Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:24 am, May 28th, 2016 - 172 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, auckland supercity, democracy under attack, john key, local government, national, privatisation, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: auckland, auckland supercity, democracy under attack, housing, housing crisis

We all want a solution to the housing crisis. But this isn’t the way:

Key gets tough on Auckland with new policy forcing councils to release land

The Prime Minister has come down hard on Auckland saying a new policy will force the city’s council to release more land and bring down house prices. …

Bernard Hickey was first with the story:

Key says next week’s National Policy Statement on urban land use will direct Auckland Council to release land if it fails to meet targets; says developers will take Council to court and win; says Council may have to sell assets to fund infrastruce

Prime Minister John Key has upped the ante in the Government’s battle with the Auckland Council to free up more land for housing, saying a new National Policy Statement in the next fortnight would direct Councils to release land as a matter of law.

Responding to Council concerns that it could not afford the NZ$17 billion infrastructure bill to provide the roads, public transport, water and sewage pipes to underpin that housing, Key said the Auckland Council may need to look at selling assets. …

172 comments on “Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment ”

Comments are now closed

Colonial Viper 1

28 May 2016 at 7:42 am

i thought all political parties including ACT and Labour were agreed on the fact that Auckland land urgently needs to be freed up for rapid housing development, and that the Auckland City Council has to act quickly to do so. Or is that not the case?
- mauī 1.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:50 am
  
  Not what the Deputy Mayor is saying,
  
  “We’ve got six and half years of land planned for, infrastructure in the ground and ready to go. Government themselves have got more than 20 special housing areas that belong to Housing New Zealand that are ready to go.
  
  “There’s no shortage of places to build. Our question to government would be, perhaps you just need to get on with it.”
- ropata 1.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 1:00 pm
  
  There are plenty of other measures to be taken than concreting our precious rural environs, there are underutilised buildings all over the damn place. A land tax, CGT, and proper interventions by govt are needed to fix the broken market. Government could double taxes on building McMansions and incentivise more affordable housing projects by developers.
  
  The gnats could fix the housing crisis almost overnight but they just don’t want to. By breaking the urban boundary the Gnats are essentially giving free money to their land banking mates. The land bankers and speculators are the problem not the council. Where are the f$cking penalties/taxes etc to stop this behaviour?
  - Macro 1.2.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 1:19 pm
    
    That is it in a nut shell!
    The greedies sitting on land on the outskirts are rubbing their fat little palms in glee at the prospect.
    CV if you can’t see this you’re blind. It’s all about taking decisions away from the populous and enriching your mates. It’s as corrupt as Kiwi Keith’s Kinloch. These people are simply despicable.
    Indeed this move will ensure that in the future Key will be seen as surpassing Holyoake as NZ’s most corrupt PM.
    - Colonial Viper 1.2.1.1
      
      29 May 2016 at 5:55 pm
      
      None of you have replied to my comment. That most political parties in Wellington either tacitly or actively support the urgent opening up of AKL land.
- Lloyd 1.3
  
  30 May 2016 at 12:20 am
  
  Several points in your question colonial Viper:
  -I didn’t see the Green party agreeing to expansion as they way to solve Auckland’s housing crisis.
  -“Freeing up” land for housing implies that land is somehow locked away from housing. The Rural-Urban boundary Auckland Regional Council and now the Auckland Council have been working with is the practical limit of where sewage services get to. The land outside the limit needs a massive investment into infrastructure to support high density housing.
  Lets look south of Auckland. Sure you could put in four houses per hectare with septic tanks but you would need all the land from Pukekohe to Hamilton to really satisfy the housing demand. That’s just the sewage problem. Water is a little easier but in many places storm-water from all those roofs, roads and driveways is also a massive problems. Now transport – The southern motorway is almost always blocked every weekday morning. Fill in the onion fields of Pukekohe what have you got? No onions and people who can’t get to jobs in Auckland.
  If the Nats had got stuck into Auckland’s rail, finished the CRL and got the electrification of the line to Pukekohe finished and extended the line’s electrification to Hamilton the transport might not be so bad as it will be for the next few years.
  OK what can the Council do about this/ Borrow money to install infrastructure? I think you will find that earlier Nat government’s have made borrowing by Council’s too complicated to allow Auckland Council to do this.
  My guess is that a government jumping into this mess would find the action would be politically beneficial for a very short time before the public realised they had been raped again by the Nats.
  I think the THREAT of doing something to the Auckland Council makes a good sound bite and creates an appearance that
  1. The government is doing something about the housing crisis, and
  2. It puts the blame for the housing crisis on someone other than the government.
  Intensification with the government leading the way on spending on small dense housing in areas already served by infrastructure will get us out of the housing mess.
tc 2

28 May 2016 at 7:47 am

Naked panic probably because penguins polling is telling them they are not getting back in next year so it’s an all out plunder during local body elections.

Their developer mates will be prepared and ready to go up against an unprepared council as the CT manufactured crises model gets another run as per ACC, ECAN, DHB’s etc
- Mosa 2.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:41 am
  
  This is NOT naked panic but a well thought out strategy.
  Key and this govt don’t do anything without a plan.
  1 look tough and issue ultimatums.
  2 be seen to acknowledge the problem.
  3 local body election in Oct so they want a right leaning council.
  4 threaten a commissioner to run Auckland giving the perception the current council is inept and should be dismissed.
  5 great platform for the right wing in Oct.
  Key is showing “leadership” in what he has said is not a crisis but a problem going in to the 2017 campaign.
  The real legacy here is National keeping control of serious issues that are their own failure and blaming in this case the Auckland council ahead of remaining in office for another 2 terms,keeping them in a position of strength in our MMP parliment.
  This last 8 years has been anout laying the groundwork for a 15 year term.
  The left is STILL underestimating their enemy.
  One of their biggest assets is control of our media, unprecedented in NZ political history.
  - roy cartland 2.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 12:35 pm
    
    I tend to agree. One thing we know about Key et al is that they’re NOT stupid. They know how economics works, and are adept at public manipulation. Saying they’re panicking assumes that they didn’t know the crisis would happen.
    
    It’s frightening to think that they would actually engineer this misery (who could be that cynical?) but remember he does not work for us. It’s no conspiracy, the neolib have been quite open about it.
    
    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/apr/15/neoliberalism-ideology-problem-george-monbiot
    
    https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/disinventing-democracy/
    - KJT 2.1.1.1
      
      29 May 2016 at 9:15 am
      
      http://www.naomiklein.org/shock-doctrine
      
      Making money out of disasters they have caused is SOP for Neo-liberals.
      
      Like stuffing the public education system so they can make a profit from private(sorry “partnership”) schools.
      
      I do not think Neo-liberal leaders are so thick as not to have a plan.
  - Unicus 2.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 4:39 pm
    
    Very true – disolving Auckland’s democracy was Nat/Act ‘s sh…ty little plan all along .
    
    They knew the “super city” was a sham from the begining . Disqualifying an elected council is easy when it’s task is impossible to implement .
    
    Government by Commissioner (dictator) is simply the end game of these repugnant traitors .
    
    And will Aucklanders resist – don’t hold your breath
- Chooky 2.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:34 pm
  
  +100 tc
madtom 3

28 May 2016 at 7:55 am

Just what “Auckland land” are we talking about? Parks?

And what does “freed up” mean? Free rein for developers? Loss of exactly how much more local control? No notification or consultation for neighbors of the new high-rises who will lose sun or view?

But most of all, what about the traffic, already excessive and costly? Just build higher population density now and worry about moving people around later?

Are we supposed to just bow our heads or also kneel for the ease of the headsman?

Specifics, please.
- AmaKiwi 3.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 8:59 am
  
  What about infrastructure?
  
  It takes years to put in water and sewage pipes, power, adequate access roads, schools.
  
  A desperate government. A Salvation Army official said, “This crisis has been building for ten years. It will take ten years to solve it.”
  
  Neo-libealism: the slow growing social cancer.
- Lloyd 3.2
  
  30 May 2016 at 12:33 am
  
  Tory mates own land just outside the RUB. The Nats’ mates will make lots selling this land for “modest” 400 square metre tilt-concrete dwellings with schist pillars around the front doors. This of course will solve the housing crisis.
Keith 4

28 May 2016 at 8:00 am

National have lept into inaction on the housing crisis, but behind this bullshit excuse and kite flying by John Key lies the real reason;

Not enough houses to satisfy the speculators
Not enough houses threatens the bubble
Got to be seen to be doing something but don’t want to change a thing in reality but are using Auckland Council as a whipping boy in case the bubble bursts.
And best of all National can use this opportunity to simply take over Auckland Council fully this time, because they failed last time in 2010 when they created this monster and they will do it without a vote being cast by Aucklanders. Nationals true colours are showing here.

The possibilities are endless, lots of assets to sell off to Nationals people, no more stupid public transport initiatives, total unquestioning adherence and undemocratic control all based on a massive lie. The Brighter Future.

Fuck right off National, your disdain for peoples rights and your born to rule arrogance is buying a fight you will not win!
- tc 4.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 8:31 am
  
  Nice summary on a ‘crises’ manufactured by their cheque book immigration, no cgt, no rules on foreign ownership of residential land, state housing sales, haven based tax free funds etc
  
  Smiths completed the scoping so here comes the implementation before goff gets the mayoralty maybe.
  
  Urgency on the way for some developer drafted legislation similar to the way talleys authored OHS changes.
  - Chooky 4.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 10:36 pm
    
    +100 tc
- AmaKiwi 4.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:01 am
  
  @ Keith
  
  +1
save nz 5

28 May 2016 at 8:25 am

National has already over ruled Auckland democracy and created the Super City – full of cronies and fiefdoms.

Just look at the billion dollar Auckland IT debacle that rate payers have to pay for, (no integration yet, call up and see for yourself when you ask to access a record). Just loads and loads of F ups and individuals getting rich of it off the backs of ratepayers.

Under the Supercity how about look at how much legal action has been generated – a bonanza for law firms – in particular around the unitary plan forced through by the government in record time and brainiac council planners who think the it is ok to steal 1km of Harbour for the Ports of Auckland, the Kauri tree massacre, someone losing 1/4 of their cladding on a duplex without being notified and many more examples of taking from the community to give wealth via planning to a developer or COO.

Soon height limits will be gone, goodbye views and sun. Just like the Wellington neighbour that decided to put up a wall to block their neighbours sea view for some sort of bizarre retaliation. The point is the council approved it and the poor neighbour was forced to fight to reverse it. If you think a $5,000 rates rise is unaffordable for Nationals supercity IT debacle, try $50,000 to get an absurd Trump like wall decision to be reversed at environment court that some nuisance neighbour dreams up.

