Provincial councils not happy over roads.

Written By: - Date published: 1:38 pm, June 30th, 2014 - 38 comments
Categories: greens, labour, local government, national, Politics, public transport, same old national, transport - Tags: , , ,

I’m always surprised at how short a memory many media have. For instance at Radio NZ on Morning Report I saw this dumb description..

Provincial mayors not happy despite extra money ( 3′ 11″ )

06:39 Some provincial mayors are feeling hard done by, despite a National Party promise of an extra 212-million-dollars for improvements to regional roading projects.

Ah yes. For some strange reason these ungrateful buggers, who have probably been in office for quite some time, are upset at being given $212 million for projects in the rural heartlands of the country if they elect a National led government.

Of course that is hardly surprising. Back in 2009/10, the National government tore billions of dollars from the rural roading budgets to put into their “Roads of National Significance” vanity projects of dubious and usually detrimental economic value. In the current “review”, they are tearing billions more and expecting the small ratepayer base in provincial councils to pay for the road maintenance, effectively increasing the subsidy to trucks.

This means that since then, not only have new rural roading projects been curtailed, but so has the maintenance on the existing ones.

For instance here is Michael Laws in 2009, then mayor for Whanganui…

In August, Transport Minister Steven Joyce said total land transport programme spending would rise by 17 percent over the next three years.

But Mr Laws said today the Government had significantly cut subsidies for local roading works in the regions to fund projects in the cities. Wanganui would have to cut about $6.5 million from its roading budget over the next three years.

Wanganui might have to abandon rural road maintenance, cycleway development and cut back on road safety improvements, he said.

Other provinces had also been hit.

“In the Hawke’s Bay, I understand that something like $17 million worth of budgeted works will now not happen,” Mr Laws said.

Kaipara’s mayor in 2010…

Kaipara’s mayor, Neil Tiller, says in his area he could be millions short of what was promised – which in his area is a very big deal.

His district council planned to spend $22.91m on its roads in 2010/11. He says that NZTA approved $17.34m. Furthermore, there is another $1.4m in doubt due to further Government cutbacks.

Kaipara Mayor complains: “ We could be $6.9m short. This is a large lump to cut out of a $22.9m budget.”

He said his complaint wasn’t with NZTA as it carries out government policy – but with the Government which decided to change roading funding shifting the focus and money from rural roading networks onto urban roads.

“We will be taking this matter up with the Government, including the Minister of Transport, to ensure it knows the impact it is having on rural roads.

That funding has never been restored except in microscopic dribs and drabs. The funding that used to go towards maintaining these roads for the farming communities and for the national good has been largely held for a pile of roads in urban and near urban areas, that generally urban areas neither need nor want.

Provincial NZ should listen to the outright anger in the cities. We’re not getting much that is useful from the funding for RONS. A motorway that extends to Warkworth does nothing for most people in Auckland and never will. Our congestion is inside the city.

For instance in Auckland where I live, outside of the SH20 project that started under Labour, it is hard to think of any roading project in Auckland that should be prioritized over the much cheaper public transport upgrades. Most of the “RONS” programmes seem to have been targeted for the benefit of land developers rather than urban dwellers.

And then when you look at what National is targeting with it’s new “Roads of Political Significance” policy, they aren’t going to the provincial councils with a need to maintain a decaying roading network. They going to subsidize trucking companies with bigger trucks. I guess that must be the new investment opportunity for National MPs?

But there is nothing that I can see in that policy for simply maintaining and improving the roads that councils run.

So now to that broadcast of the mayors “complaining”.
[audio: http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20140630-0639-provincial_mayors_not_happy_despite_extra_money-048.mp3 ]

Ah yes. Hardly surprising they are unhappy.

…At present we receive a 58% subsidy for most of our roads, and that will be eroded closer to a 53%, that is just a direct transfer of costs from the government to the ratepayer…

This is almost entirely due to National sucking more money from provincial roading to put into roads that are of significance to them.

…says there is a real chance of some tarseal roads being returned to gravel if extra money isn’t found soon.

Indeed.

