The great future tide of homelessness

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, December 3rd, 2015 - 156 comments
Categories: class war, housing - Tags:

The Salvation Army recently reported on the fifth of New Zealand who will be forced to be without their own home by the forces of unrestrained real estate capitalism.

In 2030, over 200,000 New Zealanders over 65 will not own their own home. Does anyone still remember when it was our emotional bedrock as a country, our savings bedrock, the basis on which every future generation could be handed their own real start in life? That was then.

We’ve gone through the great post-World War Two era of home ownership, and now it’s plummeting. It’s currently at 64% and falling fast.

By 2030 – just 15 years away – those over 65 will number 1.1 million. That’s 22% of us all. This is the Elderly Precariat, in which the risk of one major illness, one major job loss, one major marriage breakup, is more likely, and more irreversibly damaging for the rest of your life. In no small part because you run a very high risk of losing your house. 22% of us are risking that within 15 years.

Off-the-cuff solutions like “just downsize, why don’t you?’, roll off the tongue of the glib, and the real estate agents. Doesn’t work if you’ve got grandchildren needing a place (increasing), grown-up children who ‘forget to leave’ (increasing), or indeed the real prospect of loneliness and isolation of some tiny downsized village bereft of healthcare or networks, eking out the NZSuper in $5 per day increments. Plus, the shame of knowing you took your following generation downwards, not upwards.

There’s no government policy on this at all. It took the Salvation Army to study it and say it. They, not the government, are pointing the way.

156 comments on “The great future tide of homelessness ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Bill 1
    3 December 2015 at 8:50 am

    I don’t see lack of home ownership as a problem. Lack of security is though.

    But if rents were reasonable and tenancy rights were robust (eg – life long leases), then with an eye to security, I’d far rather rent than buy.

    • Sabine 1.1
      3 December 2015 at 8:55 am

      but is not the reason that non such rights exist in NZ that everyone will try to get a mortgage?

      I have rented all my life, and never had an issue with it. In saying that NZ rentals beggar believe…..the Ownership Generation/Class renting dumps to the next generation (10 to a three bedroom) or young families (mouldy rotten and overpriced), as that is literally the only way to get rich in NZ. And every generation seems to do it.

      Shortsighted is the most polite term I can come up with. And then it bites them in the arse, and people near and far cry ….i did not know, but they did know, and just thought it would never be them that have to live in the slums they created and build.

      • Ad 1.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 9:24 am

        It is cruel.

        Even the state is seeking to accelerate the speed of turnover in state houses, because their demand is increasing and their number of units nowhere near keeping up.

        Not sure if anyone remembers a time where the major City Councils owned enough pensioner flats to make a real dent in the market demand. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Auckland City Council actually did. Hello, Mayor John Banks.

        Neither central nor local government are doing their real job: help form a good society.

        You are dead right to head straight to security of tenure. Ownership in New Zealand society is the only way to feel safe, and there’s no wishing alternatives. That feeling of safety as one heads into frailty is surely the central goal of one’s entire life, and we are watching it leave this country.

        • Bill 1.1.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 9:29 am

          Not sure if anyone remembers a time where the major City Councils owned enough pensioner flats to make a real dent in the market demand. (…)
          Neither central nor local government are doing their real job: help form a good society.

          So Dunedin Regional Council bought (compulsory purchased?) a pile of properties up by the Leith river because of flood dangers. They then rented those homes out at market rent for a number of years while, certainly in a number of cases, doing sfa in terms of maintenance.

          Then they took remedial measures with regards the flood threat, kicked the tenants out and are selling now the homes on the open market.

          • Ad 1.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 9:45 am

            Dunedin City Council, and Christchurch City Council, are already facing a massive medium-term crisis due to flood levels rising from sea level change. South Dunedin in particular, the poorest area of Dunedin, is already being considered a major future liability by Dunedin Council. Taken together it would take one almighty change in Annual Plan priority for Dunedin City Council to prepare for both this future housing crisis, and the gradual managed retreat of the whole of South Dunedin.

            • weka 1.1.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 10:28 am

              What they should do is invest in things that will bring more money into the town, like a big stadium or something.

              • greywarshark …
                3 December 2015 at 1:41 pm

                weka
                That’s a good idea!

                • weka …
                  3 December 2015 at 2:34 pm

                  I don’t know what they’re all worried about. Think about all that great tourism revenue once the Antartica really starts breaking up and sending more ice floes around the Otago coast. We need to build more helicopters and cruise ships.

            • Bill 1.1.1.1.1.2
              3 December 2015 at 10:38 am

              Sorry Ad. My bad. That comment should have referenced Otago Regional Council, there’s no such entity as Dunedin Regional Council.

              Rising sea levels…yup. Major bureaucratic ‘eyes wide shut’ stuff going on there. But I don’t quite see what that has to do with making people homeless today in locations that may not be subjected to the effects of a 2 degrees C driven sea level rise.

              • Ad …
                3 December 2015 at 11:36 am

                It’s another layer of insecurity upon housing, which makes it much harder to fix. Each city will have its own layer of challenges.