But wait, didn’t the government arbitrarily rezone land into SHA and say they will put in government land for affordable housing? Never got the houses! Maybe because land is not the problem it is the building of the houses and the fact you can’t build affordable houses in NZ because of underinvestment in trades (just relying on overseas labour to build) and the monopoly of building materials and price fixing to name but a few. Instead of encouraging individuals to build, everything is bigger up and made more complex by handing the responsibility to a handful of developers whose motivation is profit not building affordable houses.

Like the Soho hole in Ponsonby, developers get so greedy, they big everything up and run out of time and money before they build anything. In the end they had to full in the Soho hole in Ponsonby to make a smaller development which at least will be built. Planners and developers need protection from themselves and their own stupid ideas these days.

The Natz are recreating Auckland in their own neoliberal image, Empty houses owned by tax haven offshore based wealthy nationals while local families live in cars and the we are all stuck in traffic and being told tolls are the answer and to sell off our council assets to pay for National’s F ups.

The point is too, what are our future Mayors and councillors got to say about it? No problem prime minister – dictatorship is our middle name or are they going to get some guts and do their job protecting Auckland from leaky buildings, out of control idiot government and worse?

Key did not like his international reputation tarnished by the Guardian revealing he has turned our country into a disgusting underclass of families in cars under his 8 years of IDU rule while his tax havens 0% status for offshore investors sit pretty. Now he is going to kick out democracy openly by taking over Auckland so his developer mates can build up monstrosities (if like in CHCH it is going to take years even for this as they try to squeeze out as much tax payer welfare as possible)!
- save nz 5.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 8:29 am
  
  Hello, we are now in round #2 – National lets developer mates take control of housing, last time was the leaky building syndrome….
  - AmaKiwi 5.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 9:08 am
    
    save nz (5)
    
    National said the Supercity would be more efficient and lower AKL rates . . . NOT.
    
    What a bunch of dictatorial f*cking liars.
    - Stuart Munro 5.1.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 4:04 pm
      
      Like Max Bradford’s ‘Power Reforms’. Since it doesn’t work, let’s have our public electricty assets back. Nova and Meridian can go fuck themselves.
  - tc 5.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 9:34 am
    
    Going all out now to get as much as they can across into the private sector of mates and sinecures.
AmaKiwi 6

28 May 2016 at 9:19 am

You want to see rents go down?

1. Require rental properties to meet minimum standards for health and safety, with tough inspections and severe penalties for non-complying landlords.

2. Take away the tax deduction for landlord’s mortgage interest.

3. Put a supertax on non-resident landlords.

4. Ban non-residents/non-citizens from buying property.

The government is sovereign. It can do anything it wants, so long as it doesn’t stop the rich from getting richer.

I have read in history books about class war. Now I get to experience it first hand.
- TepidSupport 6.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:31 am
  
  Unfortunately your points probably wouldn’t force rents down, but up.
  Impose costs (min H&S requirements), take away other income streams (tax ring fencing) so rents would likely increase to offset this.
  
  It should help property to stop increasing uncontrollably though, again forcing rents up as speculators/ landlords can’t make as much from this and so want to increase their ROI.
  Also, more people could buy homes, thereby reducing rental stock and forcing up rents.
  
  A good solution to help stop rapid capital gains, but not rents…
  - Rae 6.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 11:36 am
    
    Well if house prices end up more reasonable, many of those tenants will buy for themselves perhaps creating a shortage of tenants, then rents will take a nose dive
  - AB 6.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 3:35 pm
    
    You would have to accompany those measures with a rent freeze – probably quite a lengthy one. You want to make owning rental properties not worth the effort so they go back on the market for owner-occupiers. Private landlords would take a bath – and you would want to make the bath deeper based on how many rentals they own. The state would have to become the predominant provider of rental accommodation.
    
    Probably it would be messy & chaotic and in some marginal cases unfair. Probably there would be unintended consequences.
    And most likely it would be very damaging politically if the speculative wealth of the middle classes was evaporated in this way. Though part of me would love to hear the bleating, I can’t see anyone doing it.
    - ropata 6.1.2.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 3:44 pm
      
      Make it illegal to *ever* increase rent on a current tenant. Make it illegal to *ever* forcibly end a tenancy (with rare exceptions)
  - The New Student 6.1.3
    
    29 May 2016 at 7:31 pm
    
    cut your losses and offload the thing. Voila, more houses on the market coupled with watered-down demand and decrease in the pool of tenants. It’s really not that complicated
  - Lloyd 6.1.4
    
    30 May 2016 at 12:45 am
    
    Both Amakiwi and Tepidsupport are right. To really drop house prices you have to make renting an uneconomic business. As well as Amakiwis rental rules, rents should be frozen and renters should have the rights of property owners with eviction set as an almost impossible task. Once rental disappears property values will drop rapidly and buying a house to own to live in will again be the norm.
    Rental demand should be met by the government erecting low cost housing. Simple. Sorry. Get rid of the Nats. Then it is simple.
- Lanthanide 6.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:09 pm
  
  1. Who is going to pay for the inspections? Who is going to pay for the upgrades? Landlords. Who will then pass the costs on to the tenants.
  
  2. Landlords will just put up the rent to compensate. Tax deductibility of mortgage interest is parallel to what any company would receive on their own loans. Providing rental properties is actually a business. Tax deductibility therefore acts as a subsidy for renters. Now, if you made this apply to new loans started after a certain date (rather than all existing loans), then I think it would make a dent in the sales price of houses and will flow through to reduced rents that way.
  
  3. This would likely result in those particular landlords selling their properties. That may free up more houses for people who are currently renting to buy – or more likely just means the houses will be bought by local landlords instead.
  
  4. I think Labour party’s policy of allowing them to buy new houses only better. It allows for foreign investment to increase our housing stock. Out of your ideas, this is the only one that is seriously likely to reduce rental prices, as it will force the housing stock to grow if foreigners want to invest, and should reduce house prices by damping down on demand, which flows into rents.
  - AmaKiwi 6.2.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 3:26 pm
    
    @ Lantanide
    
    ” I think Labour party’s policy of allowing them to buy new houses only (is) better.”
    
    We need affordable houses, which means small, basic, low priced house (or flats). Rich foreigners building luxurious new houses makes things worse, not better.
    - Visubversa 6.2.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 3:55 pm
      
      If you want to know what the rich foreigners are building – take a drive around the new subdivisions around Albany. The houses are all enormous – 6 bedroom, 7 bathroom monstrocities which are crammed into every square metre of usable space on the site. They all look the same and are marketed to other foreigners.
    - Lanthanide 6.2.1.2
      
      28 May 2016 at 5:24 pm
      
      Hmm, this and Visubversa’s reply are definitely points to consider.
      
      I was of the understanding that many foreign investors are buying up apartments and other such things that they ‘know’ which have management structures in place to deal with any required maintenance etc – low hassle investment returns.
      
      But you’re right, the foreigners if they’re going to build houses, are unlikely to be building the basic 3 bedroom 1 bathroom type of houses that we need for many families, instead they’ll be the 220m+ 4-5 bedroom 2-3 bathroom type.
      
      So tweak Labour’s policy further – require that the houses that foreigners build must be at the median house price or lower. Think that might be tricky to police, though.
- Ovid 6.3
  
  28 May 2016 at 2:13 pm
  
  I have read in history books about class war. Now I get to experience it first hand.
  
  A class war has been going on for at least the past two centuries. There have been some wins (the progressive era and social security) and some losses (neoliberalism and the surveillance state) but it’s not over yet.
- AmaKiwi 6.4
  
  28 May 2016 at 6:46 pm
  
  I apologize if I gave the wrong impression earlier (6).
  
  I do have experience of one good landlady and one good landlord. They were the exceptions.
  
  More typical were houses that were leaking, moldy, broken bathroom fixtures, and unfit for human habitation. The rent got raised every year but the landlords (all of whom lived nearby) NEVER set foot on the property, NEVER made a single repair, and NEVER did maintenance. They milked it (and me) for every penny they could get.
  
  If I gave the impression I am concerned about the needs of these leeches, I don’t. If legislation to lower rents and make landlords fix up these animal pens costs them their shirts, they got what they deserve.
whispering kate 7

28 May 2016 at 9:28 am

What a spiteful vindictive response from the PM. Because he knows that he should bring in a Capital Gains Tax and make new immigrants create new builds only, plus a myriad of other tools he has in his toolbox to ease the burden of housing in AK but ideology stops him from doing it, this is the response from him. How does he think Auckland ratepayers are going to pay for all of this infrastructure and why does AK Council have to go the way of the Government and sell an income stream that funds its business with the threat of selling off assets. Dictatorship isn’t far away with his manner of leadership.

This is repeat, a vindictive spiteful, caught in the corner and no way to turn and not getting his own way response – he is a person with low-level development between his ears and nasty to boot. Its time we had some more marches in protest at how he treats the hand that feeds him.
- Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 7.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:01 am
  
  +1. There was lots of ways the government could have constructively engage with solving the housing crisis -but they repeatedly refuse to take them. Now they are trying to put Councils in an impossible position -forcing councils to be responsible for new developments without giving them the infrastructure resources to do it properly.
  
  You are right -there is a real nasty core to John Key.
  
  P.S As a Cantabrian -our urban development model is not the answer for Auckland -we probably have better land supply -in part due to better geography. But transport/congestion is ridiculous for such a small city. National is leaving an awful legacy for the next government to fix up.
  - Brendon Harre -Left wing Liberal 7.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 10:24 am
    
    It is partisan ideological crap that Brownlee refuses to open up the rail corridor in Canterbury for commuter rail to give people another transport option.
    
    The cost would be modest -especially in comparison to the Billions they spend on Roads of National Significance and the benefits much larger.
- Draco T Bastard 7.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 11:46 am
  
  and why does AK Council have to go the way of the Government and sell an income stream that funds its business with the threat of selling off assets.
  
  Because the Tories see that income stream and want it for themselves. It’s nothing but greed and legalised theft.
  
  Dictatorship isn’t far away with his manner of leadership.
  
  We don’t have a democracy but an elected dictatorship but the dictators are now showing their true colours. Hopefully Labour/Greens/NZ1st will come out and say that they will reverse this and do it retrospectively with all loss to the developers.
- Esoteric Pineapples 7.3
  
  29 May 2016 at 7:06 pm
  
  A chorus of boos everywhere ministers meet the public would be nice
Sabine 8

28 May 2016 at 9:28 am

Frankly, Aucklander have known that that was coming for a while now.

But the rest of the country was just to fucking busy to tell us to leave if we don’t like it here or can afford it here.
Fuck they are now gonna pay money to people so that they leave.