Labour’s general transport policy will probably be to cut excessive funding for the “Roads of Significance only to National” and return the provincial roading budgets. In the cities to steadily reduce the congestion, not by simply building new roads, but by a combination of facilitation public transport and mostly improving existing roads and rail.

This isn’t going to be that incompatible with that of the Greens, who also want more public transport and shifting to more sustainable modes of transport like rail. Quite what they would do with rural trucks is a bit of a mystery?

Perhaps provincial NZ will like examine its other voting options? Because they aren’t getting much from National apart from rate increases and deteriorating roads.

38 comments on “Provincial councils not happy over roads. ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. ianmac 1
    30 June 2014 at 1:53 pm

    So instead of a Governmental Nanny State, we have to put up with Robbing Hoods whose operation is to steal millions from the Provinces then generously give back tiny bits of their own millions. Another Ponzi Scheme? Sleight of hand?
    Thank goodness we have a vibrant MSM who will examine the credibility of election bribes. Not!

  2. Lanthanide 2
    30 June 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Latest news: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10215096/Govt-fixes-bridge-then-replaces-it

    The Government has almost finished a $100,000 project to strengthen a bridge it will now tear down and replace as part of its new roading package.

    …

    “They’ve just spent 100 grand to future proof it for 25 years,” Caddie said.

    “Even the local industry people here are saying that it’s not an issue for them, they don’t ever have to wait on that bridge and there’s never been an accident on it so they’d rather see the money going into other priorities.”

    The $3m to $5m cost to replace the bridge, with construction due to start next year, was a “massive investment while there’s other more pressing priorities in the region”.

    Seems this policy launch has been a flop, didn’t take long!

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      30 June 2014 at 3:55 pm

      Sounds like the $100k was a great investment while the several millions on the new, unneeded bridge, will be a hand out to National’s road building mates.

      • Macro 2.1.1
        30 June 2014 at 8:49 pm

        It’s all to do with subsidising their big trucking mates.The upgraded bridges are needed for the new massive trucks National has just approved to damage our already overtrucked roads -after kickbacks (donations from the truckers).
        So the general population has to fork out again to subsidise these greedy bastards.
        Sooner they are out the better.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1
          30 June 2014 at 9:19 pm

          Rational pricing via road user charges on all vehicles on the road will soon see the trucks gone. They really wouldn’t be able to compete with rail and sea.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1.1
            30 June 2014 at 9:45 pm

            Yeah a progressive govt could pull it off but only with the media on side and only if you can stop a total truck blockade of downtown Queen St and Parliament grounds.

            The Tories have serious power inside or outside of govt.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1.1.1
              30 June 2014 at 10:16 pm

              Yes, it’s amazing how much power the Tories can get to help destroy society so that the rich can get richer. It’s also amazing that the people who the Tories get to do that dirty work will be the ones made worse off by their actions.

            • Once was Tim 2.1.1.1.1.2
              1 July 2014 at 9:06 am

              “……and only if you can stop a total truck blockade of downtown Queen St and Parliament grounds.”

              Hasn’t Jude already set a bit of a precedent with ‘boy racers’ ?

              Just pass a law so that if anyone intentionally obstructs the public highway, their vehicles are confiscated and crushed. No problem! :p (Consistency – goose and gander and all that)

  3. aerobubble 3
    30 June 2014 at 2:17 pm

    Its coal shouts National. After coal deaths, the unsellable coal company share, then the coal company debt, and now the coal company layoffs. We get its timber! Of course Kiwis don’t vote so can’t stop National stealing off with the grubs growing off the rotting trees, no wonder Kiwi numbers keep falling. Same story worldwide, Humans keep encroaching on the last pristine areas.

    Look don’t get me wrong. Like Hooten. Who believes that Greens are against mining, growth, etc. There not. Greens are against big corporate mining, big corporate growth, etc. Because Greens know it just supports big foreign corporate profits at the expense of our rivers, our Kiwis, our resources, etc.

    National is addicted to profit at any cost, so addicted they’re now doing the ACC levy rises, then ACC levy drop just before the election trick with roads now.

    [lprent: That barely has anything to do with this post? WTF!]

