I guess Jacinda’s baby will not get to swim in the oceans around her house as by the time she grows up that will not be possible by the look of things.
“Opposition grows to pumping sewage into Waitemata Harbour near the harbour bridge”
When Water care stared charging water separately from the Auckland rates it was supposed to transform Auckland’s water into 21 century with no sewerage going into the sea.
Instead Water care via Auckland council took the money, and have not separated the pipes and applying to keep polluting. Even if they do separate the pipes, there is growing pollution from the diesel and pollution of the wastewater due to the very poor planning in every area from Auckland council and the government.
In spite of all the growing problems local and central government stubbornly refuse to acknowledge they did this to make a short term buck out of immigration and leave the mess to the residents to clean up (or price them out as it seems to be turning out).
Like transport it is not just money that is needed. Watercare needs to be de corporatised into an organisation that answers to the people, has a clear mandate to stop pollution and does not have any salaries over $300k.
Less managers and a smaller more expert team to do the job instead of send out glossy pamphlets every month saying what a great job they do and asking for more money from ratepayers.
I live right beside the sea in Ngataringa Bay and have done so for the last 17 years. I swim October through to May.
The water quality has been steadying improving during that time. The old Devonport tip (long since closed) does not leach out nearly as much as in the past. Watercare has spent a lot of money in the last 15 years upgrading pipes, so sewerage overflows basically no longer happen.
I certainly recall water quality being much worse than it is now at Narrow Neck and at Cheltenham.
Sure Watercare could do better, but so far they are doing a pretty good job. Probably the best of all the Council Controlled Organisations. It certainly does not need major reform.
Jacinda’s baby will still be swimming in the sea around Auckland well into her old age.
Now, now, marty. Just because he’s a Nat doesn’t mean Wayne is always wrong.
The Manukau harbour has massively improved in the 19 years I’ve been in Titirangi. Problems now generally occur after heavy rainfall in areas where the sewage infrastructure is newish. Which leads me to suspect the coliforms are probably from pets, rather than inadequate infrastructure.
@Wayne, we can’t all afford to live in Devonport, according to the article, “Auckland Council has red alerts in place at more than 60 of the city’s 84 beaches; red alert means a “moderate to high risk of infection” from swimming.”
I don’t see that as a good omen for Jacinda’s baby or anyone elses kids either, look at the damage they are doing down Long Bay with their developments, and they are thinking of pumping sewerage into St Mary’s Bay, when Cox is bay is permanently polluted!
Watercare don’t deal with stormwater – Council’s Healthy Waters Department does that. It’s the storm water overflows at peak mixed with old sewer lines that Auckland Council failed to separate that do the most damage.
Watercare are separating most of this in the isthmus through the Central Interceptor project. That $900m+ job is preparing its bidders now.
Wayne & Ad overlook the fact that stormwater is not the polluter, wastewater is, and Watercare deceitfully opted out of the 3 waters concept when the greater Auckland City was formed they have been talking about a new Western interceptor for years and now they are involved with ACC in suggesting that money should be spent to ensure that wastewater can be discharged into the harbour above the bridge.
Watercare needs to be completely restructured it it no longer fit for purpose as far as handling wastewater is concerned except that they are keeping the North Shore Rosedale plant at the high standard that it had been brought up to before they acquired it from NSCC in the amalgamation ion process after many years of neglect.
saveNZ
23 June 2018 at 9:10 am
I guess Jacinda’s baby will not get to swim in the oceans around her house as by the time she grows up that will not be possible by the look of things.
With rising sea levels my guess is Jacinda’s baby may get to swim in the oceans around her house, whether she wants it or not.
More disappointment for affordable homes. Funny how when business and richer influential individuals consult they are listened too, but when the public consults they are ignored and called Nimby’s.
So first we had the Super city under the Natz, getting ready the assets for privatisation, next we had the unitary plan to sky rise the price of land and make instant profits out of thin air under the Natz, but now we have Labour believing the lie that it is the land that needs to be made affordable, and it is ok for NZ to open our land to the world to be speculated by foreign buyers driving up the prices?
Apparently that was so the ‘neoliberal mantra says’ foreigners put money in to build houses on the land.
But now backtrack, foreign buyers are actually now able to buy and speculate on the apartments as well as the land?
Surely we are worse off now than before because we just put another million low wage workers into Auckland to help keep the Ponzi housing and transport going and expect the residents to pay for it?????
“The select committee report, released today, recommends:
– allowing pre-selling up to 60 per cent of units in big housing projects to foreigners, without them having to on-sell once construction is finished, as long as the investors don’t live in the properties.
– Waiving the requirement to on-sell immediately for investors in big developments intended to be rented out or sold under a rent-to-buy model.
– Allowing all resident visa holders, not just those with permanent residents visas, to buy land without Overseas Investment Office consent.
– Putting the burden of proof on purchasers, not lawyers, to make sure they meet the residency criteria.
– Allowing foreigners to invest in major hotel developments as long as they lease the rooms they buy back to the hotel.”
You seem to be well out of date there with that remark/innuendo BG.
Go have a look at the threads under 8 (not 8 itself but further down the thread) and 11 in Open Mike yesterday. Parker made it very clear on Thursday in the House, and on RNZ Morning Report yesterday morning that he is not mates with Darby and has hardly seen him for many years.
As Anne remarked at 8.2.2 Parker “was obviously very angry and at one point politely advised Espiner that some of the claims he was making were bordering on defamation.”
Hooton’s original article in the Herald has apparently also disappeared off the website …
oops thanks veutoviper….it looked very damning at first glance and I have had dealings with John Darby in the environment court where, shall we say (being careful here) some of the evidence put forward was questionable.
Of course I should have realised it was Hooton=largely made up.
How about electric buses and trucks being mandatory to reduce pollution, get the rail going to and out of the centre of Auckland, remove ports of Auckland somewhere else so freight is not going there and reducing congestion and putting the Vancouver tax on foreign sales ASAP!
Oh and actually have a 15 year period before giving out NZ permanent residency and citizenship like lollies while saying we can’t afford to pay super or care properly for our our residents hospital and educations and throwing up our arms and thinking a tax will stop the pollution of the oceans when they are pumping in more sewage and wastewater and forgetting about climate change and increased flooding in their haste to create more ‘tenants in our own country’ under a Labour government and NZ First government and Green government that campaigned on stopping foreign speculation!
It works a lot better for China, they have way cheaper electricity than say NZ… makes far more sense for them to do it. Our Solar is expensive (lack of cheap land and sun hours) so we rely on hydro but only enough for the local populace at this point. Any extra and the grid will be stretched.
Shut down Tiwai Point and there will be plenty of spare capacity.
After all, Australia’s bauxite mines are in the middle of one of the best solar resource areas in the world. Eventually it will make more sense to take advantage of that solar and refine it there rather than shipping alumina, which by weight is half oxygen that needs to be removed, to an island in the middle of nowhere to then be shipped back out again once it’s refined.