How the fuck do you like that NZ. One day this shit is gonna come to a neighbourhood, town, city, rural community near you.

Could this country please understand that Auckland is a. part of New Zealand, and b. Full of New Zealanders and c. is fucked up by an elite that really does not give a flying fuck about you, me and even themselves in the long run.

Fuck yeah, New Zealand, how did you like becoming a Tenant in your own country.
- save nz 8.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:38 am
  
  If Dave Henderson’s are examples of Developers to save Auckland on behalf of the government…. from wiki… is anyone else feel they have gone done the rabbit hole into Planet Key of PlunderLand…
  
  David Henderson (born 1953) is an Auckland property developer. He is regarded as one of the city’s most influential businessmen and is said to have development work worth up to NZ$1 billion.
  
  The son of a fitter and turner, he grew up in Milford, and started his empire by renovating old Ponsonby houses. In the 1970s, he opened the Stove Shop, a second-hand dealership in Ponsonby Rd. In 1997 he bought and developed Princes Wharf and has since developed the $100 million Interplex industrial park at Albany, Q City and Q Central apartment block and Precinct apartments.[1]
  
  He was declared bankrupt on 9 June 2011.[2][3]
  
  David Henderson (Christchurch, New Zealand)
  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Not to be confused with David Henderson (Auckland, New Zealand).
  David Ian Henderson
  Occupation Property developer
  Known for Battling with the IRD
  David Henderson is a Christchurch, New Zealand based property developer.
  
  In 1994 he founded the libertarian magazine the Free Radical.[1] He was also a student of Zenith Applied Philosophy, “It really sparked my interest. I found it greatly stimulating and inspiring, immensely so. They got a terribly bad name, a bad rap.”[2]
  
  From 1992 to 1995 he was audited 27 times after claiming a GST refund and the Inland Revenue Department demanded he pay $NZ924,341 in taxes and penalties. He was charged with fraud, his business failed and he was bankrupted and had to sell his house. The IRD eventually conceded that he did not owe it $NZ924,341, and fraud charges against him were dropped. They also admitted that they owed him $NZ64,000.This experience led him to write a book Be Very Afraid: One Man’s Stand Against the IRD. In 2007 his story was made into a film by South Pacific Pictures,[3] entitled We’re Here To Help.
  
  Henderson’s company, Property Ventures Limited is undertook a number of developments including the billion dollar new town, Five Mile, in Queenstown. This failed and the resulting site was known as “Hendo’s hole”[4]
  
  In November 2007 saw the opening in Christchurch of a new style of hotel named HotelSO. This building, acquired by Henderson in 2004, was occupied by the Inland Revenue Department.
  
  Applications were made in the High Court at Christchurch on 16 May 2008 to have Mr Henderson’s Five Mile Holdings and Property Ventures placed in liquidation. [5]
  
  In early August 2008, the Christchurch City Council held a short-notice urgent meeting about sensitive central city property purchases, then on 8 August 2008 announced that it would buy five of Henderson’s properties[6] for approximately $NZ17 million. Henderson was to have first option to buy back the properties. This decision caused much civic controversy.[7]
  
  The High Court in Christchurch placed Henderson in bankruptcy on 29 November 2010.[8][9]
  - ropata 8.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 2:22 pm
    
    High-rolling sociopaths like these Henderson dudes escape the consequences of their frauds/theft by convenient bankruptcy laws.
    
    Beneficiaries and students are saddled with a lifetime of crippling debt.
    
    That’s your brighter future, New Zealand
- Wensleydale 8.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:06 pm
  
  National have long wanted to treat Auckland like a glorified sock puppet, and this is quite possibly the “crisis” they need to do it. Install the Cameron Brewers of the city in council ensuring the citizens of the “leafy suburbs” are pulling the levers of power, and the property development gravy train is clear to leave the station. Meanwhile, shuffle all the undesirables off to the jobless provinces, where they can continue to collect the unemployment benefit as they slowly decompose in their state homes. Auckland will become one massive gated community, and only “the right sort of people” will be permitted entry. Brighter future, kids! Brighter future!
Richardrawshark 9

28 May 2016 at 9:30 am

Great move . hope they do it. I really do, as Auckland basically is the election hopefully it’s put a few off voting National.
- tc 9.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:43 am
  
  They’ll not be bothered too much about the election, plunder is the priority.
  - marty mars 9.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 7:26 pm
    
    yep – this is the point – whatever they do they are thinking of how someone (their mates) can make money – that is it. That is the vast majority of their motivation – it has very very very little to do with fixing the problem – they don’t care about the problem, they care about money and sometimes votes, because they (the greater they) make more money if they stay in power, but they never take their eyes off the money.
- save nz 9.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:48 am
  
  Only if Labour and Greens don’t run about braying about what a great idea unity plan and zoning changes are. If they do they, they could reverse the situation and the MSM blame Labour and Greens for it in the minds of voters.
  
  Goff and Shearer are bound to help the Natz again with their big mouths.
  
  MSM are already setting housing up to be ‘Labour/Green policy’ – on the one news the other day they had all the parties interviewed about relaxing zoning to bring in affordable housing.
  
  If MSM are interviewing a Labour/Green – it is t to set them up as the fall guys.
  
  Goff and Shearer will sound byte it home for the Natz.
  
  One person we will never see on the issue is John Key, that is because he does not like to associate his face with bad news like housing. Wish the other leaders could be more strategic.
  - ropata 9.2.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 2:47 pm
    
    Rogernome Phil Goff (architect of the TPPA) is a wannabe ACT mole, I don’t know what Shearer thinks he is doing
    - Chooky 9.2.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 10:41 pm
      
      Labour is a very compromised Party…this is why it is missing a million
      - Rocco Siffredi 9.2.1.1.1
        
        29 May 2016 at 9:32 am
        
        ROFL, did you lose them down behind the sofa then?
  - Chooky 9.2.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 10:39 pm
    
    +100 save nz…only NZF doesn’t seem to fall into the holes they dig for them
    - Chooky 9.2.2.1
      
      29 May 2016 at 9:43 am
      
      the issue is over- heated immigration, foreigners buying up NZ properties out of proportion to the size and population of our country ….and jonkey nactional selling off existing State houses to property speculators
      
      this is what the opposition should be talking about NOT jonkey’s eating up valuable land , slum housing for New Zealanders ….and supporting jonkey’s unravelling democracy in Auckland
- Ovid 9.3
  
  28 May 2016 at 2:23 pm
  
  I couldn’t find Auckland-specific figures, but the voter turnout in the last local body elections nationally was 42%. People just don’t give a fuck.
  - tinfoilhat 9.3.1
    
    29 May 2016 at 9:40 am
    
    34.5% last time around.
    
    http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/AboutCouncil/HowCouncilWorks/Elections/Documents/2016SocialcapitalandvoterturnoutWebsterJun2014aut.pdf
  - Anne 9.3.2
    
    29 May 2016 at 10:35 am
    
    As an Aucklander, I don’t think its as simple as “people not giving a fuck”. You will find that the majority of Auckland L.B. voters reside in the well established and/or leafy suburbs whereas the poor and struggling in Sth. Auckland and parts of West Auckland are less likely to vote. They have more pressing issues to deal with like … struggling to keep a roof over their heads, paying the bills and feeding and clothing their families – not to mention often coping with serious health issues caused by poor housing conditions and lack of educational opportunities.
    
    From their perspective, who can blame them for not bothering to vote. Nobody cares about them.
dukeofurl 10

28 May 2016 at 9:31 am

Looks like they will screw the process about creating National Policy Statements as well

‘A national policy statement is usually developed in four stages: scoping, drafting, consultation and implementation. In most cases reference groups will be set up with representatives from key agencies. Reporting back to ministers occurs after scoping has been completed and before formal consultation.”

http://www.mfe.govt.nz/rma/rma-legislative-tools/national-policy-statements
Tarquin 11

28 May 2016 at 9:49 am

I don’t know if I agree with Key, but let’s face it Auckland is basically a bloated fiefdom run by bureaucrats who don’t give a toss what the citizens think – they’re only hostages anyway. Free up the land and limit rate rises to the rate of inflation. Force all councils back to their core business instead of empire and monument building.
- Lloyd 11.1
  
  30 May 2016 at 1:04 am
  
  Tarquin
  Of course you agree with John Key.
  You are regurgitating all the crap the Nats put out.
  If the bureaucrats don’t give a toss, who set them up? John Key and Rodney Hyde. Not the bureaucrats.
  Only problem for John is he didn’t get the colour of mayor he was expecting. Everything else you don’t like about Auckland you can blame on the present government. You are hostage to John.
  How are you going to free up land? Do you want the Council to speculate on development and install all the infrastructure that will be needed if the city is to expand outwards? You realise this is not core business?
  “Freeing up” land will cause rate rises! arrgh…
  
  By the way you do realise that Aucklanders have some of the lowest rates in New Zealand…
  - You_Fool 11.1.1
    
    30 May 2016 at 9:05 am
    
    The fun thing is, if John and Rodney had got the mayor they had wanted, we would be in the exact same mess but they wouldn’t have the tools they are trying to use to fix it – i.e. there would be no assets to sell for infrastructure as they would have already been sold to their rich mates to pay for rate reductions for those same rich mates, who are controlling the development build rate anyway in such a way to maximise their profits by building the bare minimum acceptable quality house at the slowest acceptable rate.
    
    God bless Len Brown for ensuring at least we have a way to pay our way out of the National/Act mess – even if really it makes everything worse! Just imagine if Corrupt and crooked John Banks had become mayor in 2010… it makes you glad for Len, no matter his failings.
Incognito 12

28 May 2016 at 9:56 am

John Key wants to finish what he and Rodney Hide started. But Len Brown threw a spanner in the works and now Phil Goff is threatening to do the same again. Ironically, many people, including Aucklanders, would not have a bar of Brown or Goff.
- dukeofurl 12.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:30 am
  
  Brown won two elections, so most voters chose him. Put that in your pipe
  - newsense 12.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 10:59 am
    
    by people he doesn’t mean voters. ergo this post
  - tinfoilhat 12.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 11:38 am
    
    … most voters who bothered to vote chose him, the turnout for local body elections in Auckland is woeful.
    - dukeofurl 12.1.2.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 6:11 pm
      
      The people who vote are like a very large polling sample of the whole population. so instead of 3-4% margin of error of 1000 people poll with 40% turnout you get 0.01% margin of error that the voters represent the whole population.
      - tinfoilhat 12.1.2.1.1
        
        29 May 2016 at 9:42 am
        
        That’s a bit of a long bow..
        