    • Liam Hehir 3.1
      30 June 2014 at 3:04 pm

      I don’t know, the last six words kind of are.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2
      30 June 2014 at 3:29 pm

      I think Aerobubble is calling attention to the fact that National Party policy closely resembles knee-jerk incompetence, the wrong solutions to non-existent problems, and this latest embarrassment is more of the same.

  4. William 4
    30 June 2014 at 3:54 pm

    Even the Road Transport Forum are unhappy

    “However the body representing trucking operators says funding for roads should be decided by established processes, not a political lolly scamble in election year.

    Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley said “election year lolly scramble” is disturbing though the substance is good.”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/248492/road-money-fails-to-convince-mayors

  5. fambo 5
    30 June 2014 at 4:17 pm

    In the semi-rural area I live, around 40 percent of our council rates go on maintaining roads, and there is always a demand for sealing even more gravel roads. People buy a property on a gravel road and then complain that it is not sealed. This is despite a huge growth in the number of giant utes people I driving.
    I argue that all none main arterial roads should be left to return to gravel, which has its own charm and is quite adequate provided you don’t speed. And road sides should be left to grow into long grass that can be used as pasture for farmers, saving the expense of workers cutting the verges.

    • Lanthanide 5.1
      30 June 2014 at 6:03 pm

      “saving the expense of workers cutting the verges.”

      Sounds like a good way to drive up unemployment.

  6. Kevin Welsh 6
    30 June 2014 at 4:55 pm

    What I find interesting about this, is a story related to me by one of my right leaning brothers. He was at some closed invitation event a couple of years ago where the guest speaker was Bill English.

    English then spelt out in his speech that, at the time, New Zealand had around $160 Billion in assets but an income to maintain only $120 Billion.

    So, what’s changed?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1
      30 June 2014 at 5:05 pm

      The question presupposes that English was telling the truth and your brother understood then relayed his meaning correctly, and you did the same.

      Can you find any reference to English saying this?

    • Brendon Harre 6.2
      30 June 2014 at 5:44 pm

      Kevin my guess is that Bill English said this to stop the group asking/demanding for better public owned assets. Given rural based councils spend half of their rates on roads they were probably asking for better, faster and safer roads. To say NZ cannot maintain these assets is stupid. I wrote the following recently

      “I work in healthcare, an area the government spends a lot of money on ($14.5 billion), much more than it does on transport ($3.1 billion). As a country we provide this care because we collectively agree it is the right thing to do. Fair enough. I wish we also had that attitude to transport and housing infrastructure too.

      I think it is such small-mind thinking; the belief that the best way forward for New Zealand is that government should stick to business as usual, wait for a surplus to accrue and then give it out as tax cuts to favoured groups of voters. When that surplus could be used to improve transport and housing infrastructure for the benefit of us all.” (No.9 http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/70493/fridays-top-10-brendon-harr%25C3%25A9-national-vs-labour-housing-affordability-uk-councils-spy- )

    • greywarbler 6.3
      30 June 2014 at 6:02 pm

      @ Kevin W
      Are these assets very high-demand types? What asset exactly. Was he referring to roads and bridges assets? There are many types of assets. That was a comment by English, an opinion that he served up with the chippies, and should not be taken as gospel or near, until the official figures are produced.

      • Kevin Welsh 6.3.1
        30 June 2014 at 7:58 pm

        Sorry for the late reply.

        The way I understood it, he was talking about assets in general. Roads, schools, hospitals etc. But the general thrust was in regards to roads. Southland has a very high percentage of sealed secondary roads and the relevant Council/s are struggling just to keep up with the maintenance.

        • greywarbler 6.3.1.1
          30 June 2014 at 9:23 pm

          @ Kelvin.
          Thanks. It is hard to keep up with replies when real life is calling! I feel Bill English and others like him are pulled two ways. One is the difficulty in understanding that a giant company, perhaps even some private equities, earn as much each year as our whole country.

          And on the other hand, the Finance Minister will run the line to the citizens that the country is like your household and we are being prudent like you and don’t borrow, waste money, gamble, be profligate (that’s for those with advanced vocabularies) and generally soft soap and appeal ingenuously to the ordinary voter.

