Posts Tagged ‘water’

The Smiths: Getting it Right

Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, September 24th, 2010 - 11 comments

Lockwood and Nick did good work yesterday.  So praise where praise is due: Keep it up boys.

Govt ignored advice to save lives with lower drink-drive limit

Written By: - Date published: 12:22 pm, September 21st, 2010 - 29 comments

The government was told that lowering the drink-drive limit would save 33 lives and $238 million a year. They ignored it. Why? I reckon the only money they were worried about was donations from the booze barons. These idiots don’t bother with basic cost vs benefit analyses. It’s all about pay-offs for their mates. And donation kickbacks.

Fighting back against privatisation

Written By: - Date published: 11:27 pm, June 27th, 2010 - 6 comments

The Government’s privatisation by stealth agenda continues – from ACC to Whanau Ora to mining to PEDA to water.

And the fight back is gathering strength.

Labour to restore democracy in Canterbury

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, April 28th, 2010 - 78 comments

Last month, the Government abolished the democratically-elected Canterbury Regional Council known as Environment Canterbury. Not only were the current elected officials booted out, Cantabarians were denied their right to elect the next council in the upcoming local body elections. Now, Labour has pledged to restore democracy to Canterbury.

Another hand-out for bludgers

Written By: - Date published: 9:09 am, April 26th, 2010 - 98 comments

Our glorious capitalist system should mean farms that can’t handle a bad time fail. Just like any other business. Land gets used for something better. It’s the market. But capitalists don’t really believe in the market. Come the bad times, the farmers want another hand out. So government’s giving them the dole. Yup, the dole.

A farmers’ coup in Canterbury

Written By: - Date published: 8:31 am, March 31st, 2010 - 38 comments

National’s mates in the dairy industry were annoyed that the elected councillors in Enviornment Canterbury wouldn’t let them have all the water they want. So National has sacked the councillors and suspended local democracy for four years. The diary farmers will pay along with everyone else for their short-termist ‘science be damned’ attitude. But not before they’ve caused long-term damage.

The Canterbury dictatorship bill

Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, March 31st, 2010 - 39 comments

There are significant risks associated with the Review Group’s recommendation to temporarily suspend planned triennial elections for regional councillors (scheduled for October 2010) and to transfer the functions and responsibilities of Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) elected councillors to government-appointed commissioners until elections in 2013 at the latest. Elections are a right and privilege of any citizen in New Zealand. The suspension of such a right should only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

Privatising water

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 11th, 2009 - 21 comments

Although the topic has had a turbulent and confused couple of weeks, it seems that National want to privatise Auckland’s water supply. Govt contradicts itself on water privatisation Press Release: Green Party 29 October 2009 Statements from the Government on the issue of water privatisation are confusing and contradictory and give no assurance to the […]

Granny’s waterworks

Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, November 2nd, 2009 - 17 comments

I think Granny Herald must have shares in Infratil, based on her rubbish editorial today: Particular fervour is reserved for private-sector participation in this sector, perhaps because water is one of life’s necessities. Rarely is it conceded that, in reality, it occupies the same utility bag as electricity, which in this country and elsewhere has […]

Ominous Trickles before the Flood

Written By: - Date published: 5:35 pm, April 5th, 2009 - 13 comments

The attack on democratic local government is taking shape in the public domain. 1. Hide was not made the Minister of Local Govt for nothing. Radical changes are planned and National chose an ACT Party frontman to deflect public reaction. The Bill about to be introduced, and likely passed, to ‘cap rates at the rate […]

Local Govt minister wants to privatise water

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, November 17th, 2008 - 91 comments

As you’ll have read, John Key has made ACT leader Rodney Hide his Minister of Local Government. So, what’s ACT’s local government policy? Commercial activities are best performed by the private sector because they have more incentive to innovate and deliver better services. Local government should progressively shed ownership of its commercial activities. Local government […]