        You_Fool 12.1.2.1.1.1
        
        30 May 2016 at 9:07 am
        
        Just remember the x% of voters vs population when discussing National and Act as well – since they are the ones imposing these new rules on Auckland – so we still are not at a majority of people wanting this either…
upnorth 13

28 May 2016 at 10:55 am

I totally support the government view on this and I hope they push it through.

Just backs up Tywford so I don’t know why this post is even up?
- One Anonymous Bloke 13.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:03 pm
  
  Someone’s got to: where would incompetent right wing trash be without dupes to mindlessly swallow and regurgitate their billshit? When your lying Prime Minister changes his tune you’ll parrot that too.
- ropata 13.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 1:10 pm
  
  is that because you
  a) support billionaires looting NZ assets
  b) prefer crony capitalism/feudalism over democracy
  c) are a drooling incompetent RWNJ
  ?
Draco T Bastard 14

28 May 2016 at 10:59 am

says Council may have to sell assets to fund infrastruce

And there we have it – the whole purpose of the city restructure forced upon us by a dictatorial bunch of Tories. The scum are after our asset so as to turn us into serfs and increase their own wealth and power.

This truly is a return to feudalism.
- AmaKiwi 14.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 6:50 pm
  
  + 1
- Chooky 14.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:44 pm
  
  +100
Mike Bond 15

28 May 2016 at 11:15 am

So National have been blamed all along for the housing crisis in Auckland. They have continually said it is the local councils fault. They now want to use string arm tactics and still get blamed for it? The opposition will moan about anything and everything National does and that is why they will remain in power for a long time to come. Where is an opposition that is demonstrating that they ill be better for New Zealand? Currently that opposition does not exist.
- upnorth 15.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 11:34 am
  
  Labour support is crumbling badly. Andrew Little is at 9% – when you have ineffective opposition you have poor democracy.
  Len Brown is Labour so lets not kid ourselves here. Phil Goff may win which means Auckland have been under a left wing leader for near on a decade – you go figure.
  Classic labour big taxes (in this case rates) and big spend – outcpme as per normal run away inflation and soon to be higher interest rates (debt downgrade will increase interest rates on debt meaning higher rates (ratepayers form of taxes)
  
  Open up the boundary and lets go for it. Will decrease ariable farming which the Greens will love and it solves their housing crisis issue
  - Rae 15.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 11:42 am
    
    Some of that arable land is some of the best horticulture land in the country, if that is not protected then Auckland and the government are stark staring mad
    - save nz 15.1.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 11:58 am
      
      For Fucks sake we have plenty of land in Auckland, (just no public transport) – no one is building houses on it that are affordable, why should they, it is about making profit! Most people are just renovating existing houses, bigger or making big houses which surprisingly are not affordable!
      
      And the new apartments and builds are more expensive than existing stock.
      
      Rents are high because who would want to be a landlord? There is a shortage of both houses and landlords.
      
      Culturally some investors like to keep the places they buy empty and so do speculators who flip them over, so less rentals. None of these people pay any taxes now, let alone declare the rents even if they do rent them. We do have a capital gains tax in place if the person does it for the intention of making a profit and a speculator tax but it does not seem to be inforced and IRD people are being cut.
      
      Also why is there so much demand on houses? Government policy on record immigration. It is the usual deception from National, blaming demand which they themselves have created – even having the property investor category to get a NZ passport and citizenship for new migrants to buy property here.
      
      Why do we need migration, because otherwise the country will work out we are bankrupt – there is no growth or new jobs or any other way to grow. There has been no investment for a decade in ‘real’ income generation. They are just borrowing and flogging stuff off and pretending all is well.
      
      The reality is most existing property in NZ would cost more to rebuild than to buy. That means property itself is not unaffordable (i.e. rebuild is more expensive not less therefore overpriced existing houses is not the factor but the cost of building) but there are other factors at play which are too many to mention but poor wages are a big factor and the cost of building.
      - ropata 15.1.1.1.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 12:52 pm
        
        It’s not about housing people, it’s about turning Auckland into a giant casino for foreign speculators to make money. Houses aren’t for living in, they are for ripping off stupid (gnat voting) kiwis and extracting rent from the poor.
        
        marty mars 15.1.1.1.1.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 7:28 pm
        
        + 1 yep that is all horribly true.
        
        Chooky …
        
        29 May 2016 at 9:50 am
        
        …and what is wrong with renovating and doing up existing State houses?…many of them are made with good wood are are repairable
        
        …NZ youth should be trained in carpentry and set to work on renovating existing State houses for the homeless …and these should be kept by the government in State ownership
        
        ( it a crime that State housing is being sold off when there are homeless people living in cars and garages)
        
        btw…seems like jonkey nactional is trying to erase all reminders of his own childhood in a State house..instead of being proud of it
        
        leftie …
        
        29 May 2016 at 1:17 pm
        
        Good points. Totally agree Chooky.
  - ankerawshark 15.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 12:13 pm
    
    Disagree Upnorth. Think Labour have been doing a great job as opposition…..
    
    DC with his exposure of the Argentinian brothers who bought NZ land for a start. Sue Moroney’s paid parental bill and Phil Tyford v Nick Smith………..no contest there.
    
    Norman Kirk’s support consistently low in opposition…………………….
    
    One thing about Andrew Little, I really trust him. I think he is genuine………
    
    All the opposition have to do is keep going, keep batting the ball.
    
    The msm has started to do their job by exposing the housing scandal that is happening in Auckland (I prefer the word scandal than crisis. Crisis can sometime be an accident no one’s fault. I am afraid next years election is in the hands of the msm………………..
    - Chooky 15.1.2.1
      
      29 May 2016 at 9:54 am
      
      DC, Phil Twyford and Sue Maroney are the exception….and are on the outer of Little’s Labour Party ( Parker is also good on water)
      
      ….any of those three would make good leaders of the Labour Party….and get rid of the dead wood and bring in a new caucus imo
      - leftie 15.1.2.1.1
        
        29 May 2016 at 1:31 pm
        
        Too close to the election, besides Goff and Cosgrove are leaving. Shearer, who should be in the National party, has been put in his place. Completely disagree with you that DC, Phil Twyford and Sue Maroney are on the outer of Little’s Labour Party, don’t know where you got that idea from, because Andrew Little as leader has let them shine, and has given them full credit for their work. Iain Lees-Galloway is another Labour mp who shines.
    - leftie 15.1.2.2
      
      29 May 2016 at 1:23 pm
      
      Completely agree with you Ankerawshark, so was Helen Clark’s for example, 2%. Polling ratings go up when in office.
  - millsy 15.1.3
    
    28 May 2016 at 7:00 pm
    
    List of libaries you want to close and parks you want to sell off please.
  - leftie 15.1.4
    
    29 May 2016 at 1:11 pm
    
    Boundaries are not the cause of the housing crisis Upnorth, and you conveniently forget what Brown inherited. How long was key’s crooked fraudster mate John Banks mayor? He tripled Auckland’s debt and Auckland had nothing to show for it, and what was the cost left by Key after he hijacked Auckland and formed the super city? Brown has been hamstrung by central government and the Nats inside council, it could have been a hell of a lot worse for Auckland if John Banks had of got back in. John Palino is just as bad. Any Aucklander with an ounce of principles wouldn’t ever have a bar of those Johns now, or in the future.
- ankerawshark 15.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:07 pm
  
  Um….Labour have a housing policy for Auckland that sounds pretty sound. As opposed to National who have no policy as such.. That’s where the opposition is.
- Stuart Munro 15.3
  
  28 May 2016 at 4:14 pm
  
  Tell the truth – not even the craziest Gnats think Nick Smith has any idea whatsoever what he is doing. Housing is failing catastrophically and Key is determined that the blame shall fall elsewhere.
  
  This time though it isn’t going to go away. Housing is serious, and the Gnats don’t have a plan that could work even on planet Key. Dumping the blame on the council won’t get Key off the hook this time – people want to see him get off his arse and actually do something.
  
  Not run his stupid mouth off. Not blame someone else. Build some houses, build some apartments, do something sensible about regional development and tell his tax-evading target immigrants to gtfo.
  
  Key won’t do that – never done a day’s work in his life and not about to start now. There will be tears before bedtime.
  - Chooky 15.3.1
    
    29 May 2016 at 10:02 am
    
    +100 Stuart Munroe ….and we don’t want jonkey nact to spread the problems of Auckland into the provinces…this is Nact policy ( NZ turned into a slum Bangkok or Hong Kong ….as long as it gets him and his mates mega rich)
lprent 16

28 May 2016 at 11:59 am

This isn’t Canterbury after an earthquake. Aucklanders will tear Key and National apart.

The problem hasn’t been the council, although there are some gutless fools there. The problem is directly related to the actions of this fuckwit government and previous National screwups.

1. This government imposed the cockup solution of a fully merged council on us – essentially ignoring the royal commission’s plan that would have caused a lot less disruption. Doing that task caused massive delays because of the merge

2. National governments have not maintaining a state accommodation building program and the building infrastructure that went with it.

3. A previous National government did the massive screwup with their deregulation of the building industry back in the 1990s that caused the diversion of building resources into fixing leaky buildings over the last decade. They would up fixing buildings rather than

and so on.

Why would we want these kinds of bumbling idiots trying to directly run Auckland. Their proxies in C&R were bad enough. But could you imagine someone as incompetent as those south island idiots of Brownlee and Nick Smith up here. They seem to barely have enough ability to scratch their own arses.
- upnorth 16.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:03 pm
  
  Incorrect – I have had the privilege of reading the Royal Commission on the Super City. Took an active role in reading and understanding.
  
  The outcome was simple – one council to make one decision
  
  Pretty simple and yet put a Labour man in charge and as per usual goes to crap.
  
  The government and Phil Twyford are correct – get rid of the boundaries.
  - leftie 16.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 12:44 pm
    
    The government doesn’t give a shit about boundaries, it wants to flog off Auckland’s assets in a fire sale to their crony mates. Do you live in Auckland Upnorth? I do, and I can tell you Aucklanders hate the “Supercity” they see it as a big rorting fail.
    - Nessalt 16.1.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 3:00 pm
      
      actually, Aucklanders see the council as a big rotting fail, not the supercity. the idea was right and the execution was fine. it was the big muppet brown who mucked it all up to keep his house price on the up and up.
      
      The one good thing about the supercity is that the council don’t know much of anything. so you can slide almost anything past them if you know the lingo.
      - ropata 16.1.1.1.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 3:53 pm
        
        so nothing to do with central govt policies of record immigration, no proper taxes on speculators, running down state housing, leaky buildings, or the GFC?
        
        simple minded dimwits like you are the main problem with NZ democracy. not poor old Len
      - ropata 16.1.1.1.2
        
        28 May 2016 at 4:11 pm
        
        ultimately the buck stops with the Gnats and their free market deception. it is all about screwing over the average kiwi to enrich the top few % gnat supporters. and using the dirty politics machine to pull the wool and blame others.
        