          He no doubt is good at all presentations of the economy as he has been in Treasury.
          Treasury-speak is a bit like preaching from the Bible, one is never wrong. And if two disagree, there is the Good Book to refer to as authority. In the Treasury’s case they probably keep their options open with Riccardo, Hayek, Friedman (not Kinky).
          Others?

  7. greywarbler 7
    30 June 2014 at 5:50 pm

    It’s sort of amusing to hear Ken Shirley of the Trucks R Us lobby comment on the obvious. It appears that he has been stymied from getting all they want for three years.
    However the body representing trucking operators says funding for roads should be decided by established processes, not a political lolly scamble in election year.
    Road Transport Forum chief executive Ken Shirley said “election year lolly scramble” is disturbing though the substance is good.

    Meanwhile outside Whangarei a big felling of trees has resulted in continuous log trucks going over simple country roads to the ports.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/244183/dust-up-over-log-trucks-on-gravel-road
    A school bus-driver in Northland says she worries every day about the safety of her young passengers, because of log trucks on gravel roads.
    Beckie Nathan was taking part in a protest hikoi in Whangarei on Tuesday, organised by Pipwai people fed up with the dust clouds created by the big forestry rigs.

    She says in her 33-years as a bus driver and trainer, she’s never had to work in such hazardous conditions.
    Mrs Nathan says she’s forced to stop when she sees a log truck coming towards her bus, because she can see nothing until the big dust cloud clears, and that’s especially dangerous on corners….

    Whangarei District Council says it can’t afford to seal the gravel roads even though they are now being used intensively by logging trucks, and need constant grading.
    It says the Government has cut the funding subsidies available for new seal.
    Northland National MP Mike Sabin says Northland councils set their own roading priorities, and they would stand a better chance of securing more funding if they worked together on a business case.

    People power requires patient stickability and eventually demands.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11254649
    In her submission at the council chambers yesterday, group spokeswoman Alex Wright urged Mayor Sheryl Mai and her councillors to lobby the Government in an election year for about $9 million needed to tarseal the roads.
    Ms Wright asked the mayor and her councillors whether they’d put up with the dust and said last week a resident in Pipiwai counted 80 trucks travelling through the roads in a day.
    The group played a television news clip from February last year that showed residents voicing concern about the level of dust and Ms Wright said they were still eating and breathing dust.
    eputy Mayor Sharon Morgan said it was not just a problem for the Government and suggested a long-term solution in collaboration with territorial authorities and the Northland Regional Council.
    A protester said if the council had sealed 500m strips over a decade, the entire road would have been tarsealed by now.

    The mayor asked Ms Wright whether the group was prepared to look at a targeted rate to fund the tarsealing and the latter replied she needed to discuss it with her members.

    Yet in 2008 –
    http://tvnz.co.nz/content/1886399/425823/article.html
    Truck drivers plan to invade central city roads from 7am claiming they will struggle to pay increased road user charges.
    The protest by the truck drivers is expected to bring traffic in many parts of the country to a standstill, with police warning motorists to either get to work before 7.30am or take the day off….

    Truckies say a surprise hike in road user charges two days ago was the last straw. The increase of between 7% and 10% has been imposed to help with the damage large trucks do to the country’s roads.
    And transport operators say the increase in cost may be passed on to consumers with the freight business getting more and more expensive and the government’s increases on Road User Charges doing nothing to ease the pressure

  8. Brendon Harre 8
    30 June 2014 at 5:59 pm

    What if Labour/Greens agreed to devolve some taxation power (petrol tax or road user charges for instance) to Regional authorities so they didn’t need a subsidy from Wellington?

    “At present we receive a 58% subsidy for most of our roads, and that will be eroded closer to a 53%, that is just a direct transfer of costs from the government to the ratepayer… ”

    Then the regions wouldn’t need this weird John Key pork barrel funding and the various regions could decide for themselves what their transport priorities are?

    Does regional development come from a ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ process?

  9. fisiani 9
    30 June 2014 at 6:27 pm

    Labour passed a bill for more taxes. what a surprise. National s spending on roads is very popular.

    • dv 9.1
      30 June 2014 at 6:29 pm

      Who raised the current petrol tax?

