-new-zealand-tips-and-experiences/
Young people have always wanted to travel and work around the world on the OE. It doesn't mean they should be paid exploitation wages. But, neither does it mean they should be able to do dodgy courses and get dodgy residents visas – then expect to bring family into the country. NZ has had a 20% population explosion in the last 10 years – 1 million extra people. We are being used and it's not sustainable.
I suppose it's personal for Ms Toynbee, who stands to be one of those worst affected by an over-proportion of elderly to young. But if not her (also my) generation, then which? It's got to happen some time; might as well be now.
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
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Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
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TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
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Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Flight hesitancy, is it a thing?
The cruise industry has been effectively ruined as a perceived incubator for covid-19
Could the same happen to air travel?
it might, if there are any more reports like this.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/covid-19-coronavirus-47-passengers-test-positive-after-overseas-flight/7EGAVKASPTX2XCPBJA5APHOT5I/
Another one of your false equivalences; air travel =//= cruise industry.
why that comment?
I think it is fair to speculate on the fate of recreational boat trips or recreational plane trips, both of whom have closed windows in general and air conditioning. And yes, i can see people forgoing both in the future as an option for holiday making if they fear contamination.
that of course leaves out those that travel for other then pleasure.
Worst case scenario for air travel (short of elimination) is they spend more fuel drawing in fresh air and putting in better filters on the recirculated air, rather than recirculating contaminated air.
Worst case for cruise ships short of elimination is they have to completely redesign the ventilation, onshore activities, food service, onboard facilities, and passenger monitoring in order to become marginally less infectious.
Best case for aircraft is they can get away with returning to BAU as soon as regions get vaccinated.
Best case for cruise ships is they take a few years to recover their PR from their latest infectious disease problems.
They'll probably have to do something about the airports as well, you know, queues, baggage handling, seating, all the stuff ppl touch, travel to and from..
Maybe, but then that's not a problem directly facing the airlines. Whereas the cruise lines handle everything to get their cut.
Worst case for climate change is for aircraft returning to BAU as soon as regions get vaccinated.
Worst case for climate change is cruise ships take a few years to recover their PR from their latest infectious disease problems.
Let's hear it for BAU
'
"….that of course leaves out those that travel for other than pleasure."
Sabine
Wherein lies another tale;
“This polling shows that after a year of quick and easy virtual meetings, travellers aren’t planning to go back to business as usual.”
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2021/04/business-flyers-could-stick-to-video-calls-even-after-covid-19-pandemic-survey-suggests/
Stranded asset anyone?
Shssh
I agree absolutely.
Air travel and cruise industry are not equivalant.
One polluting, loss making industry, is being bailed out with hundreds of millions of tax payer dollars, and one is not.
You’re already halfway answering your own question @ 1. Amazing what one can achieve when using one’s brain.
Air travel and cruise industry are not equivalent.
One burns fossil fuels the other burns pixie dust.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/countering-dominant-narratives-of-nzs-far-right/ar-BB1fRAWO
Read this article this morning. Interesting.
Where do you guys think the Counter narative is going right and where is it going wrong?
[One letter was missing from user name; guess which one]
k?
The Easter bunny is missing you; are you missing them too?
Que'?
The Easter Bunny is a bit of a bully.
Nah, they’re just lonely and missing you and I feel really sorry for them. If you don’t want to go, you know what to do and what not.
Sure. I have to watch the moving goalposts like a hawk.
I seem to have put an extra letter in my name.
I guess that is what happens when you are rushing in the morning
No, you didn’t; it was (partly) my mistake and I was the one who was rushing it 🙁
FYI, on 15 March, you started using a different user name here, i.e. TheNZJerster instead of NZJester, and another Moderator approved it. That continued for a little while until you changed it to TheNZJester, without the “r”. Moderators are wasting much time running around checking/correcting/approving people who use slightly changed user names, accidentally or willingly; sometimes it is caused by a wayward cursor 🙁
Chauvin verdict reached .