Once demand gets high enough, wind energy can ramp up fairly quickly. As I understand it there’s a lot of wind projects that are consented but shelved due to low demand.
giving out NZ permanent residency and citizenship like lollies while saying we can’t afford to pay super
One of the big benefits of immigration is that it makes our superannuation more affordable. New Zealand has a demographic bubble which will mean super costs will continue to increase for the next couple of decades. Increasing the ‘working age’ population and enlarging the economy means more tax revenue to fund our over 65 UBI.
Clearly not working when the migrants can bring their aged relatives over and they have full health benefits straight away and super within 10 years. So the average age of retirement is 65 and the average age of life is now over 80 years. Plus the last 3 years cost the most.
“Mr Woodhouse said another factor in closing the parent category was the strain being put on the health system.
“Information that I’ve been given about the burden … on the health services that are considerably higher than other people of that age who are eligible for New Zealand public health services.”
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been a relentless critic of the parent category.
He said after years of denying there was a problem, the government was now finally admitting something was wrong.
“You’ve got 87,000 people now who have arrived in the last 15 years, who are able to access our health service immediately and our superannuation within ten years, which other country in the world allows that?
Is it fair to allow migrants to bring aged relatives over to access our health care, while Kiwis who worked for years and paid taxes wait months and years for health access to operations and then have to compete on the waiting lists for more and more people???
Likewise they have already found the migrant parents cost far more in health care than equivalent aged Kiwis according to the links above.
Even in OZ they wait 15 years but it is not long enough when the burden is on the young who are getting poorer and poorer in their own countries.
Yep, they should just have 2 year visas for visiting when the parents have to have private health insurance and pay a fee to cover all the infrastructure they will use that the exisiting tax payers pay for and certainly not buy up housing!
I’m not against migrant parents visiting their kids and grandkids, but the present system is having a laugh, and grossly unfair on existing residents who are told pay more, get less while somehow someone’s aged parent can rock up, pay no taxes, get a gold card with free transport, super, free medical and their 20yo kids are on $20 p/h and qualify for WFF and free education, including one year free tertiary while the existing tax payers are paying of $50k student loans from the 1990’s and going to food banks in Auckland while they are both working.
It’s not a fair deal for those that have been taxed to death already from neoliberalism, when the government is happy to give hand outs to new comers who in many cases are far wealthier than the local tax payers.
In addition recent migrants, having babies which is only to be expected for 20 and 30 year olds so they ain’t working and paying taxes for that long in NZ and will never cover the taxes if they are on low wages, so maybe that is why our productivity is flat and we need to borrow more government and council money to pay for bad decisions while our public service are groaning under the load?
Certain people like Solka seem to think that’s fair on existing people to help new mostly richer people get even richer while poorer people pay for their care as those on $90k apparently are keen to abandon and not even bother looking after their own kin when NZ taxpayers will do if for them. It’s insane!
I believe our economy has been growing roughly at the same rate as net immigration and our productivity is almost flat.
Not all immigrants are ‘workers’ and certainly not all will contribute to diversifying the economy and make it more innovative and sustained & resilient to future shocks (of any kind).
One of the big benefits of immigration is that it makes our superannuation more affordable.
No it doesn’t.
Increasing the ‘working age’ population and enlarging the economy means more tax revenue to fund our over 65 UBI.
The government doesn’t actually need tax revenue. That’s a lie by the private sector that has helped them shift the power from the people into the hands of the rich.
The fact that you’re repeating that lie shows how you don’t understand why the demographic bulge is a problem and why immigration won’t fix it.
The demographic bulge is a physical problem. With so many leaving the workforce there won’t be enough people working to support both themselves, the retired and the bludging rich.
Immigration won’t fix that problem because it will cause other problems itself. Some will be social but mostly they’ll be economic (real economics not the delusional stuff based around money) and those will be to do with over-population. The government is trying to increase population growth to meet those retiring but to do that will push us well sustainability.
The government and NZ really would be better off spending huge amounts developing 3D printing factories and our extracting and processing our own resources. The problem the government has with that is that it will destroy jobs and cause an even faster collapse of our society as all the wealth created would simply go to the rich even fatser.
Unless a parent has an annual income of more than $60 000, and a spare $1 million that they’ll invest in NZ over four years and another $500 000 to live on, then they ain’t getting in.
And even satisfying the above only allows for an application for permanent residence after four years. During those four years it would appear that medical expenses must be covered by the patient.
I’m a citizen DTB. Just not a recognised New Zealand citizen.
Now, what’s your problem?
You’re concerned or agitated that I cannot hold a NZ passport, stand for public office, represent NZ in international sport…or are you in a fluster about the fact that I can be deported?
Oh. And as a permanent resident, bar any dependent children I may have, there is no easy pathway available for me to bring any family members into the country.
The stuff your railing against (it seems) is the benefits that accrue more readily to people accepted as and recognised as New Zealand citizens. That being the case, I fully expect the next sentence your piles mouth out for you to type will be calling for a ban on citizenship, yes?
Bill, when the right comes from all this lazy immigration, like Windrush they will be deporting the most vulnerable, after cutting all the benefits, and it will be people like you for the chop, while those who came here 5 years ago and got so much for free and have the money, will be sitting pretty.
That is the lesson from Windrush. They go after the venerable who don’t have access to lawyers, not those who came here last.
So migrants who think that defending lazy immigration is benefiting them, should check their paperwork is in order, because Auckland is ground zero and there’s been a massive change in demographic and they keep putting more taxes in to help the rich who don’t live here, while taxing the poor and existing residents.
Those coming in are voting for National and rights for the rich. Aka look at the recommendations from the select committee to give more rights to foreign investors in property and let bad lawyers off the hook.
As for not getting your parents in, you just don’t know the right immigration lawyers as 87,000 have arrived in the last 15 years, who are able to access our health service immediately and our superannuation within ten years.
Possibly that is why the lawyers apparently are trying not be responsible for their residency decisions in the select committees…
“Unless a parent has an annual income of more than $60 000, and a spare $1 million that they’ll invest in NZ over four years and another $500 000 to live on, then they ain’t getting in.”
Your comment makes it even worse that the poor long term resident Kiwi’s are expected to support new rich aged coming into NZ.
One million doesn’t even buy you much of a house in Auckland, and super and health is not means tested…so you get your 500k to live on while our laws allow new rich people to then get extremely generous benefits including free transport that beneficiaries who are disabled or very poor don’t get.
Surely the 1.5 million better spent of making the new aged migrant pay their own way via super and health care not expect the Kiwis to chip in for their affluent lifestyle? Apparently there are aged care issues as well as hospital issues, and many Kiwis who paid many taxes are on waiting lists for health care, but money apparently can just wave new people through.