      • Lanthanide 9.1.1
        30 June 2014 at 6:36 pm

        National. 3 times, to make sure that their 2012/2013 budget forecast would show a surplus in 2015.

        They raised GST as well.

        And have pushed back substantially reducing the ACC levy as part of car registration till next year, to insure that their 2013/2014 budget forecast would show a surplus in 2015.

        They’ve racked up an unprecedented $60B in national debt.

        National: the party of tax, borrow, and spend.

    • lprent 9.2
      30 June 2014 at 9:18 pm

      Popular with whom? I have seen little evidence of that.

  10. Brendon Harre 10
    30 June 2014 at 6:35 pm

    Lanthanide and fisiani I am not suggesting extra taxes rather that existing taxes are transferred from Wellington to the various Regional Councils so that decisions are made by a fair local democratic process not by John Key who is more interested in vote buying than achieving any fair/efficient transport spending. Read http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/70493/fridays-top-10-brendon-harr%25C3%25A9-national-vs-labour-housing-affordability-uk-councils-spy- to understand more of what I mean.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      30 June 2014 at 9:44 pm

      Technically we have two tax systems. Rates for local government and then the main taxes for central government. There’s two immediate problems with the present system:

      1. Local government has very few avenues for raising more taxes and
      2. The central government gets to tax pretty much everything

      This results in the local government often not having enough to do what it needs to do and thus having to go to central government for top ups. A good example of this is Auckland transport. Auckland has paid out far more over the years in taxes to central government than what’s been spent on her roads. When Auckland started building up her public transport system after decades of neglect she had to go to central government to get funding. Initially, under a Labour led government, the funding was available but the present National led government said no to funding the CRL.

      If Auckland received all of the funding from taxes that her roads produce then she would have easily been able to afford the necessary rail upgrades and probably would have had it mostly working by now. Of course, all the roads across the rest of the country would have sucked as they wouldn’t have got anywhere near the funding that they received.

      Labour’s law that allowed local councils to add 10c per litre to fuel left the present centralised funding in place while also giving local councils the ability to do projects that they thought were necessary. The present system had to be left in place because, quite frankly, our national roading system doesn’t actually get enough funding despite paying for itself and that funding is going to decrease over time as people drive less. That’s the reason why Auckland generally pays out more than they get.

      Anyway, the ‘fix’ for this little peccadillo is to allow local councils to broaden their tax base from it’s present limited scope to be able to include such things as local sales taxes etc etc.

      Basically, to be able to fund the government services that we want taxes have to go up rather than down as they have been doping for the last 30 years.

      • Brendon Harre 10.1.1
        30 June 2014 at 11:26 pm

        Thanks Draco T Bastard. I think we have a centralised funding system because the cities -not just Auckland are subsidising the rural provinces. Effectively the government is subsidising farmers through the backdoor. If we went to a decentralised system that subsidy would be obvious. But it needs not be that expensive to allow regional areas to fund their own transport spend. Doubling transport spending would still mean transport spending is a lot less than big ticket items such as healthcare, education and social welfare.

        Transport spending would give us a lot of productivity benefits. See http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/70493/fridays-top-10-brendon-harr%25C3%25A9-national-vs-labour-housing-affordability-uk-councils-spy-

        “Additionally, for 25 French cities, a 10% increase in average commuting speed, all other things remaining constant, increases the size of the labor market by 15 to 18%.

        In the US, Melo et al. show that the productivity effect of accessibility, measured by an increase in wages, is correlated to the number of jobs per worker accessible within a 60 minute commuting range. The maximum impact on wages is obtained when the number of jobs accessible within 20 minutes increases; within this travel time, a doubling in the number of jobs results in an increase in real wages of 6.5%. Beyond 20 minutes of travel time, worker productivity still increases, but its rate decays and practically disappears beyond 60 minutes.”

    • greywarbler 10.2
      1 July 2014 at 11:23 am

      Brendon Harre
      I like my idea of dividing up GST. We have had 15% imposed on us. I would like to see 5% of each GST $ go back to the region in which it was spent. And those who are using a region’s facilities will provide a bit more funding there. It wouldn’t replace other help but it would be automatic, and not have to be grovelled for.