        Draco T Bastard 16.1.1.1.2.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 9:02 pm
        
        +1
      - leftie 16.1.1.1.3
        
        28 May 2016 at 4:30 pm
        
        You don’t know Aucklanders Nessalt, they do see the supercity as a rorting fail. John key’s idea is rotten to the core, and nothing about its execution was “fine” and its National that is behind keeping the “house price on the up and up”
        
        There is nothing good about John Key’s supercity, and the organizations he set up, that operate within it, but are outside of council control and rules. As posted previously, its all about an “Auckland take-over, the biggest land and asset grab in New Zealand’s history.”
      - Ad 16.1.1.1.4
        
        28 May 2016 at 5:43 pm
        
        Even if you were right, which you’re not, firing the Council and erasing the right to vote in five months won’t make a bit of difference to the housing crisis.
        
        Only central government has the means, agencies, capital and legal capacity to solve the housing crisis. You could replace the entire Council, wake up the next day, watch the same number of people waking up from inside their cars and bridges, and realize that Key prefers a short-term nuclear option to actual policy that uses everyone including the Council to fix the problem.
      - Draco T Bastard 16.1.1.1.5
        
        28 May 2016 at 9:02 pm
        
        actually, Aucklanders see the council as a big rotting fail, not the supercity. the idea was right and the execution was fine. it was the big muppet brown who mucked it all up to keep his house price on the up and up.
        
        Nope. It was the wrong idea implemented badly because of the stupid ideology of ACT and National. Brown has actually done his best to ameliorate the worst effects but the government hamstrung him, and any other mayor, from the get go.
        
        Quite simply: National sabotaged Auckland so that they could force Auckland to sell our assets.
        
        That didn’t work quite as well as they had originally planned because Auckland voted in a left council rather than the RWNJ one that National wanted them to. Now they’re forcing the sales through central government.
        
        The entire present government should be jailed for treason.
        
        ropata 16.1.1.1.5.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 10:04 pm
        
        +1 precisely. big business has been trying to turn Auckland (and its assets) into their fiefdom for decades and been stymied by the inconvenient democratic will of the people. In short, the plan is to plunder Auckland’s wealth and transfer it to elites. They will take the water, the ports, the roads, the rates, and change the bylaws to benefit themselves, while ordinary ratepayers get ripped off mercilessly.
        
        Green MP Sue Kedgely got closest to the truth in May 2009 when she accused Act Party Leader and Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide of staging “Rogernomics part two” by passing a law under urgency to strip Auckland’s local councils of their powers and transferring control to the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) peopled with Rodney Hide’s cronies. She was right, but Rogernomics part two extends well beyond the transitional agency. The entire concept of the supercity is based around business running the city for the benefit of business. It represents the culmination of a well-orchestrated campaign over several years by the likes of the Employers and Manufacturers Association and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce for control of the region’s local government policy and community assets to the value of some $28 billion. The second round of Rogernomics will really wind up once business interests dominate the region-wide council.
  - ropata 16.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 12:48 pm
    
    ??? if you agreed with the royal commission’s super city plan then surely you must admit that Rodney HIde’s rogue “transition agency” cronies were a blight on local democracy and a big “fuck you” to Auckland voters.
    - leftie 16.1.2.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 1:52 pm
      
      “John Banks is clearly part of the inner cabal that Rodney Hide and John Key are working with to achieve their Auckland take-over, the biggest land and asset grab in New Zealand’s history.”
      
      “Their agenda has been in play since 2006 when John Key’s private members bill gave the first indication that the National Party was intent on foisting a super city structure on Auckland, and has gathered momentum in recent times, culminating with Rodney Hide’s ‘under the radar’ Cabinet paper which paves the way to privatisation and stifles public input into local government decision-making.”
      
      Endorsing Banks for super mayor a super blunder
      Monday, 8 June 2009, from Scoop.
      
      <a href="http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0906/S00079.htm
  - gnomic 16.1.3
    
    28 May 2016 at 9:51 pm
    
    “The government and Phil Twyford are correct – get rid of the boundaries.”
    
    They are dead wrong. If more sprawl is the answer, it’s the wrong question.
    
    That’s the problem.
  - Lloyd 16.1.4
    
    30 May 2016 at 1:18 am
    
    Jeez.
    Inside the RUB is where you can have sewer lines connected. Anything outside the lines will take years of major investment to be usable for high density housing. If you aren’t going to use the land for high density housing don’t bullshit us with arguments that the land is needed to eliminate the housing crisis. All you want is to sell land at much higher value than you bought it. Outcome will be big houses with septic tanks on big sections and horrible traffic problems.
- Karen 16.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:34 pm
  
  +1 lprent
  
  The Nats have created Auckland’s problems. As well as the debacle they created by loosening building regulations in the 1990s they also decided to sell off state houses and subsidise private landlords instead. The last Labour Government managed to build more than 8000 state houses but the Nats got back in and have sold off thousands and deliberately left many empty. According to the Herald there are 2200 empty state houses in Auckland alone.
  
  Property speculators are also a major problem and often leave houses and land empty. There need to be a hefty financial cost for doing this. The Nats aren’t willing to do so as these speculators are their supporters.
  - save nz 16.2.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 3:25 pm
    
    Apparently National have sold off 2700 state houses. That is a lot of social housing gone and now lecturing Auckland about affordable houses!
    
    Does anyone know how many in Auckland were sold?
- left for dead 16.3
  
  28 May 2016 at 5:35 pm
  
  They seem to barely have enough ability to scratch their own arses.
  
  Be fair lprent Brownlie honestly cant reach his arse, Smith, well he’s just learning to dress himself, then the training wheels might come off christ the man’s only been in parliament 25-26 years.
- Pat 16.4
  
  29 May 2016 at 10:06 am
  
  please take our S.I. idiots Brownlee and Smith, we don’t want them…..well even throw in $5k for each one.
  - leftie 16.4.1
    
    29 May 2016 at 1:34 pm
    
    Lol Pat, but lets make them pay the $5K out of their own pockets !!
Katipo 17

28 May 2016 at 12:01 pm

In a supposedly first world country providing adequate shelter for all should be fundamental, and the and no matter how much you dislike “some bludger and their kids getting a free house” the cost to our health, education & legal systems for not doing so is many times higher. There is no shortage of bedrooms in Auckland. This issue has more to do with growing inequality than land supply. The less egalitarian we become the worse this situation gets, with proportionately fewer people owning the land in the prime locations as high density slums are created on the fringe.
As in naturesociety, society ‘abhorrs an inequality’ and the longer it takes us to address this the more severe and the correction will be.
- Draco T Bastard 17.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 9:06 pm
  
  +1
WILD KATIPO 18

28 May 2016 at 12:13 pm

Hmmmm….wheres all the good comedy when we needs it, guv?

They weren’t shy about it back in the day…
- millsy 18.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 7:04 pm
  
  That was pretty cool.
  
  Amazing what could be done with 1940’s technology (ie a guy sitting out the back with a pair of scissors and a roll of tape)
ropata 19

28 May 2016 at 12:38 pm

disaster capitalism 101:
1. manufacture crisis (or use an existing one)
2. throw out democracy
3. install cronies
4. loot!!

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/06/29/capitalism-devolved-looting/
- leftie 19.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 12:47 pm
  
  Yep, that’s it in a nutshell Ropata.
- Paul 19.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 1:18 pm
  
  Naomi Klein – The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
  - leftie 19.2.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 4:37 pm
    
    Watched that a few years back, its an awesome documentary, and should be compulsory viewing.
- SherylJ 19.3
  
  28 May 2016 at 2:24 pm
  
  That’s it, in a nutshell! Well said ropata.
- Nessalt 19.4
  
  28 May 2016 at 3:02 pm
  
  but it’s always labour who are declaring a crises? is it because they are useless and can’t get to stage 2 that the crises keep on resolving themselves?
  - ropata 19.4.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 3:22 pm
    
    yes, the leftwing fools hold onto a quaint notion of democracy for the people
  - leftie 19.4.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 4:44 pm
    
    What “crises keep on resolving themselves?” You appear to be in denial Nessalt.
John shears 20

28 May 2016 at 1:11 pm

Up North
upnorth 16.1
28 May 2016 at 12:03 pm

“Incorrect – I have had the privilege of reading the Royal Commission on the Super City. Took an active role in reading and understanding.”

Sorry I disagree with you Upnorth and with the use of the word Democracy at the start of this post.

The current Auckland City was not formed by a Democratic process that was done by the Royal Commission that Up North refers to above.

BUT what we got was a multi city amalgamation devised by John Key’s crony , the Act member Rodney Hide after their tea cup affair. They threw the Commissions report in the garbage bin, the result of a long period if consultation and investigation, and then in a few months came up with the disaster that was forced upon Aucklanders. Len Brown and the elected Councillors have made a reasonable fist of trying to make it work.

Just one example of a change that will cost Auckland for many years was allowing Watercare to NOT be responsible for Stormwater. The Commission was quite clear that the 3 Waters , Potable Waste & Storm under one management was the best option. There are plenty of other examples , the multiple levels of management separating the AHB from the Council is another classic example.

John Key’s National Party does not like Democracy it means they have to listen and discuss matters.
- ropata 20.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 1:30 pm
  
  +1. If upnorth actually read the supercity report as s/he claimed, s/he would realise that the plan was OK, but the implementation by NatCorp™ and Rortney was a complete travesty
  - One Anonymous Bloke 20.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 2:13 pm
    
    Upnorth could easily be replaced by a sign reading: “I agree with the Prime Minister”. No-one would notice the difference.
    - stunnedmullet 20.1.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 3:00 pm
      
      Haw haw haw..
  - upnorth 20.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 4:32 pm
    
    Lol I know more – even did a submission
    - leftie 20.1.2.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 5:13 pm
      
      Lol Upnorth, obviously you don’t, you are nothing more than a shill for John key and his government of corruption.
    - Incognito 20.1.2.2
      
      28 May 2016 at 5:45 pm
      
      Overinflated ego and superiority complex manifesting through a condescending attitude towards others.
      
      Please provide a link to your submission so that we judge it for ourselves on its merits and whether you are entitled to have bragging rights here on TS.
Ad 21

28 May 2016 at 1:42 pm

Greg Presland in his blog has an excellent point of origin of our current housing to crisis: the claps of second tier financing , and with them over a dozen major housing construction companies.