Wont be announced till 8:30 am our time ( 3:30PM US ET time)
Guilty of all 3 counts : Murder 2, Murder 3, manslaughter 2
It may be appealed – but offers hope for a change in US police culture.
Really? What about the other cops who let him kill that helpless man? Have they faced any consequences?
Their trials are to come separately due to Covid restrictions.
Thanks for that Sabine.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/124861129/car-stolen-emergency-housing-denied-a-woman-faces-sleeping-rough
MSD is continually tell people they won't be providing emergency housing when the rules say the person's eligible. Again, it took embarrassing media coverage to get MSD to back down, and it's always a "mistake". How many other people are being told the same thing but nothing gets done about it? We all know there's a housing shortage, and that this must put pressure on MSD, but they shouldn’t be trying to hide the demand by refusing people wrongly. They should be welcoming the information about how need isn’t being met so that government and policy makers get to how things aren’t working.
Difficult to say why this is. Maybe personal bias? Maybe a directive? Maybe that lady still had some shoes so she must be ok (sarc)? Who knows and I think we never will. Political correctness will make sure of that. Suffice to say that I hope I never will depend on people or organizations like that.
[please remove “WTB” from the user name field before you next submit a comment, thanks]
Whoever is writing in bold.. why at this site does the curser go back to a filled in field….?
It’s a known problem, but solvable, apparently. I will leave a comment in the back-end for Lprent.
Cheers,It must be driving some on Mod duty mad.
The link from No Right Turn to The Standard has been broken for a while now. It's probably just a glitch in an address link with a site update or something, but does mean that I (& probably others) are less likely to drop by the site. Just thought I'd mention it, while onsite today in case there's an easy fix.
Works for me, in two different browsers on two different computers. However, I noticed it is not secure, but it does open for me. I had a similar problem recently with this site (i.e. TS) and my bookmark didn’t open any longer. I had to put “https:// ” in front of the URL and it was fine again. Lprent was stumped too 🙂 I felt ‘pretty special’ because it seemed that I was the only experiencing that problem with TS …
If the government can spend 400 $ a night on unsafe emergency housing in a slum motel then it should be able to simply pay for a week of rental in a proper house and call it 'government housing'.
I am so sick of this. It is everywhere in Rotorua. Young kids on unlisenced, unplated dirt bikes hooning and ripping up parks, non of them wearing helmets of course, beggars and babys in gang colors. My shopping fringe is 'blue' where i have my business, and every now and then i just close the door to be safe. Go figure.
Fights in the open street. Drug handling in the open street. You simply do not want to go to certain parts on main street Fenton or 'downtown' Rotorua for fear of a mugging or worse after 6 pm.
This is as bad as it was under National with overcrowding and run down camp ground housing of homeless in West Auckland. And sadly Rotorua ain't as big as Auckland, so they can hide is less. God only knows where the Labour doodas are that ran and lost the last election despite their nice Billboards with dear Jacinda ' Lets keep moving'? Moving to where dear Lady? She may hope for a nice 6 figure job at a thinktank somewhere like her Labour Predecessor when she is done Prime Ministering, but the rest of us has to continue to live here.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-housing-woman-beaten-unconscious-children-being-put-at-risk/E7BFU4ULMAV2TORDWMC7LRX5BA/
Let them find the houses to rent and then pay the fucking rent that would only be about 150 more the week then what these useless eaters in governmetn pay right now for one night.
Give these people houses rather then what is on offer now. As for those moteliers that don't want to house homeless – like some that i know – almost all couples in their 60s – i don't blame them for not doing it, they are as vulnerable to assault and mayhem as their 'unfortunate' homeless customers. And the police usually shows up when the damage is done.
Last but least this was not OK under Paula Benefit and John Fucking Key, it is not OK under Carmel "See no evil, hear no evil, pretend its not happening" Sepuloni and the current Dear Leader.
These are OUR people, OUR children, OUR women, OUR men that get thrown into the meatgrinder to come out more broken then they were when they got thrown in by governments that don’t give a flying fuck. Kinder, gentler, my lovely backside.