      Northland, Far North, for instance as it works to attract more tourist business would get a return on their $ spending and with all other from locals or visitors. Which local government could use to assist with whatever infrastructure was most urgent and valuable to them.

      Northland has big needs at present for roads to be tar sealed for logging trucks. Central government should be helping with this say 75%-25% as it is a major problem. That is what we have central government for, to assist in the good running of the country economically and socially.

      But the GST offshoot would be a great putea to fight over locally and its use would be greatly contested, locally, but the availability of it could not be contested by central government.

  11. Brendon Harre 11
    30 June 2014 at 11:08 pm

    This isn’t exactly transport related but it does involve local government, so I think it is part of a wider system that needs reforming.

    “Key says local government legislative reforms to development contributions on hold until after election; Key sees NZ$ a “fickle beast” and likely to fall” story by Bernard Hickey http://www.interest.co.nz/news/70715/key-says-local-government-legislative-reforms-development-contributions-hold-until-after-#comment-780727

    This is shockingly bad from Key. He has been promising policies to bring in affordable housing since 2008. Now he is saying he has run out of time. What a useless…… Worse he thinks he can hold us poor sheeple to ransom, efffectively saying ‘if you don’t vote for me you will never get those affordable housing policies….’

    Did I mention that John Key is better at manipulating voters…..

  12. tc 12
    1 July 2014 at 7:21 am

    Does this explain what seems to be a fall in the quality and amount of maintenance on rural roads. Some work gets done every year now when it used to go for years as it stayed in good nick.

    I know some folk are constantly in councils ear about roads now dangerous and full of holes that up till 4 years ago were ok.

    you can see where council boundaries are by looking at some rural back roads now as priorties have clearly shifted for some councils.

    • Brendon Harre 12.1
      1 July 2014 at 8:56 am

      Yes. Councils are being squeezed but the rural ones do not speak out because of misguided loyalty to National. Not that this loyalty helps them, Key doesn’t care any more about farming/ country areas. It is all about #Team Key prancing around the ‘big stage’ -coffee at the Whitehouse, tea at Buckingham Palace …….. And he will manipulate any situation so he can keep doing it.

  13. greywarbler 13
    1 July 2014 at 10:59 am

    @Brendon H
    I think we have a centralised funding system because the cities -not just Auckland are subsidising the rural provinces. Effectively the government is subsidising farmers through the backdoor.

    Cities subsidising rural? The point is sensible distribution of resources and ensuring that the areas producing our national income and having businesses that provide jobs to those in the region are enabled with adequate roading and rail and coastal and trans-Tasman shipping even. The farmers say that their work and production provides the nation’s income and supports cities and that cannot be argued. As things are at present, because we have been finagled out of our balanced economy by industry leaders and their political stooges.

    It is obvious.that we have a monopolistic economy with dairy supporting the country, assisted by other colonial-developing country type extractive, primary businesses, logging, mining, and fishing. Lack of strategic smart support for wool from growers, industry leaders, trade entrepreneurs and government means that sheep have diminished, and beef seems to rely on what the hamburger makers in the USA are paying.

    And Local Govt NZ President Lawrence Yule, stated I think that the regions have 50% of the nation’s roads and carry 88% of the traffic. I noticed that Mayors were pathetically grateful for getting anything and just happy that the regions were getting something.
    Nothing stronger than weak warm tea.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/248492/road-money-fails-to-convince-mayors

    And trying to find out what Local Government is thinking and saying I find that there are two publications. One is put out by the Local Government body – http://www.lgnz.co.nz/ and there also is an on-line option – http://lgol.co.nz/ .

    The other calls itself LG New Zealand Local Government but is a commercial proposition.
    http://localgovernmentmag.co.nz/about-us appears to be for people who want to know what’s going on so they can make money from them. Quite legitimate and useful but local government should have put a stop on their name being used before this magazine was started in 1964. Another example of those running our country being a bit slow on the uptake.

  14. Brendon Harre 14
    2 July 2014 at 12:08 am

    Greywarbler sorry about the delay in replying. Re GST I think dividing all GST receipts into local vs central authority would be impractical. Would it be based on where the consumer resides, the business resides or some judgement on where the transaction occurred? Collection costs would be huge.