Of course as well as all that, you can just convert that money into a trust once you gain citizenship and viola, you have no income!
+1 Draco. And you have to live here Permanently to achieve citizenship with provable taxes that are positive not negative and prove good character for 20 years! Unless you are a refugee. We are all living longer, yet our laws seem to think we all die at 70 years!
If we had a country without poor people it would be all well and good to be throwing money to the world’s rich and opportunistic migrants.
Sadly we have people living in cars and going to food banks and are shutting down our university libraries to save money and have mouldy hospitals. I’m not sure how the government can justify constant immigration hand outs to the world’s rich and working poor, until we can get our existing citizens problems under control
There is a test you can get when replacing mercury fillings called a serum compatibly test. This shows what material your system will react to vs what will be inert so when your fillings are replaced you know the new filling isn’t harming you. Its different for everyone and there are apparently over a thousand(!?) different types of materials that can be used in dentistry.
Q: Why would it not be the same for other foreign materials placed in the body?
“They were so cheap, they were only $3500, so I thought why not.”
“She spent the $15,000 she had saved to go travelling on the procedure.
“I had to choose my health or my happiness to go travelling.””
I cannot believe how somebody so moronic still breathes.
Well of course she nearly didn’t
What a fucking stupid brainless person
It’s no laughing matter. The guy I met was incredibly brave to keep going out in public. He faced his fears. I doubt I could have done it.
We are a community here, albeit an unusual one to be sure, and while it’s common for people to have the odd spat we all need to show a little more understanding and tolerance for each other IMO.
DH, I didn’t read the sign on the door, I was bantering under the belief I was in Open Mike.
Yes, I’m aware Tourettes is no joke, nor should it be taboo. Yeah me too, I’d turn hermit.
I agree DH, I think reasoned contrasting views is what makes this blog vibrant and we should be fostering an environment that induces more of it.
I wonder if the Germans are more open to immigration. The right leaning practical thinking executives at BMW realising they’re going to more retirement parties than apprentice inductions.
‘Labour commissioned Wellington lawyer Maria Berryman in March to investigate how it handled the affair, its general culture and any other incidents of sexual harassment or abuse within the party. She had three months to report back and her findings were not to be made public but go to key party leaders.’
I’m sure its a complete coincidence that its been three months and Andrew Kirton is leaving, not that we’ll know since the report isn’t being made public
Pleased to see that addiction support workers and mental health workers are getting equity. $3 to $5 dollars an hour back paid to July 1 2017. Let’s do this!!
ABs wins havnt been great for a long time and won’t be until they are representative of NZ community again. Winnng by any means #1 is at the detriment to NZ, sport is to bring together, not isolate.
Neo-liberal nitwittedness elitism pee poor excuse for a ruling class!
Q*A Michael Barnett is full of national propa-ganda pushing the doom and gloom to try and make labour look bad . Business have been Creaming it with all the business friendly changes to taxes and labour laws under national . The skill shortage well we know who to blame for that mess national did not invest in training tangata there cheap solution to this was to import foreign skilled workers and who gives a toss about the common tangata whom these foreign workers put on the couch.
Its not just multi national company’s that pay a low wage its a lot of big business who do this don’t be afraid of a wage rise take it as a challange to lift your productivity its not rocket science .The low wage society is the reason OUR productivity is low on the OECD list why bother to try and gain productivity efficiencys when one can just hire cheap labour efficient productivity is what we need to do to help save our environment No. Yes there is only one person in trumps world and thats himself he is trying to spread his dumb ass views around Papatuanuku Many thanks to the European Union and OUR Labour lead coalition goverment. ka kite ano P.S in the near future we are going to have a lot of Pacific Island environmental refugees and we need to plan for that
thehui the meth testing was a sham and look whom that bad behavior by the national government and there meth testing m8s affected mostly Maori there views on this is who cares . ka kite ano P.S $100 million flushed into the wealthy m8s of the national party’s pockets
Newshub Nation there you go the justices system is a big sham when the police can not get enough evidence to set up there fall person for a unsolved crime they bribe and manufacture evidence Lisa Arthur Taylor is letting everyone know how corrupt the jail house witness police bribed witnesses are the courts should be baned from using this bull—- evedince. tangata are just sheep in there reality . Ana to kai
Ka kite ano
Newshub did you know that tangata classes for learning te reo are in high demarned now ka pai Maori culture is a beautiful caring historic respectful culture .
Germany has won there game in the Russian football World cup ka pai.
Loyd that will be great if Peter Burling won the Volvo Ocean race around Papatuanuku I say you will have a couple of refreshments tonight to celebrate the team and Peters win Loyd and that will be the triple wins for Peter Burling .
Ka kite ano P.S I miss my days working on Tangaroa watching the wild life we have to get this poisons stuff plastic out of OUR environment asap
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Welcome to 2025. After wrapping up 2024, here’s a look at some of the things we can expect to see this year along with a few predictions. Council and Elections Elections One of the biggest things this year will be local body elections in October. Will Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Canadians can take a while to get angry – but when they finally do, watch out. Canada has been falling out of love with Justin Trudeau for years, and his exit has to be the least surprising news event of the New Year. On recent polling, Trudeau’s Liberal party has ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Much like 2023, many climate and energy records were broken in 2024. It was Earth’s hottest year on record by a wide margin, breaking the previous record that was set just last year by an even larger margin. Human-caused climate-warming pollution and ...
Submissions on National's racist, white supremacist Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill are due tomorrow! So today, after a good long holiday from all that bullshit, I finally got my shit together to submit on it. As I noted here, people should write their own submissions in their own ...
Ooh, baby (ooh, baby)It's making me crazy (it's making me crazy)Every time I look around (look around)Every time I look around (every time I look around)Every time I look aroundIt's in my faceSongwriters: Alan Leo Jansson / Paul Lawrence L. Fuemana.Today, I’ll be talking about rich, middle-aged men who’ve made ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 29, 2024 thru Sat, January 4, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Hi,The thing that stood out at me while shopping for Christmas presents in New Zealand was how hard it was to avoid Zuru products. Toy manufacturer Zuru is a bit like Netflix, in that it has so much data on what people want they can flood the market with so ...
And when a child is born into this worldIt has no conceptOf the tone of skin it's living inAnd there's a million voicesAnd there's a million voicesTo tell you what you should be thinkingSong by Neneh Cherry and Youssou N'Dour.The moment you see that face, you can hear her voice; ...
While we may not always have quality political leadership, a couple of recently published autobiographies indicate sometimes we strike it lucky. When ranking our prime ministers, retired professor of history Erik Olssen commented that ‘neither Holland nor Nash was especially effective as prime minister – even his private secretary thought ...
Baby, be the class clownI'll be the beauty queen in tearsIt's a new art form, showin' people how little we care (yeah)We're so happy, even when we're smilin' out of fearLet's go down to the tennis court and talk it up like, yeah (yeah)Songwriters: Joel Little / Ella Yelich O ...