Wow, from the same article 4000 children in these slums hotel's 1000 of them for more than a year…
Wtf is going on, I'll bet in 20 years there'll be a royal commission into abuse in emergency accomodation…
Lets do this?
Keep at it Sabine to many Labour fans are turning a blind eye…
IT is not a Labour or National thing, this is really where we can state simply that 'both sides indeed do it'.
the point that i am trying to make is simply 'pay rents rather then motel rates'.
My post right now is identical to some that i posted 6 odd years ago under J. K and P.B.
It is the lazyness in envisaging a different solution to the same problem. ITs not even that we don't have enough houses, it is that people can't pay for them, and the government rather then pay rents outright, spends 400 NZD a night for someone to sleep in a hovel with no access to anything other then a bed, a kettle and a teabag.
Agree completely, I just feel that there are more than a few that like to pretend the problem has magically disappeared now their 'team' is in govt…
When the reality is the situation is worsening dramatically…
The public outrage at the cost of motels forced the government and MSD to intoduce "transistional housing" which is even worse. Slum properties, often run down or former motel units, policed by incompetent and officious community groups who evict people at the drop of a hat, the government making sure rights under the RTA were removed, MSD washes its hands so the person is then forced to reapply for emergency housing and the whole cycle starts again, MSD often wrongly refusing to assist because of how the previous arrangement ended. The whole mess is completely out of control.
as i said above
Let them – the people in need of housing – find an appropriate property and have Winz pay for it. That would prevent abuse by landlords of Winz, and Winz / Government would save a tidy a penny for a rainy day by not paying 400 NZD per day.
The government could stipulate how that could work, i.e. in Germany when i was a student the government would pay up to 450 per month (yes per month) for one person. It did absolutly not matter what property you found, so as long as it was not more expensive as that.
What we are doing now is going to be so bad for the future, and it is already so bad for Rotorua.
Given the cost of the complete fiasco that is emergency and transitional housing the idea is attractive. How do you see the legal relationships and responsibilities operating, ensuring security of tenure etc? Does Kāinga Ora lease the property, which then becomes a state house, which is then rented by the tenant? If so, doesn't that just bring us back to the chronic supply shortage?
We don't have a supply shortage, we have an affordability problem.
Rent is too high. Rent could be measured by square meterage, or by rooms i.e. 150 per room per week for a rental. That would be somewhere around 300 – 45 for the common two bedder/ three bedder and then you could add in say 150 for close schools, public transport, shops etc.
The government could actually regulate rent. Currently rent is based on mortgage mainly, plus the maintenance of that mortgage, rates, insurance etc, and then maybe the boat, the holiday and the braces for the kids. But rent should only cover the use of the property, not the owner ship. Which is what a mortgage covers.
Also if the government for example would pay rents for beneficiaries, the market would follow in maybe building for these tenants. Smaller flats, one bed to three/four bedrooms, high density building. Currently we don't do that. We build shitty apartment blocks that fall apart after 6 years with huge co-op costs. Did you know that in Germany people wash down their own stair case 😉 or have a live in Janitor couple (usually rent free plus pay).
The chronic shortage is because we never regulated the market, and now people – even well to do people – can't afford to either rent or buy, or sell for that matter. Cause no matter how much money you have it won't be enough in the long term. And the last announcement of the governments housing policies reflect that by increasing the amount a first home buyer can spend in order to still get the government subsidy.
Gosh Chris that is pure purgatory for those beneficiaries. The disgust is building against Labour, and well founded. They actually have to pull some rabbits out of the hat and not just wave it around with promises. This latest health thing is expensive and time-consuming and could fit in with the polly-watchers theories that Labour was basking in the Covid19 management magic, but that has worn off, and need something else to fill the gap.