    Petrol taxes are easy to divide because it would be based on the location of the gas station.

    I actually like the spirit of your question. I think the easiest way to devolve more taxes down to local authorities is through the PAYE system. Everyone can tick the box on where they reside and that local authority gets some PAYE. So virtually no extra collection cost.

    There are easy ways to transfer taxes away from Wellington and towards local authorities. I suspect the reason it doesn’t happen is due to power politics not anything else.

    ‘Cities subsidising rural areas’ came across not quite as I intended. I just meant that more petrol tax is collected in cities than they receive back in transport funding in comparison to rural areas. I have no problem with farmers and the contribution they make to the country. I would want our cities to be a little more efficient (and fair) so they can contribute too. So we could move on from the mono-economy you mentioned. I think one step to achieving this is to spend more transport money on our cities. I don’t want to deprive our regions so that means transport funding has to increase. It is in that spirit I wrote the following

    http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/65197/brendon-harre-thinks-we-have-problem-poor-quality-and-inadequate-quantity-local-infras

    http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/70493/fridays-top-10-brendon-harr%25C3%25A9-national-vs-labour-housing-affordability-uk-councils-spy-

    P.S the regions have far more roads than the cities and carry a lot less traffic.

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    Lindsay Mitchell writes – The heavily promoted narrative, which has ramped up over the last six years, is that Maori somehow have special vulnerabilities which arise from outside forces they cannot control; that contemporary society fails to meet their needs. They are not receptive to messages and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER:  The greater of two evils
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.   Chris Trotter writes – THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 30
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Labour presented a climate manifesto that aimed to claim the high ground on climate action vs National, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago

  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    10 hours ago

  • Litanies, articles of faith, and being a beneficiary
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two weeks.Friday 29Play it, ElvisElection Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    10 hours ago

  • The ‘Recession’ Has Been Called Off, But Some Households Are Still Struggling
    While the economy is not doing too badly in output terms, external circumstances are not favourable, and there is probably a sizeable group of households struggling because of rising interest rates.Last week’s announcement of a 0.9 percent increase in volume GDP for the June quarter had the commentariat backing down ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    24 hours ago

  • Climate Change: The wrong direction
    This week the International Energy Association released its Net Zero Roadmap, intended to guide us towards a liveable climate. The report demanded huge increases in renewable generation, no new gas or oil, and massive cuts to methane emissions. It was positive about our current path, but recommended that countries with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • “Racism” becomes a buzz word on the campaign trail – but our media watchdogs stay muzzled when...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Oh, dear.  We have nothing to report from the Beehive. At least, we have nothing to report from the government’s official website. But the drones have not gone silent.  They are out on the election campaign trail, busy buzzing about this and that in the hope ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Play it, Elvis
    Election Hell special!! This week’s quiz is a bumper edition featuring a few of the more popular questions from last weekend’s show, as well as a few we didn’t have time for. You’re welcome, etc. Let us press on, etc. 1.  What did Christopher Luxon use to his advantage in ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Pure class warfare
    National unveiled its fiscal policy today, announcing all the usual things which business cares about and I don't. But it did finally tell us how National plans to pay for its handouts to landlords: by effectively cutting benefits: The biggest saving announced on Friday was $2b cut from the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • Ask Me Anything about the week to Sept 29
    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago

  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    3 days ago

  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    4 days ago

  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    5 days ago

  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
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    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
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    1 week ago

  • Appointment of District Court Judge
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    1 week ago

  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
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    1 week ago

  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
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    1 week ago

  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
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    1 week ago

  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
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    1 week ago

  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
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    1 week ago

  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
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    1 week ago

  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
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    1 week ago

  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
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    1 week ago

  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
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    1 week ago

  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
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    1 week ago

  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
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    2 weeks ago

  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
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    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
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    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
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    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
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    2 weeks ago

  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
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    2 weeks ago

  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
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    3 weeks ago

  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
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    3 weeks ago

  • Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
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    3 weeks ago

  • New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
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    3 weeks ago

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