See: http://www.gregpresland.com

He also points to this harshly misplaced blame:

“Blaming a plan that is not even in effect yet and threatening to replace elected representatives with commissioners is not a civilized way to deal with the largest local authority in the country.”

But we also need to clean out this Council with better Councillors, like Greg Presland himself.
- Cricklewood 21.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 5:07 pm
  
  Other overlooked issue is that it’s not politcally expeadiant to attempt to address it in a meaning full way. Basically the massive capital gains and subsequent borrowings are driving the economy and keeping the tax take up.
  A large amount of my work is from professional people who purchased 10-15 years ago fairly small mortgage left and often upwards of 600k in capital gains. They tend to remortgage around 2-300k and do the reno or put in the swimming pool etc.
  
  Choke the capital gain and the houses of cards that makes up or economy falls over then you get voted out….
  - Ad 21.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 5:31 pm
    
    If the MSM keep this up, and housing/rent cements itself as the new vectorial language for discussing poverty, in a middle class language that regular voters understand, then Key knows that his best shot at escape is to offload blame as hard and fast as he can.
    
    It just won’t work. Key and this government can’t solve the accelerating burn of the housing market. Sacrificing Auckland Council will only make the pyre burn higher.
    
    And even if they tried a further actual public sector intervention – as in the Tamaki Transformation Project – it would be too slow to make a major difference. They needed a hundred Hobsonvilles going right now, but they have deliberately privatized and liquefied more and more of the public housing stock, including that of Auckland Council some years ago.
    
    I can see the whole market burning around me; almost no one younger than me can get in. The bracket who can get into this market are going to get older and older, until this FIRE economy consumes the hopes of even most of the elderly.
    
    This FIRE economy is going to burn this government to ash. Along with it goes the schadenfreude of monetarism that they themselves instigated.
    - Cricklewood 21.1.1.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 5:49 pm
      
      It will burn this and likely subsequent governments.
      It’s so out of hand now that any opposition parties would be well advised to be very cautious around any promises made about ‘solving’ the problem.
      You either address the issue in a meaningful way and tank the Auckland economy or fail to ‘solve’ the problem in a voters eyes neither are particularly desirable for a newly elected govt.
      
      I think best we can hope for is to slow price rises through a suite of measures and undertake a massive infrastructure build in terms of public transport as there is no point expanding the city if you cant get the people in. My preference is for bus infrastructure as they can service commutes in a more flexible manor. Going to take 20 years easily for a softish landing from this and anything else could be disasterous.
      - Ad 21.1.1.1.1
        
        28 May 2016 at 7:30 pm
        
        My preference is for the full Labour Party housing policy to be enacted.
        Build, build, and build. Sort out the tax instruments once you start shifting the first furniture in.
        
        In transport, my preference is for the Auckland Transport One Network system to be implemented far faster than is currently funded. This includes the continuing dominance of buses, but with enhanced rail systems as well.
Ad 22

28 May 2016 at 1:43 pm

Collapse. In 2008-09.
feijoa 23

28 May 2016 at 1:45 pm

Great comments all you Standardistas.
I only wish all the people of NZ could read these comments, and I really wish Labour and the Green would hammer the Nacts on this.

It closely resembles the ACC “crisis”, which amazingly ( well, not yet anyway ), didn’t lead to a complete sell off to private insurance companies

I’m sure people can think of other examples
- seeker 23.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 2:25 pm
  
  Good comment feijoa @ 1.45pm
  Didn’t Nick Smith create the ACC ‘crisis’? Is that his roll in government – crisis fomenter? I this the 21st century equivalent of a ‘witchfinder general’
  
  He is very good at it. Crisis after crisis follows Nick. A through and through true blue poverty creator.
  
  How proud he and his colleagues in this government will be of themselves and their lives as they lie on their deathbeds…… and possibly contemplate how many ‘earlier than necessary’ ones they created for their fellow countrymen.
- Incognito 23.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 6:32 pm
  
  I only wish all the people of NZ could read these comments
  
  Since TS is freely accessible to all people with internet access I’d say that, in fact, all the people of NZ could indeed read these comments.
  
  It doesn’t harm to leave a comment on the NZ Herald site from time to time …
  
  The real question is on how to organise people to join forces and get rid of this obviously anti-democratic government before our Democracy is eroded so much that it’ll be too late.
greywarshark 24

28 May 2016 at 2:44 pm

Key seems a snake and brought to mind Nagini Lord Voldemort’s animal. Behind Key
there must be many Voldemorts.
- gnomic 24.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:03 pm
  
  The smirking weasel is not a nice guy. Nor even very bright. But with the help of polls he appeals to the group of NZers who are doing pretty well thank you very much under the current regime. He masquerades as a funny guy, for people with a Nat frame of mind at least. And at the end of the day he can be comfortable with the most dire of outcomes for the little people because he is fully vested. And will wind up as Sir John. A knight just like his hero, the late Sir Robert Muldoon.
ropata 25

28 May 2016 at 3:24 pm

Greg Presland’s tweet should be in the main post ..

Govt blames Auckland Council for GFC, leaky buildings and heavy immigration levels, Commissioners threatened https://t.co/9umIbeIz57— Greg Presland (@GregPresland) May 27, 2016
Enviro Gal 26

28 May 2016 at 3:27 pm

STAND UP
FIGHT BACK Auckland.
We have a Government with no answers to the
problems that they have created: bullying and buffoonary are not
leadership.
- Ad 26.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 5:33 pm
  
  The best preparation for a change of central government is a change of local government across all our major cities, who actively resist this government.
  
  It can be done, and it’s coming to a New Zealand city near you.
Observer Toke 27

28 May 2016 at 3:51 pm

. ” Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment”

. Well may you say Screw Democracy Anthony Robins. But Auckland gets it much easier than many towns and cities in New Zealand. For a start Aucklanders have Hospitals.

Housing prices throughout the nation are rising horiffically as Auckland people cash in on their $million houses push out of , crimanal, drug addicted, violent Auckland, They buy much cheaper better houses in Tauranga – and in every town in the country. The locals of course don’t have Auckland purses.

Auckland has been a hell of a mess for the better part of two centuries. It likes itself with an ego that knows no bounds. South of Pukekohe, Aucklanders are not respected. They are not wanted.

When Winston Peters, Andrew Little and Meturia get into power they must first of all look after the Towns and Cities of New Zealand. Let Auckland fix itself.

After all, the forgotten towns of NZ have to soldier on without any assistance. Have to wait and travel a hundred and more KMs for Health Treatments. Have to pay exorbitant monies to banks and stinking landlords.

A new Government must stop Immigratation. Must heavily tax the wealthy. Must keep Aucklanders in their own crap. They are not welcome in Aotearoa.
Once was Tim 28

28 May 2016 at 3:51 pm

Dat dear demockrissy is jiss so damned inconvient ain’t it! Local representation – yeah/nah….the facade of lekted representatives somehow controlling the admin wing of the corporatised council: yeah/nah
Central Control herr Commandant!! Dress it up the best way you can. That Nick Smith has Green creds – we’ll give him a shot at it. FAIL
Pulla Bent has pulled herself up by her bootstraps – give her a shot. FAIL
Chris Finlayson moight jiss appeal to the rainbow lektrit. FAIL
Anne Tolley … FAIL
etc.
etc.
etc.
Funny how they can’t bring themselves to ask the obvious question (WHY).

Talk about the Big Con!. I bet Gordon McGlaughlan never imagined it’d amount to issues other than those economic.

The harder they rise, the harder they fall. Let the games begin – really. It’s all so self-defeating it’d be funny (if it wasn’t so serious).

There are signs the captured neo-lib Labourites are beginning to awaken, alongside some of those staunch half decent Natzis.
Personally I’ll find it bloody hard to offer any sympathy when the shit hits the fan and they’re all busy claiming victimhood, with all that “I was only following orders” kaka.

Given the apathy, the manipulation, the spin, the capturing (of even once-were HALF decent people heading institutions such as the SIS and GCSB) of people, I’ll be finding it bloody hard to shed a tear – it’ll probably be more like a smirk on some black humour reality TV show (going forward)
Penny Bright 29

28 May 2016 at 4:27 pm

In my view, PM John Key should NOT have used the “c” word – “commissioners”.

Four months out from the Auckland local government elections???

If PM John Key thinks concerned Aucklanders are going to put up with that idea – best he think again.

In my view, PM John Key should BACK OFF and BUTT OUT!

There IS a fightback being organised ….

This control of Auckland by Wellington and corporates MUST stop.

Enough of this ‘democracy for developers’!

More news soon when some planning details are confirmed – but concerned Aucklanders – get ready to STAND UP and be counted!

Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.
- Sabine 29.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 4:35 pm
  
  Penny,
  
  frankly, he does not give a shit.
  
  To many concerned Aucklanders have sold and shipped out. Mission accomplished.
  To many unconcerned Aucklanders have moved in – many from oversees – Mission accomplished.
  
  All they need is a big board that tells them to “Party Vote National” so they know what to tick on the ballot and here you go.
  
  Fuck, is this country really devoid of any imagination?
  
  This is the intended outcome. And there are not enough Aucklanders left in the City.
  They either have moved, or are planning to move, or will be paid to move. And the others are so transient they don’t even appear on an electoral roll anymore as they have not had a stable address in the last several years.
  - Observer Toke 29.1.1
    
    28 May 2016 at 4:56 pm
    
    .
    . Hi Sabine
    
    . Using Mandarin, what is:
    
    . “Pay the National Party big money and get a lovely house and John Key’s special help if you are in danger of going to Gaol”
    
    . Likewise: “Vote for nice man who only tugs little blonde Girls”
    
    . Also: “Please choose any house you like. Ten houses if you like lots. Nice man will help you get rid of tennants. He very pleased with Asian. Good or Bad.”
    
    PS: I should have asked Barfoot and Thompson.
    - greywarshark 29.1.1.1
      
      29 May 2016 at 12:29 pm
      
      Observer Toke
      You are likely to be right that Asian people look kindly on John Key et al, and vice versa. But Key’s vice extends widely amongst his class of people with awkward amounts of excess money that they have to park somewhere in good reliable, solid assets.
      
      This includes wealthy Kiwis, Australians etc. It is a group of special people with special problems worldwide. They probably have a secret society representing them, with a special handshake or tattoo or exclusive expensive watch only they can source, perhaps they get together at the meetings of the Bilderberg society.
      
      Bilderberg Group – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilderberg_Group
      The Bilderberg Group, Bilderberg conference, Bilderberg meetings, or Bilderberg Club is an annual private conference of 120 to 150 people of the European and North American political elite, experts from industry, finance, academia, and the media, established in 1954.
      