Open access notables Why Misinformation Must Not Be Ignored, Ecker et al., American Psychologist:Recent academic debate has seen the emergence of the claim that misinformation is not a significant societal problem. We argue that the arguments used to support this minimizing position are flawed, particularly if interpreted (e.g., by policymakers or the public) as suggesting ...
What I’ve Been Doing: I buried a close family member.What I’ve Been Watching: Andor, Jack Reacher, Xmas movies.What I’ve Been Reflecting On: The Usefulness of Writing and the Worthiness of Doing So — especially as things become more transparent on their own.I also hate competing on any day, and if ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by John Wihbey. A version of this article first appeared on Yale Climate Connections on Nov. 11, 2008. (Image credits: The White House, Jonathan Cutrer / CC BY 2.0; President Jimmy Carter, Trikosko/Library of Congress; Solar dedication, Bill Fitz-Patrick / Jimmy Carter Library; Solar ...
Morena folks,We’re having a good break, recharging the batteries. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday period. I’m not feeling terribly inspired by much at the moment, I’m afraid—not from a writing point of view, anyway.So, today, we’re travelling back in time. You’ll have to imagine the wavy lines and sci-fi sound ...
Completed reads for 2024: Oration on the Dignity of Man, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola A Platonic Discourse Upon Love, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Of Being and Unity, by Giovanni Pico della Mirandola The Life of Pico della Mirandola, by Giovanni Francesco Pico Three Letters Written by Pico ...
Welcome to 2025, Aotearoa. Well… what can one really say? 2024 was a story of a bad beginning, an infernal middle and an indescribably farcical end. But to chart a course for a real future, it does pay to know where we’ve been… so we know where we need ...
Welcome to the official half-way point of the 2020s. Anyway, as per my New Years tradition, here’s where A Phuulish Fellow’s blog traffic came from in 2024: United States United Kingdom New Zealand Canada Sweden Australia Germany Spain Brazil Finland The top four are the same as 2023, ...
Completed reads for December: Be A Wolf!, by Brian Strickland The Magic Flute [libretto], by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Emanuel Schikaneder The Invisible Eye, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Owl’s Ear, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Waters of Death, by Erckmann-Chatrian The Spider, by Hanns Heinz Ewers Who Knows?, by Guy de Maupassant ...
Well, it’s the last day of the year, so it’s time for a quick wrap-up of the most important things that happened in 2024 for urbanism and transport in our city. A huge thank you to everyone who has visited the blog and supported us in our mission to make ...
Leave your office, run past your funeralLeave your home, car, leave your pulpitJoin us in the streets where weJoin us in the streets where weDon't belong, don't belongHere under the starsThrowing light…Song: Jeffery BuckleyToday, I’ll discuss the standout politicians of the last 12 months. Each party will receive three awards, ...
Hi,A lot’s happened this year in the world of Webworm, and as 2024 comes to an end I thought I’d look back at a few of the things that popped. Maybe you missed them, or you might want to revisit some of these essay and podcast episodes over your break ...
Hi,I wanted to share this piece by film editor Dan Kircher about what cinema has been up to in 2024.Dan edited my documentary Mister Organ, as well as this year’s excellent crowd-pleasing Bookworm.Dan adores movies. He gets the language of cinema, he knows what he loves, and writes accordingly. And ...
Without delving into personal details but in order to give readers a sense of the year that was, I thought I would offer the study in contrasts that are Xmas 2023 and Xmas 2024: Xmas 2023 in Starship Children’s Hospital (after third of four surgeries). Even opening presents was an ...
Heavy disclaimer: Alpha/beta/omega dynamics is a popular trope that’s used in a wide range of stories and my thoughts on it do not apply to all cases. I’m most familiar with it through the lens of male-focused fanfic, typically m/m but sometimes also featuring m/f and that’s the situation I’m ...
Hi,Webworm has been pretty heavy this year — mainly because the world is pretty heavy. But as we sprint (or limp, you choose) through the final days of 2024, I wanted to keep Webworm a little lighter.So today I wanted to look at one of the biggest and weirdest elements ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, December 22, 2024 thru Sat, December 28, 2024. This week's roundup is the second one published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, ...
We’ll have a climate change ChristmasFrom now until foreverWarming our hearts and mindsAnd planet all togetherSpirits high and oceans higherChestnuts roast on wildfiresIf coal is on your wishlistMerry Climate Change ChristmasSong by Ian McConnellReindeer emissions are not something I’d thought about in terms of climate change. I guess some significant ...
KP continues to putt-putt along as a tiny niche blog that offers a NZ perspective on international affairs with a few observations about NZ domestic politics thrown in. In 2024 there was also some personal posts given that my son was in the last four months of a nine month ...
The Green Party has welcomed the provisional ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and reiterated its call for New Zealand to push for an end to the unlawful occupation of Palestine. ...
The Green Party welcomes the extension of the deadline for Treaty Principles Bill submissions but continues to call on the Government to abandon the Bill. ...
Complaints about disruptive behaviour now handled in around 13 days (down from around 60 days a year ago) 553 Section 55A notices issued by Kāinga Ora since July 2024, up from 41 issued during the same period in the previous year. Of that 553, first notices made up around 83 ...
The time it takes to process building determinations has improved significantly over the last year which means fewer delays in homes being built, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “New Zealand has a persistent shortage of houses. Making it easier and quicker for new homes to be built will ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is pleased to announce the annual list of New Zealand’s most popular baby names for 2024. “For the second consecutive year, Noah has claimed the top spot for boys with 250 babies sharing the name, while Isla has returned to the most popular ...
Work is set to get underway on a new bus station at Westgate this week. A contract has been awarded to HEB Construction to start a package of enabling works to get the site ready in advance of main construction beginning in mid-2025, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“A new Westgate ...
Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence Karen Chhour is encouraging people to use the resources available to them to get help, and to report instances of family and sexual violence amongst their friends, families, and loved ones who are in need. “The death of a ...
Uia te pō, rangahaua te pō, whakamāramatia mai he aha tō tango, he aha tō kāwhaki? Whitirere ki te ao, tirotiro kau au, kei hea taku rātā whakamarumaru i te au o te pakanga mo te mana motuhake? Au te pō, ngū te pō, ue hā! E te kahurangi māreikura, ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says people with diabetes and other painful conditions will benefit from a significant new qualification to boost training in foot care. “It sounds simple, but quality and regular foot and nail care is vital in preventing potentially serious complications from diabetes, like blisters or sores, which can take a long time to heal ...
Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour is pleased to see Pharmac continue to increase availability of medicines for Kiwis with the government’s largest ever investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” says Mr Seymour. “When this government assumed ...
Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora e mua - Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead. Māori recipients in the New Year 2025 Honours list show comprehensive dedication to improving communities across the motu that ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden is wishing all New Zealanders a great holiday season as Kiwis prepare for gatherings with friends and families to see in the New Year. It is a great time of year to remind everyone to stay fire safe over the summer. “I know ...
From 1 January 2025, first-time tertiary learners will have access to a new Fees Free entitlement of up to $12,000 for their final year of provider-based study or final two years of work-based learning, Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds says. “Targeting funding to the final year of study ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor in Port Vila More than 180,000 registered voters are expected to cast their votes today with polls now open in Vanuatu. It is remarkable the snap election is even able to happen with Friday marking one month since the 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the ...
New Zealand needs to boost its productivity growth and become more attractive and accessible as a workplace in order to fix its labour market woes, a recruitment agency says.Commenting on new salary survey results from Robert Walters, Shay Peters, the company’s Australia and New Zealand chief executive, says the Government ...
Comment: When Newsroom’s editor Jonathan Milne invited me to write one of two special pieces for the summer break, I faced quite the conundrum. My options were to either review a work of non-fiction or write a column about hope and optimism for 2025.I initially misread Jonathan’s request to review ...
By Daniel Perese of Te Ao Māori News Māori politicians across the political spectrum in Aotearoa New Zealand have called for immediate aid to enter Gaza following a temporary ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel. The ceasefire, agreed yesterday, comes into effect on Sunday, January 19. Foreign Minister Winston Peters ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Sherlock, Lecturer, School of Fashion and Textiles, RMIT University Australian-owned brand UGG Since 1974 has announced it will change its name to “Since 74” for sales outside Australia and New Zealand. There has been a long-running battle over the rights ...
The committee has agreed to split into two sub-committees to increase the number of people it can hear from in the time available. Each sub-committee will meet for 30 hours total, together making up 60 of the 80 planned hours of hearings. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Parmeter, Research scholar, Middle East studies, Australian National University The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, to come into effect on Sunday, has understandably been welcomed by the overwhelming majority of Israelis and Palestinians. Israelis are relieved that a process for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christine Carson, Senior Research Fellow, School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia Over the past several days, the world has watched on in shock as wildfires have devastated large parts of Los Angeles. Beyond the obvious destruction – to landscapes, homes, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rose Cairns, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy, NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, University of Sydney AtlasStudio/Shutterstock TikTok and Instagram influencers have been peddling the “Barbie drug” to help you tan. But melanotan-II, as it’s called officially, is a solution that’s too good to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paula Jarzabkowski, Professor in Strategic Management, The University of Queensland A series of wildfires in Los Angeles County have caused widespread devastation in California, including at least 24 deaths and the destruction of more than 12,000 homes and structures. Thousands of residents ...
COMMENTARY:By Monika Singh The lack of women representation in parliaments across the world remains a vexed and contentious issue. In Fiji, this problem has again surfaced for debate in response to Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica’s call for a quota system to increase women’s representation in Parliament. Kamikamica was ...
What compels someone of significant status in society to break the law, repeatedly, might be the same reason I did as a poor teenager. Former Green MP Golriz Ghahraman, who left parliament a year ago today following revelations of shoplifting, is now at the centre of another shoplifting complaint. As ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kath Albury, Professor of Media and Communication and Associate Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making + Society, Swinburne University of Technology natamrli/Shutterstock Last week, social media giant Meta announced major changes to its content moderation practices. This includes an ...
"Gisborne has suffered from housing underdevelopment and a lack of supply, coupled with damage from severe weather events," Minister Tama Potaka says. ...
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The agreement will ease Palestinians’ suffering, but international agencies will struggle to meet the massive need for humanitarian relief. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here. We start the World Bulletin’s year with a rare piece of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marika Sosnowski, Postdoctoral research fellow, The University of Melbourne After 467 days of violence, a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel has been reached and will come into effect on Sunday, pending Israeli government approval. This agreement will not end the ...
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Requests for official information involving potentially damning correspondence are totally legitimate – but have been put in the ‘too hard basket' by officials refusing to properly follow the Local Government Official Information and Meetings ...
With the local body elections in October, a long-awaited upgrade of Courtenay Place, and big changes for water, housing and the economy, it’s set to be another dramatic year for the capital city. The Golden Mile Conservative city councillors made a last-minute attempt in November to scrap the Golden Mile ...
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The anonymised database is crucial to the government's social investment approach to funding programmes - but was incapable of doing so without extra investment. ...
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Tasty!
https://i.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/104952405/rat-breaches-bank-atm-in-india-dines-out-on-27500-worth-of-cash
I guess Jacinda’s baby will not get to swim in the oceans around her house as by the time she grows up that will not be possible by the look of things.
“Opposition grows to pumping sewage into Waitemata Harbour near the harbour bridge”
http://trendingnowgh.com/opposition-grows-to-pumping-sewage-into-waitemata-harbour-near-the-harbour-bridge/
When Water care stared charging water separately from the Auckland rates it was supposed to transform Auckland’s water into 21 century with no sewerage going into the sea.
Instead Water care via Auckland council took the money, and have not separated the pipes and applying to keep polluting. Even if they do separate the pipes, there is growing pollution from the diesel and pollution of the wastewater due to the very poor planning in every area from Auckland council and the government.
In spite of all the growing problems local and central government stubbornly refuse to acknowledge they did this to make a short term buck out of immigration and leave the mess to the residents to clean up (or price them out as it seems to be turning out).
Like transport it is not just money that is needed. Watercare needs to be de corporatised into an organisation that answers to the people, has a clear mandate to stop pollution and does not have any salaries over $300k.
Less managers and a smaller more expert team to do the job instead of send out glossy pamphlets every month saying what a great job they do and asking for more money from ratepayers.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350225/auckland-swimmers-unaware-of-contamination-on-beaches
I live right beside the sea in Ngataringa Bay and have done so for the last 17 years. I swim October through to May.
The water quality has been steadying improving during that time. The old Devonport tip (long since closed) does not leach out nearly as much as in the past. Watercare has spent a lot of money in the last 15 years upgrading pipes, so sewerage overflows basically no longer happen.
I certainly recall water quality being much worse than it is now at Narrow Neck and at Cheltenham.
Sure Watercare could do better, but so far they are doing a pretty good job. Probably the best of all the Council Controlled Organisations. It certainly does not need major reform.
Jacinda’s baby will still be swimming in the sea around Auckland well into her old age.
Lol my confidence is not increased based on those anecdotal musings.
I wonder how many beaches will close next summer in Auckland due to pollution – 10? 16? 30? Who knows but it ain’t going to be zero.
Now, now, marty. Just because he’s a Nat doesn’t mean Wayne is always wrong.
The Manukau harbour has massively improved in the 19 years I’ve been in Titirangi. Problems now generally occur after heavy rainfall in areas where the sewage infrastructure is newish. Which leads me to suspect the coliforms are probably from pets, rather than inadequate infrastructure.