So Health instead of Housing which they don't want to touch from a distance closer than a barge pole, and are leaving it to the professionals who know how to build the modern chook-house painted grey with black roof that is regarded as all modern NZs could wish for. And what about the others? They must be feeling like fringe-dwellers lost in one of those desperately sordid dystopian dark stories that get on to tv.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/housing-affordability/124861129/car-stolen-emergency-housing-denied-a-woman-faces-sleeping-rough
Handing out pamphlets pretending to be the health department. At the very least I'd have thought issuing a trespass notice immediately might help. Plus who paid for this ??
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440904/covid-19-wellington-commuters-face-anti-mask-propaganda-on-train
The sooner Billy Te Kahika and his lunatic supporters disappear off the face of the planet the better.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440858/rse-seasonal-migrant-worker-scheme-does-not-benefit-economy-report
This is an example of looking at one side of a policy's effect. It isn't the most efficient or effective way of handling seasonal work to have people come into the country from Pacific Islands or employ young tourists. But it is really good way to interact with the Pacific Islands people, our neighbours who are small like us and go better when there is a co-operative relationship amongst the Pacific small islands.
As for visitors and tourists, young people being able to visit and learn about other countries is very important for understanding between nations and about being a citizen in this world. And it keeps us on the map, and we don't get forgotten down here at the bottom of the world. So there are more benefits to NZ than a narrow economic survey can demonstrate.
Perhaps we allow them into the country under time limitation, and giving preference to the *Woofers scheme (Willing Workers On Organic Farms). This means they are available to work for food and accommodation mainly, and probably have to have a return ticket booked when they come here,
* Wwoofing – Willing Workers On Organic Farms – is a host system where you exchange hours of work for accommodation and food. … Wwoofing is a well established global host system and New Zealand is one of many participating countries. https://www.backpackingmatt.com/wwoofing-in-new-zealand-tips-and-experiences/
WOOF ing. Yet another cheap labour scam, like the education for residency, temporary visa workers and "skilled immigration".
Slavery.
Young people have always wanted to travel and work around the world on the OE. It doesn't mean they should be paid exploitation wages. But, neither does it mean they should be able to do dodgy courses and get dodgy residents visas – then expect to bring family into the country. NZ has had a 20% population explosion in the last 10 years – 1 million extra people. We are being used and it's not sustainable.
But of course if we criticise it and speak against it, we are guilty of racism and hate speech.
https://www.google.com/search?q=nz+population+2011&sxsrf=ALeKk030RK9dbOL0LIC5GL25SZRR9zW-Fw%3A1618989478601&source=hp&ei=ptF_YN-oIuKM4-EPiZaLoAg&iflsig=AINFCbYAAAAAYH_ftgCoPEoD8l-nva5dxXOMSIw4pDXC&oq=nz+population+2011&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyAggAOgQIIxAnOggIABCxAxCDAToICC4QsQMQgwE6BQgAELEDOg4ILhCxAxCDARDHARCjAjoFCAAQyQM6BQgAEJIDOgsILhCxAxDHARCjAjoLCAAQsQMQgwEQyQM6BggAEBYQHlCkAVjYU2DXV2gAcAB4AIABwAKIAeIckgEIMC4xMC43LjGYAQCgAQGqAQdnd3Mtd2l6&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwjfk4_m5Y7wAhVixjgGHQnLAoQQ4dUDCAo&uact=5
errr- what? Seems broadly consistent with RosieLee's penultimate sentence. Not sure about the contribution of migration though.
Those monsters, enticing teachers with great pay and cheap accommodation
https://twitter.com/china_takes/status/1384228640083177476
Another lament about declining birth-rates in the UK:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/20/britain-falling-birthrate-covid-pandemic-conservatives-removed-support-for-parents
I suppose it's personal for Ms Toynbee, who stands to be one of those worst affected by an over-proportion of elderly to young. But if not her (also my) generation, then which? It's got to happen some time; might as well be now.
What? Parents not being regarded as worthy for consideration and assistance from the government?
"Not enough new workers being born".
"May have to pay decent wages and look after them".
Tragedy.