      It is too simple to point accusing fingers at the latest in a line of sufferers of the Affluenza virus, that really got going in NZ when white settlers brought their individualistic and capitalistic culture. They proceeded to achieve capital accretion, with a break mid 20th century when it seemed that we lived in a society well-knit and advancing as a nation of joint endeavour and concern.
      
      But the Affluenza virus dis-ease causes an endless itching and scratching coming from the stress of having and accumulating so much more money than is needed to enable one to live a relatively simple and enjoyable life as part of humanity.
      - Observer Toke 29.1.1.1.1
        
        31 May 2016 at 11:30 am
        
        .
        Hi Greywarshark
        
        . I enjoyed your piece.
        
        . Affluenza is a brilliant word and it makes sure that carriers of the virus do not infect decent members of society.
        
        Affluenza is uttterly and totally committed to its own, and has oathed and oathed again and again that Affluenza shall not be shared with the common man.
        
        greywarshark 29.1.1.1.1.1
        
        31 May 2016 at 12:11 pm
        
        Observer: Toke
        When I saw your pseudo I thought you would have come up with something – er – different.
  - Ad 29.1.2
    
    28 May 2016 at 5:37 pm
    
    Key’s tactic is going to backfire big time.
    Any voter will see he is no longer trying for a solution.
    He’s just setting the scene for a wholesale clean out of Auckland Council.
    
    The alternative scenario for Key – wiping the 2016 election in Auckland – would ignite an almighty anti-National storm that would play and play right through to November 2017, and then again into election year.
    A no-win framing for Key. Boo hoo.
    - Unicus 29.1.2.1
      
      28 May 2016 at 5:54 pm
      
      This is the execrable one’s springbok tour – he and the National Party have plumbed these depraved depths before of course – 1951 – 1981 .
      
      Creating social turmoil for a hoped for political advantage is stock in trade for these despots.
      
      Bring it on I say – if there is to be blood in the streets let’s make sure it’s theirs.
  - greywarshark 29.1.3
    
    29 May 2016 at 9:53 am
    
    Sabine
    I think that the answer to your question as to Nzs imagination, comes in another comment you made where you said that NZs laid back attitude seemed attractive some years ago. I think you may have put your finger on a vital flaw, that attitude turned into inertia, and from there unwillingness to be active partners in democracy and contracted that role out to government itself and also contracted out the oversight in a neo lib way.
infused 30

28 May 2016 at 5:32 pm

“free the land and build more houses”

national do that..

“fuck national and john key”

gg
- ropata 30.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:14 pm
  
  they have talked a lot, that’s for sure. but there are still hundreds of kiwis sleeping in cars this winter.
  - leftie 30.1.1
    
    29 May 2016 at 1:45 pm
    
    But can those people still vote? Having a residential address is a requirement for voting eligibility is it not?
millsy 31

28 May 2016 at 7:08 pm

So who is going to force people to build all these houses that everyone wants built when this magic line of the city limit is rubbed out by Key himself?
- Jack Ramaka 31.1
  
  28 May 2016 at 7:35 pm
  
  Unfortunately there are not the companies in NZ with the financial backing and horsepower to build large numbers of houses, we have systemically destroyed the NZ building industry by abolishing the Apprenticeship Schemes and introducing shoddy Building Codes because the industry wanted to make more profit?
- ropata 31.2
  
  28 May 2016 at 10:17 pm
  
  the urban limits are not the problem, that is just a gnat PR line used to bash the Council. the problem is lack of tradies, and the existing ones are too busy constructing flash houses for wealthy immigrants. it’s a crisis entirely manufactured by central government policy
Jack Ramaka 32

28 May 2016 at 7:32 pm

Council management have got the Council in debt up to their eyeballs, god knows how as they haven’t done anything, now we have the Neoliberal Goff arriving on the scene to sell off Regional Assets, sh*t Council and sh*t Government for the past 40 years?
dave 33

28 May 2016 at 7:39 pm

free the land up yeah good one there is a major problem land can only be freed up when the supporting infrastructure meets subdivision so when that asshole smith sets a special housing area 10 km away from the last upgraded infrastructure that has the capacity for the next block he creates a major problem blocks in the past have only been released as we built in the capacity in the infrastructure sewerage pipes town water supply roading capacity ie you have to get the shit to the treatment plant what the real row between the council and this incompetent government is about who pays for kms of pipes pumping stations to reach one of smiths housing fuck ups in the middle of nowhere km from the last upgraded block and the costs are in the 100s of millions this key government is making a right mess.
Repateet 34

28 May 2016 at 7:55 pm

I see in reference to a Related item, “Hosking wants Auckland Council deposed.”

Hosking knows what is best for Auckland (actually the whole world) but he is too gutless to stand for mayor. He has the answers but wants to sermonise, pontificate and rave for the sidelines. Maybe he thinks the pay is not high enough.

This is my public challenge to Mike Hosking to stand for the Auckland Mayoralty. He should put his money and giant ego where his big mouth is.

Or is he hoping Key will simply go autocratic despot and put him in charge?
Jack Ramaka 35

28 May 2016 at 10:04 pm

Hoskings is a paid National Party shrill, on the taxpayer funded TV Network.

He is given his lines every night before he fronts the NZ public, we should have Dear Leader reading the news every night.

Why can’t they just give us the facts rather than spinning us B/S, which most of us know is B/S
OneTrack 36

29 May 2016 at 10:14 am

“The government must do something”.

Now it is doing something.
- leftie 36.1
  
  29 May 2016 at 1:49 pm
  
  What is the government doing Onetrack?
  - You_Fool 36.1.1
    
    30 May 2016 at 9:16 am
    
    Throwing it’s weight around, take no responsibility for any of it’s own actions and jsut start blaming someone else; just like a bully would
Observer Toke 37

31 May 2016 at 11:43 am

.
. No new housing

. While the hopeless National Tories speak and shout about what they are going to do, nothing is getting done.

Perhaps the Standard non-tories could take a case to the High Court indicting National Party for forcing unrepayable debt on the poorest of the poor.

The case would be built around the evil intention of the entire Tory Caucus. For each of them has delighted in what they are doing to desperate people.

Perhaps too, a Pro Bono Lawyer would take the case on our behalf.
Neil 38

31 May 2016 at 7:21 pm

Christchurch was first, Is Auckland second? certainly looks like at a tilt to a dictatorship

Links to post

Auckland’s housing crisis is just like Christchurch’s except … « The Standard: posted on 29 May 2016 at 8:21 am

Comments are now closed

Articles RSS

CommentsOpinions

FeedsPartyGovtMedia

Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024

It’s another Friday and we’re inching closer to the end of the year. Here’s some of the stories that have caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

41 minutes ago
Beyond Question?

Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...

Bowalley Road

1 hour ago
The Rush To Blame “The Activists”

Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 hour ago
Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists

Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

2 hours ago
This is bad news

The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

4 hours ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024

Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...

Skeptical Science

13 hours ago
Chicken Kiev

Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

16 hours ago
The year is 2024 and it’s 1984

This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

17 hours ago
The IPCA has failed

Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

21 hours ago
Thursday 21 November 2024

The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

21 hours ago
‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’

I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

22 hours ago
ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori

Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

23 hours ago
Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures

This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...

Skeptical Science

24 hours ago
I Love My Leather Jacket

I wear my leather jacket like a great big hugRadiating charm - a living cloak of luckIt's the only concrete link with an absent friendIt's a symbol I can wear 'till we meet againOr it's a weight around my neck while the owner's freeBoth protector and reminder of mortalityIt's a ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 day ago
Throwback Thursday: Will “Auckland Transport” Survive?

With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

1 day ago
Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy

Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 day ago
The end of policing by consent

National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

2 days ago
The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who

David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

2 days ago
Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

2 days ago
27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year

One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

2 days ago
Transport modelling is an illusion

This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...

Greater AucklandBy Guest Post

2 days ago
Young Maori take over

Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

2 days ago
Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath

The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

2 days ago
Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills

On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...

Skeptical Science

3 days ago
What’s the time Mr Seymour?

Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

3 days ago
Submit to defend te Tiriti!

The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
We need to talk about Kevin

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

3 days ago
The hikoi

Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook

The CEOs of Westpac NZ and Kiwibank say Facebook is rife with fraud but reporting scam ads gets no response. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, November 19: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

3 days ago
How should we talk about change?

A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...

Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp

3 days ago
AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!

Hi,It’s AMA time again — so anything that’s on your mind that you wanna ask, ask away in the comments. This is one of my favourite things to do with full Webworm members, who are the heart of this community of Worms. Journalism? Documentary making? Short Poppies? Cats? Podcasting? What ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Discount Code for Webworm Merch!

Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Trying to defuse the tension

There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

3 days ago
An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...

This morning I discovered a post I’d written 10-11 months ago, lamenting how New Zealand’s ACT Party and their foreign and local surrogates would play out anti-Māori propaganda - which I believe they have long prepared for.At the time, it was a plea for action and readiness from my fellow ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

3 days ago
Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers

Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

3 days ago
Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...

Nearly two weeks on from the US election, and we are still mentally wrangling with the results. How did this happen? Which voter demographics went where? What did the Democrats do wrong? Meanwhile here in New Zealand, we’re left wondering how this will apply to us and what this means ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

3 days ago
Kaamos: Accepted

I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...

A Phuulish FellowBy strda221

4 days ago
Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
Unstoppable.

Too Big To Fail: Forty-three years after the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, Maori defenders of te Tiriti, by their own efforts, and using their own resources, are poised to descend on the capital with upwards of 100,000 followers at their back, and no force in front of them even remotely ...

Bowalley Road

4 days ago
Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative

The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...

Fabians

4 days ago
In a Manner of Speaking

In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

4 days ago
Monday 18 November 2024

The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

4 days ago
Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’

The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

4 days ago
A clearer network for the City Rail Link?

This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...

Greater AucklandBy Guest Post

4 days ago
National’s support base is wobbling

If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

4 days ago
2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46

A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again

..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...

Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy

5 days ago
Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by

I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

5 days ago
Unintended Consequences

Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

6 days ago
Thank you, driver!

Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

6 days ago
Totally Normal: Holiday Edition

Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

6 days ago
We Are Not Listening

The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...

PunditBy Brian Easton

7 days ago
More lawlessness from National

On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law

Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
The Haka Represents The Best Of Us

A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

7 days ago
Adding up the climate cost

St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders

One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
Friday 15 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

7 days ago
Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024

Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

1 week ago
Are We The Waiting?

And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
The Hoon around the week to November 15

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?

Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.

Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

1 week ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024

Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...

Skeptical Science

1 week ago
The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free

You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

1 week ago
D-day for the government

The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago
97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...

Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

1 week ago
Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...