Plenty of Do Not Swim signs around the Titirangi area still.
Some of the pipe and pumping stations that they put in place in the early 1980s seem to be wearing out.
There’s no doubt Watercare has done amazing and positive things to the Manukau by brining the entire treatment system onshore over the past 15 years.
But Piha, Muriwai, Wood Bay, Blockhouse Bay and others are still pretty bad.
Good the poos and weese going in has reduced. Localised sea water quality may indeed be slightly better, once the plastic is ignored, I spose.
@Wayne, we can’t all afford to live in Devonport, according to the article, “Auckland Council has red alerts in place at more than 60 of the city’s 84 beaches; red alert means a “moderate to high risk of infection” from swimming.”
I don’t see that as a good omen for Jacinda’s baby or anyone elses kids either, look at the damage they are doing down Long Bay with their developments, and they are thinking of pumping sewerage into St Mary’s Bay, when Cox is bay is permanently polluted!
Excellent – Wayne has just reported in from his dacha on the Black Sea that all is well. Fantastic – I am so relieved.
Watercare don’t deal with stormwater – Council’s Healthy Waters Department does that. It’s the storm water overflows at peak mixed with old sewer lines that Auckland Council failed to separate that do the most damage.
Watercare are separating most of this in the isthmus through the Central Interceptor project. That $900m+ job is preparing its bidders now.
Wayne & Ad overlook the fact that stormwater is not the polluter, wastewater is, and Watercare deceitfully opted out of the 3 waters concept when the greater Auckland City was formed they have been talking about a new Western interceptor for years and now they are involved with ACC in suggesting that money should be spent to ensure that wastewater can be discharged into the harbour above the bridge.
Watercare needs to be completely restructured it it no longer fit for purpose as far as handling wastewater is concerned except that they are keeping the North Shore Rosedale plant at the high standard that it had been brought up to before they acquired it from NSCC in the amalgamation ion process after many years of neglect.
With rising sea levels my guess is Jacinda’s baby may get to swim in the oceans around her house, whether she wants it or not.
Trump targeting of women and children, as criminals, rapists and murderers is so so sad. Dumb. Fake News.
More disappointment for affordable homes. Funny how when business and richer influential individuals consult they are listened too, but when the public consults they are ignored and called Nimby’s.
So first we had the Super city under the Natz, getting ready the assets for privatisation, next we had the unitary plan to sky rise the price of land and make instant profits out of thin air under the Natz, but now we have Labour believing the lie that it is the land that needs to be made affordable, and it is ok for NZ to open our land to the world to be speculated by foreign buyers driving up the prices?
Apparently that was so the ‘neoliberal mantra says’ foreigners put money in to build houses on the land.
But now backtrack, foreign buyers are actually now able to buy and speculate on the apartments as well as the land?
Surely we are worse off now than before because we just put another million low wage workers into Auckland to help keep the Ponzi housing and transport going and expect the residents to pay for it?????
“The select committee report, released today, recommends:
– allowing pre-selling up to 60 per cent of units in big housing projects to foreigners, without them having to on-sell once construction is finished, as long as the investors don’t live in the properties.
– Waiving the requirement to on-sell immediately for investors in big developments intended to be rented out or sold under a rent-to-buy model.
– Allowing all resident visa holders, not just those with permanent residents visas, to buy land without Overseas Investment Office consent.
– Putting the burden of proof on purchasers, not lawyers, to make sure they meet the residency criteria.
– Allowing foreigners to invest in major hotel developments as long as they lease the rooms they buy back to the hotel.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12073385
Yep, bloody stupid.
We need an outright ban on offshore ownership. Not excuses for them to keep pricing NZers out of living in NZ.
When David Parker is mates with John Darby you have to expect this kind of fudged policy.
You seem to be well out of date there with that remark/innuendo BG.
Go have a look at the threads under 8 (not 8 itself but further down the thread) and 11 in Open Mike yesterday. Parker made it very clear on Thursday in the House, and on RNZ Morning Report yesterday morning that he is not mates with Darby and has hardly seen him for many years.
As Anne remarked at 8.2.2 Parker “was obviously very angry and at one point politely advised Espiner that some of the claims he was making were bordering on defamation.”
Hooton’s original article in the Herald has apparently also disappeared off the website …
oops thanks veutoviper….it looked very damning at first glance and I have had dealings with John Darby in the environment court where, shall we say (being careful here) some of the evidence put forward was questionable.
Of course I should have realised it was Hooton=largely made up.
Apologies to you and Mr. Parker.
No need for apologies to me, BG. I was just warning you /watching your back!
Also there is now a frenetic post on TDB on the subject of Hooton’s missing Herald article:
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/06/22/wheres-matthew-hootons-claim-that-david-parker-is-corrupt-gone/
You may be interested in this other Herald article on the subject, if you have not already seen it.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12075267
From TDB article:
“Matthew Hooton is the Head of Slytherin House, the architect of the Death Star, the moral Shepard to the Right.”
Larf……I actually like The Daily Blog contrary to some Standardistas. It’s out there doing it, calling a spade a spade etc.
Love how the ‘poor’ lawyers can’t possibly be held accountable for residency criteria. Happy to take the money but not liable for any frauds I see.
It’s like John Key’s back in town.
How about electric buses and trucks being mandatory to reduce pollution, get the rail going to and out of the centre of Auckland, remove ports of Auckland somewhere else so freight is not going there and reducing congestion and putting the Vancouver tax on foreign sales ASAP!
Oh and actually have a 15 year period before giving out NZ permanent residency and citizenship like lollies while saying we can’t afford to pay super or care properly for our our residents hospital and educations and throwing up our arms and thinking a tax will stop the pollution of the oceans when they are pumping in more sewage and wastewater and forgetting about climate change and increased flooding in their haste to create more ‘tenants in our own country’ under a Labour government and NZ First government and Green government that campaigned on stopping foreign speculation!
Vancouver slaps 15% tax on foreign house buyers in effort to cool market
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/02/vancouver-real-estate-foreign-house-buyers-tax
People need to reduce their travel and rely mainly on local produce.
Electric isn’t going to cut it.
UPS is buying a fleet of 1,000 electric vans from Workhorse
https://electrek.co/2018/06/15/ups-fleet-1000-electric-vans-workhorse/
Tesla Semi will deliver beer – Budweiser orders 40 electric trucks
https://electrek.co/2017/12/07/tesla-semi-deliver-beer-budweiser-orders-40-electric-trucks/
Where they currently have charging stations in NZ or in the next 12 months.
https://charge.net.nz/map/
https://twitter.com/Tesla/status/1009470198896738305/video/1
Not to mention what the Chinese are doing – like changing entire city bus fleets to electric.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/01/03/100-chinese-citys-record-smashing-16359-electric-bus-fleet/
Or the Chinese car market accounts for something 40% of the world sales of electric cars – supplied almost entirely by domestic production.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/04/22/byd-steps-up-china-electric-car-sales-report/
It works a lot better for China, they have way cheaper electricity than say NZ… makes far more sense for them to do it. Our Solar is expensive (lack of cheap land and sun hours) so we rely on hydro but only enough for the local populace at this point. Any extra and the grid will be stretched.