The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
The Weight of the World

As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
Thursday 14 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Trump’s return to White House brings the climate’s ‘find out’ phase closer

As we absorb the news of Trump's victory in the US Presidential election, here’s a wrap compiled just before the result of what it might mean for climate action: The UN Secretary General says the prospective departure of the United States would cripple the Paris Agreement, likening it to the ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Time and Space in the City Centre

Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...

Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds

1 week ago
An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch

As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Dealing to the big Aussie banks

The big question hovering over the Select Committee Inquiry into banking is what the Government will do with its findings. If yesterday’s hearing is anything to go by there is a tidal wave of discontent about the four big Australian Banks crashing through the Committee which may force it to ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

1 week ago

NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS

The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...

Greens

15 hours ago
Failed boot camp experiment must end

As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...

Greens

16 hours ago
Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing

The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...

Greens

16 hours ago
Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing

The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...

Labour Blog

18 hours ago
Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change

David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...

Labour Blog

18 hours ago
Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister

Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...

Labour Blog

19 hours ago
Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards

National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...

Labour Blog

19 hours ago
Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing

When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...

Labour Blog

22 hours ago
Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’

The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...

Greens

23 hours ago
Release: A historic win for Samoan communities

Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...

Labour Blog

24 hours ago
Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”

The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading

Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills

The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach

A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch

National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs

Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions

Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament

Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons

Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...

Labour Blog

4 days ago
Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill

The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...

Labour Blog

5 days ago
Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope

The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...

Greens

7 days ago
Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Stand Up for Te Tiriti

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon

As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation

The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned

The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors

...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors

Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care

Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect

The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Without action, an apology will be empty air

For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference

Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Urgent wake-up call on climate

The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world

Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies

Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
NZ must pursue independent foreign policy

The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Winston Peters must apologise

The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago

Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements

The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

16 hours ago
Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending

The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

16 hours ago
Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review

Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

17 hours ago
State of the art radiology machine for Auckland

People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

17 hours ago
Foreign Minister to visit Europe

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

18 hours ago
First arrests made under gang patch ban

Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
Better support for victims of sexual violence

The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

20 hours ago
Government moving forward with Regional Deals

Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

20 hours ago
MSA pilot participant update

One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

21 hours ago
Attendance rates increase, again

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

22 hours ago
Improving the lives of young New Zealanders

Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 day ago
Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea

The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024

Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement

Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Latest Quarterly Investment Report released

The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight

The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils

The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed

The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double

Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference

Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Health survey results to help drive change

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025

A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
New diplomatic appointments

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill

Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Red Tape Tipline goes live

Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Youth Parliament 2025 announced

The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Police stats show promising change

After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Better coordination of anti-scam efforts

With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Minister to consider 7AA select committee report

Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting

Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Launching the White Ribbon Ride

The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

5 days ago
Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury

Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Government and iwi work together on aquaculture

Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose

The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Speech to Social Investment Hui: Jack and his whānau need our help

Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Minister of State for Trade heads to Brisbane for PACER Plus meeting

Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg has travelled to Australia to attend the PACER Plus Ministers Meeting in Brisbane. “Trade plays a critical role in driving employment, economic growth, and improving the standards of living in the Pacific Region. The Government is strongly committed to supporting Pacific Island countries ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Proposals to modernise conservation released

Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to modernise New Zealand’s conservation management system, aiming to protect relevant natural areas while supporting sustainable growth in tourism and regional economies, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

1 week ago

Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

2 hours ago
Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way

The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...

Radio NZ – political

3 hours ago
Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate

Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Fox Meyer

3 hours ago
Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate

Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Fox Meyer

3 hours ago
Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation

The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Tina Morrison

3 hours ago
Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws

A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...

Radio NZ – political

3 hours ago
This week three parties stood together – can they withstand the storm to come?

There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...

The SpinoffBy Toby Manhire

4 hours ago
All 33 malls in Auckland ranked from worst to best

From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ...

The SpinoffBy Group Think

4 hours ago
The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Marketing exec at ...

The SpinoffBy The Cost of Being

4 hours ago
Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November

Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

4 hours ago
Daily crossword, Friday 22 November

The post Daily crossword, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

4 hours ago
China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term

Opinion: Recent discussions in Shanghai provide some insight into what’s likely to be on the table The post China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Jason Young

4 hours ago
Nuclear winters know no borders

Opinion: The immediate horror of nuclear weapon explosions – the blinding flash, crushing blast wave, and radioactive inferno – is well documented.But what nuclear-armed nations either don’t grasp or won’t admit, is far more chilling: how their weapons could devastate even countries thousands of kilometres from any mushroom clouds.The collapse ...

NewsroomBy Nick Wilson and Matt Boyd

4 hours ago
This week’s bestselling books – November 22

FICTION1 Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Sample dialogue, all from one chapter:“That can’t be,” replied Taona doubtfully.“You were right. The pā is unnervingly quiet,” Taona murmured.“The Hākuwai,” Motukia breathed. “Our grandfathers told us they rarely saw the Hākuwai in daylight,” Motukia muttered.“Their fight would have been futile ...

NewsroomBy Steve Braunias

4 hours ago
Burma the flying elephant

After about two and a half years of planning and waiting, New Zealand’s last elephant has moved to her new home at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.Burma and her “human herd”, that is, her keepers, arrived last week, and she’s settling in well, according to Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers.“Something ...

NewsroomBy Gwen McClure

4 hours ago
NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy

Senior ministers in the coalition suggested NZ’s membership will be re-evaluated if it restarts offshore oil and gas drilling The post NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

4 hours ago
Raw Politics: Six months in a leaky Bill

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not meet the Treaty Principles Bill hikoi crowd, sees “nothing” of merit in the Act-proposed law but the Parliament his Government dominates will spend six months debating a “divisive” measure.That’s because he has accepted there needs to be “aeration” of people’s views on the Treaty, ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Staff

4 hours ago
Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field

Bidder Whakapapa Holdings walked away from the sales process last year, but says it’s now ‘95% there’ on a purchase agreement – so who blinked first? The post Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin

4 hours ago
Watts nears a landmark deal on global carbon trading

A framework for global carbon trading under the Paris Agreement is finally nearing completion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan after years of halting talks.Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is one of two ministers tasked by the COP29 hosts with landing a long-sought deal on Article 6 of the climate accord, ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

4 hours ago
Grattan on Friday: Marles plays a defensive bat on nuclear as the government rushes to get though la...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Richard Marles is an ambitious man who hasn’t given up the dream of one day reaching the top job. But, despite being deputy prime minister, his profile is much lower than that of Treasurer Jim ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

9 hours ago
Fears Māori will pay heaviest price if police carry guns

"Overwhelmingly, those people who die will be young Māori men," the spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa says. ...

Radio NZ – political

11 hours ago
NEW POLL: Kiwis Overwhelmingly Support MPs’ Expenses Transparency Law Change

62% of respondents support the extension of the OIA to cover MPs’ spending, compared to just 13% opposed and 24% were unsure. ...

Scoop politics

11 hours ago
The House: Meanwhile, a week of passing law

The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights. ...

Radio NZ – political

11 hours ago
The biggest difference between Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and past hīkoi: More support from non-Māori

Analysis - The diversity of voices during the hīkoi was noticeable - from tangata moana to young immigrants to elderly Pākehā from the South Island. ...

Radio NZ – political

12 hours ago
The House: Samoan citizenship restoration – ‘It means we belong to this land’

When the bill to restore NZ citizenship to some Samoans passed this week, Parliament's galleries were full to the brim with members of the community. ...

Radio NZ – political

13 hours ago
More Delays In Action On Use Of Puberty Blockers With Children

Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says the Ministry has put New Zealand children at risk by continuing to allow “off-label” prescribing of puberty blockers at far higher rates than other similar countries. ...

Scoop politics

14 hours ago
Police Minister adamant he wasn’t aware of gang members training at gun clubs

That is despite two papers from police that raised the matter with him. ...

Radio NZ – political

14 hours ago
Shorten declares himself ‘a proud moderate’, saying Australians ‘in the middle’ shouldn’t ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has declared himself “a proud moderate” in a valedictory speech declaring parliament has the responsibility to ensure the extremes of left and right do not set the terms of political debate. Shorten, ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

15 hours ago
New ‘best practice’ principles for superannuation products are coming. We asked a panel of exper...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Studio Romantic/Shutterstock We all know how important it is to save enough money for retirement – but what about spending it wisely when we get there? Even for those who have built up a suitable ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

15 hours ago
Government accused of betraying Kiwis’ trust over lack of consultation on live exports

The government has always vowed to reinstate live exports by sea, which was banned by the previous Labour government. ...

Radio NZ – political

15 hours ago
7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner. When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

15 hours ago
Phenergan for under 6s is now banned due to hallucination fears. Here’s what to use instead

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University Australia’s drug regulator has issued a safety warning over the medicine Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine drug promethazine. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said the over-the-counter products should not be given to children ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

15 hours ago
A new stage adaptation of Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs is a delightful homage to theatrical storytelli...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Campbell, Lecturer, Performing Arts, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia Matt Byrne/STCSA Jack Maggs is a delight and a homage to theatrical storytelling in Australia. Based on Peter Carey’s bestselling novel, Jack Maggs follows the ex-convict as he lands ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

15 hours ago
The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missing

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Ron Lach/Pexels The federal government today introduced into parliament legislation for its social media ban for people under 16 years. Communications Minister Michelle ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

16 hours ago
Archives NZ, National Library to cut 27 roles

The Department of Internal Affairs wants to bring the two organisations under the joint leadership of the Chief Archivist and National Librarian. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
Gang patch ban: Members warn of potential for violence to ‘erupt’ as new laws enforced

"I can't see this lasting unless they have a budget to lock fullas up in jail which I think is absolutely stupid, really it's ludicrous," Ngavii Pekapo, who set up a Mongrel Mob chapter 54 years ago, says. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
ACT leader David Seymour raises doubts about Waikato medical school

Government documents show ACT leader David Seymour told the government he was "dissatisfied" with a cost-benefit analysis. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
National’s Erica Stanford allegedly calls Labour’s Jan Tinetti a ‘stupid bitch&#82...

The Education Minister has apologised in Parliament for her remark. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
Labour backs new Police Commissioner – but warns against routine arming

The alternative to policing by consent would be a police state, which New Zealanders don't want, the party says. ...

Radio NZ – political

18 hours ago
Youth on boot camp pilot re-offended five weeks after release

Children's Minister Karen Chhour said while it was disappointing, it would naïve to think none of the participants would lapse. ...

Radio NZ – political

18 hours ago

The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.

Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment

Related Posts

172 comments on “Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment ”

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Related Posts

Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment

Share this:

Related Posts

172 comments on “Screw democracy – Auckland to get the Canterbury treatment ”

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts

Share this:

Related Posts