Shut down Tiwai Point and there will be plenty of spare capacity.
After all, Australia’s bauxite mines are in the middle of one of the best solar resource areas in the world. Eventually it will make more sense to take advantage of that solar and refine it there rather than shipping alumina, which by weight is half oxygen that needs to be removed, to an island in the middle of nowhere to then be shipped back out again once it’s refined.
Once demand gets high enough, wind energy can ramp up fairly quickly. As I understand it there’s a lot of wind projects that are consented but shelved due to low demand.
giving out NZ permanent residency and citizenship like lollies while saying we can’t afford to pay super
One of the big benefits of immigration is that it makes our superannuation more affordable. New Zealand has a demographic bubble which will mean super costs will continue to increase for the next couple of decades. Increasing the ‘working age’ population and enlarging the economy means more tax revenue to fund our over 65 UBI.
Clearly not working when the migrants can bring their aged relatives over and they have full health benefits straight away and super within 10 years. So the average age of retirement is 65 and the average age of life is now over 80 years. Plus the last 3 years cost the most.
“Mr Woodhouse said another factor in closing the parent category was the strain being put on the health system.
“Information that I’ve been given about the burden … on the health services that are considerably higher than other people of that age who are eligible for New Zealand public health services.”
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been a relentless critic of the parent category.
He said after years of denying there was a problem, the government was now finally admitting something was wrong.
“You’ve got 87,000 people now who have arrived in the last 15 years, who are able to access our health service immediately and our superannuation within ten years, which other country in the world allows that?
“Well the answer is none – just New Zealand.”
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/315435/migrants'-parents-cost-nz-'tens-of-millions‘
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11635692
Is it fair to allow migrants to bring aged relatives over to access our health care, while Kiwis who worked for years and paid taxes wait months and years for health access to operations and then have to compete on the waiting lists for more and more people???
Likewise they have already found the migrant parents cost far more in health care than equivalent aged Kiwis according to the links above.
Even in OZ they wait 15 years but it is not long enough when the burden is on the young who are getting poorer and poorer in their own countries.
https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/punjabi/en/article/2017/06/22/migrants-wait-15-years-aged-pension
Shouldn’t be allowed to bring in the parents at all. Immigration should probably be banned for anyone over the age of 30.
Yep, they should just have 2 year visas for visiting when the parents have to have private health insurance and pay a fee to cover all the infrastructure they will use that the exisiting tax payers pay for and certainly not buy up housing!
I’m not against migrant parents visiting their kids and grandkids, but the present system is having a laugh, and grossly unfair on existing residents who are told pay more, get less while somehow someone’s aged parent can rock up, pay no taxes, get a gold card with free transport, super, free medical and their 20yo kids are on $20 p/h and qualify for WFF and free education, including one year free tertiary while the existing tax payers are paying of $50k student loans from the 1990’s and going to food banks in Auckland while they are both working.
It’s not a fair deal for those that have been taxed to death already from neoliberalism, when the government is happy to give hand outs to new comers who in many cases are far wealthier than the local tax payers.
In addition recent migrants, having babies which is only to be expected for 20 and 30 year olds so they ain’t working and paying taxes for that long in NZ and will never cover the taxes if they are on low wages, so maybe that is why our productivity is flat and we need to borrow more government and council money to pay for bad decisions while our public service are groaning under the load?
Certain people like Solka seem to think that’s fair on existing people to help new mostly richer people get even richer while poorer people pay for their care as those on $90k apparently are keen to abandon and not even bother looking after their own kin when NZ taxpayers will do if for them. It’s insane!
Can you please walk me through your argument?
I believe our economy has been growing roughly at the same rate as net immigration and our productivity is almost flat.
Not all immigrants are ‘workers’ and certainly not all will contribute to diversifying the economy and make it more innovative and sustained & resilient to future shocks (of any kind).
No it doesn’t.
The government doesn’t actually need tax revenue. That’s a lie by the private sector that has helped them shift the power from the people into the hands of the rich.
The fact that you’re repeating that lie shows how you don’t understand why the demographic bulge is a problem and why immigration won’t fix it.
The demographic bulge is a physical problem. With so many leaving the workforce there won’t be enough people working to support both themselves, the retired and the bludging rich.
Immigration won’t fix that problem because it will cause other problems itself. Some will be social but mostly they’ll be economic (real economics not the delusional stuff based around money) and those will be to do with over-population. The government is trying to increase population growth to meet those retiring but to do that will push us well sustainability.
The government and NZ really would be better off spending huge amounts developing 3D printing factories and our extracting and processing our own resources. The problem the government has with that is that it will destroy jobs and cause an even faster collapse of our society as all the wealth created would simply go to the rich even fatser.
Unless a parent has an annual income of more than $60 000, and a spare $1 million that they’ll invest in NZ over four years and another $500 000 to live on, then they ain’t getting in.
And even satisfying the above only allows for an application for permanent residence after four years. During those four years it would appear that medical expenses must be covered by the patient.
Permanent residency needs to be removed. You’re either a citizen or your out.
That would affect a lot of people – do you know the numbers?
I’m a citizen DTB. Just not a recognised New Zealand citizen.
Now, what’s your problem?
You’re concerned or agitated that I cannot hold a NZ passport, stand for public office, represent NZ in international sport…or are you in a fluster about the fact that I can be deported?
Oh. And as a permanent resident, bar any dependent children I may have, there is no easy pathway available for me to bring any family members into the country.
The stuff your railing against (it seems) is the benefits that accrue more readily to people accepted as and recognised as New Zealand citizens. That being the case, I fully expect the next sentence your piles mouth out for you to type will be calling for a ban on citizenship, yes?
Bill, when the right comes from all this lazy immigration, like Windrush they will be deporting the most vulnerable, after cutting all the benefits, and it will be people like you for the chop, while those who came here 5 years ago and got so much for free and have the money, will be sitting pretty.
That is the lesson from Windrush. They go after the venerable who don’t have access to lawyers, not those who came here last.
So migrants who think that defending lazy immigration is benefiting them, should check their paperwork is in order, because Auckland is ground zero and there’s been a massive change in demographic and they keep putting more taxes in to help the rich who don’t live here, while taxing the poor and existing residents.
Those coming in are voting for National and rights for the rich. Aka look at the recommendations from the select committee to give more rights to foreign investors in property and let bad lawyers off the hook.
As for not getting your parents in, you just don’t know the right immigration lawyers as 87,000 have arrived in the last 15 years, who are able to access our health service immediately and our superannuation within ten years.
Possibly that is why the lawyers apparently are trying not be responsible for their residency decisions in the select committees…
See my comment at 2.6.4. (or better, do some reading on immigration criteria before running off at the mouth)
“Unless a parent has an annual income of more than $60 000, and a spare $1 million that they’ll invest in NZ over four years and another $500 000 to live on, then they ain’t getting in.”
Your comment makes it even worse that the poor long term resident Kiwi’s are expected to support new rich aged coming into NZ.
One million doesn’t even buy you much of a house in Auckland, and super and health is not means tested…so you get your 500k to live on while our laws allow new rich people to then get extremely generous benefits including free transport that beneficiaries who are disabled or very poor don’t get.
Surely the 1.5 million better spent of making the new aged migrant pay their own way via super and health care not expect the Kiwis to chip in for their affluent lifestyle? Apparently there are aged care issues as well as hospital issues, and many Kiwis who paid many taxes are on waiting lists for health care, but money apparently can just wave new people through.
Of course as well as all that, you can just convert that money into a trust once you gain citizenship and viola, you have no income!
+1 Draco. And you have to live here Permanently to achieve citizenship with provable taxes that are positive not negative and prove good character for 20 years! Unless you are a refugee. We are all living longer, yet our laws seem to think we all die at 70 years!
If we had a country without poor people it would be all well and good to be throwing money to the world’s rich and opportunistic migrants.
Sadly we have people living in cars and going to food banks and are shutting down our university libraries to save money and have mouldy hospitals. I’m not sure how the government can justify constant immigration hand outs to the world’s rich and working poor, until we can get our existing citizens problems under control
I think this tits thing has legs.
There is a test you can get when replacing mercury fillings called a serum compatibly test. This shows what material your system will react to vs what will be inert so when your fillings are replaced you know the new filling isn’t harming you. Its different for everyone and there are apparently over a thousand(!?) different types of materials that can be used in dentistry.
Q: Why would it not be the same for other foreign materials placed in the body?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/360217/so-many-people-don-t-believe-what-we-re-saying
Ugly…
“They were so cheap, they were only $3500, so I thought why not.”
“She spent the $15,000 she had saved to go travelling on the procedure.
“I had to choose my health or my happiness to go travelling.””
I cannot believe how somebody so moronic still breathes.
Well of course she nearly didn’t
What a fucking stupid brainless person
Make of it what you like …
Hmmm…
What do you call the person who graduates bottom of the class in med school?
I used to having fucking Tourettes, now I just swear.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
It’s no laughing matter. The guy I met was incredibly brave to keep going out in public. He faced his fears. I doubt I could have done it.
We are a community here, albeit an unusual one to be sure, and while it’s common for people to have the odd spat we all need to show a little more understanding and tolerance for each other IMO.
DH, I didn’t read the sign on the door, I was bantering under the belief I was in Open Mike.
Yes, I’m aware Tourettes is no joke, nor should it be taboo. Yeah me too, I’d turn hermit.
I agree DH, I think reasoned contrasting views is what makes this blog vibrant and we should be fostering an environment that induces more of it.
I wonder if the Germans are more open to immigration. The right leaning practical thinking executives at BMW realising they’re going to more retirement parties than apprentice inductions.
For those that haven’t seen it and dig the Fab Four, car karaoke with Paul McCartney is a bit of a hoot.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
Take this generic stuff over to Open Mike please.
This post is on immigration.
Oh blow, sorry Ad, I am in the wrong spot, my apologies, please bump it over.
David Mac, Norm and I say “Thanks!”
Fantastic Negrito, Love this video. Rock and Roll baby with a great chorus!
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/104936906/labours-general-secretary-understood-to-be-taking-new-job-with-air-nz
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/06/22/128569/labour#
‘Labour commissioned Wellington lawyer Maria Berryman in March to investigate how it handled the affair, its general culture and any other incidents of sexual harassment or abuse within the party. She had three months to report back and her findings were not to be made public but go to key party leaders.’
I’m sure its a complete coincidence that its been three months and Andrew Kirton is leaving, not that we’ll know since the report isn’t being made public
Rest in peace Koro Wetere.
All the way from Kirk to Lange, with a haul of policy wins and the great Tainui settlement.
A life well lived, in the service of others.
Pleased to see that addiction support workers and mental health workers are getting equity. $3 to $5 dollars an hour back paid to July 1 2017. Let’s do this!!
Great win for Abs and test debutants
ABs wins havnt been great for a long time and won’t be until they are representative of NZ community again. Winnng by any means #1 is at the detriment to NZ, sport is to bring together, not isolate.
Neo-liberal nitwittedness elitism pee poor excuse for a ruling class!
Q*A Michael Barnett is full of national propa-ganda pushing the doom and gloom to try and make labour look bad . Business have been Creaming it with all the business friendly changes to taxes and labour laws under national . The skill shortage well we know who to blame for that mess national did not invest in training tangata there cheap solution to this was to import foreign skilled workers and who gives a toss about the common tangata whom these foreign workers put on the couch.
Its not just multi national company’s that pay a low wage its a lot of big business who do this don’t be afraid of a wage rise take it as a challange to lift your productivity its not rocket science .The low wage society is the reason OUR productivity is low on the OECD list why bother to try and gain productivity efficiencys when one can just hire cheap labour efficient productivity is what we need to do to help save our environment No. Yes there is only one person in trumps world and thats himself he is trying to spread his dumb ass views around Papatuanuku Many thanks to the European Union and OUR Labour lead coalition goverment. ka kite ano P.S in the near future we are going to have a lot of Pacific Island environmental refugees and we need to plan for that
thehui the meth testing was a sham and look whom that bad behavior by the national government and there meth testing m8s affected mostly Maori there views on this is who cares . ka kite ano P.S $100 million flushed into the wealthy m8s of the national party’s pockets
Newshub Nation there you go the justices system is a big sham when the police can not get enough evidence to set up there fall person for a unsolved crime they bribe and manufacture evidence Lisa Arthur Taylor is letting everyone know how corrupt the jail house witness police bribed witnesses are the courts should be baned from using this bull—- evedince. tangata are just sheep in there reality . Ana to kai
Ka kite ano
Newshub did you know that tangata classes for learning te reo are in high demarned now ka pai Maori culture is a beautiful caring historic respectful culture .
Germany has won there game in the Russian football World cup ka pai.
Loyd that will be great if Peter Burling won the Volvo Ocean race around Papatuanuku I say you will have a couple of refreshments tonight to celebrate the team and Peters win Loyd and that will be the triple wins for Peter Burling .
Ka kite ano P.S I miss my days working on Tangaroa watching the wild life we have to get this poisons stuff plastic out of OUR environment asap