                The point of the post however is that the problem of home ownership for the elderly and the accelerating insecurity that they now face, is getting so massive that it is getting too large for central government to fix. It is a societal change that will make 22% of our population far more secure than they are overall now, and this will affect the whole country.

        • weka 1.1.1.2
          3 December 2015 at 9:38 am

          “You are dead right to head straight to security of tenure. Ownership in New Zealand society is the only way to feel safe, and there’s no wishing alternatives. That feeling of safety as one heads into frailty is surely the central goal of one’s entire life, and we are watching it leave this country.”

          Except ownership is no longer a way to feel safe, isn’t that the point? We need to fix security, so why not fix it across the board (instead of for those with wealth)? Solve the home ownership and rental problems together.

        • millsy 1.1.1.3
          3 December 2015 at 10:32 am

          A belong to a number of groups on facebook consisting of WINZ and HNZ clients, and they reckon that HNZ tenants are being evicted at an alarming rate. Even those who still ‘have a high housing need;.

    • RedLogix 1.2
      3 December 2015 at 9:31 am

      Absolutely Bill. And as the resident bastard landlord around here I’ve repeatedly stated that I’d welcome the kind of reform and improved regulation that would permit robust long-term leases.

      It does happen of course; there are plenty of people who find if they pay the rent reliably (and if they do get into strife they negotiate early and stick to the arrangement), look after the place as if were their own – then most reasonable landlords will let them stay as a long as they like – as if it were indeed their own home.

      Under these informal ‘life-long’ leases, rental increases are often modest, sometimes falling well behind the market. As long as they are covering their costs and making a fair return, most landlords will much prefer a stable reliable tenant, than all the risks that come with a constant turnover of unknown ones.

      But under the present wild-west regime operating in this country, no landlord would dream of formally singing up to such an arrangement before they had the opportunity to assess a tenant. Equally you might want to consider the risks of a tenant signing up to such ‘life-time’ lease without understanding the landlord. There is a boot here on both feet.

      In Australia for example, most leases are for a fixed 12 month term (at least for the first year). If you need to leave before then – the tenant becomes liable to continue paying rent until either the landlord finds a new tenant or the term expires. This is very common and is heavily enforced.

      • tracey 1.2.1
        3 December 2015 at 9:41 am

        Yp, good landlords are aprt of the solution RedL. As long as property is rented only until it can be sold for capital gain, there is no security, and it is hard to become attached to a rental property when you are constantly wondering when notice of sale is going to arrive.

        • RedLogix 1.2.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 9:47 am

          Exactly. The residential rental business is infested with the same disease afflicting much of our economy – operating for capital gains rather than cash flow.

          It really doesn’t matter where you look, everything is being distorted by banks pumping credit into the economy, sucking wealth from ordinary people and small businesses – to further bloat their shareholders already immense coffers.

          • tracey 1.2.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 9:56 am

            And when so many of those making our laws are making money from this…

            • Colonial Viper 1.2.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 10:13 am

              On all sides of the House

              Parliamentary Services is paying off the mortgages of a tonne of commercial properties owned by our glorious MPs

              • tracey …
                3 December 2015 at 10:22 am

                Yes, I meant everyone who makes our laws CV, that’s all MPs.

                Wouldn’t want a criticism of Labour to pass by 😉

        • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.2
          3 December 2015 at 1:48 pm

          Yp, good landlords are aprt of the solution RedL.

          Nope, they’re still part of the problem as their existence encourages others to become bludgers on the community.

          No, the solution is state ownership of all housing. The good landlords would become employees of the state doing the same job as they do now with a few changes one of which would be that they’d have to maintain an over supply of housing of 1 to 2% everywhere.

          The cost of building the homes would be covered by general taxes and maintenance would be covered by a small rent set as a percentage of income.

          End result would be much cheaper living and high security.

          The present housing system is like the health care system in the US in that it pushes costs and prices higher by several multiples. But, hey, a few people get rich on the backs of others work.

          • Gosman 1.2.1.2.1
            3 December 2015 at 3:36 pm

            Why doesn’t even Mana have this as their policy Draco? Is it perhaps because it is electoral suicide?

            • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1.2.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 4:10 pm

              Why doesn’t even Mana have this as their policy Draco?

              Why are you asking me that? Shouldn’t you be asking Mana?

              Is it perhaps because it is electoral suicide?

              It possibly is ATM because we’ve all been taught that private ownership is the bees knees rather than that private ownership is the problem. Once the general population start cottoning onto that latter as the fact that it is then such a policy will probably work.

          • Coffee Connoisseur 1.2.1.2.2
            4 December 2015 at 10:47 am

            If you are going to use that (and you should it is a viable solution whether people are ready for it or not) might I suggest that you use the term ‘Public ownership’ rather than ‘State’
            I believe that in this day and age there is a case for distinguishing between the two.
            State conjures up an almost Orwellian very controlling image as in terms like the surveillance state
            In this day and age I see ‘State’ as Government and I am sure many others do also.
            Consider the foreshore and seabed. Labour put it under Government ownership. National under Public.
            Many people are untrusting of government to do the right thing and as things progress in society overtime who can blame them.
            Public ownership at least conjures up a vision of being owned by and for the benefit of the public.

            All of this aside what is missing from society is the set of rules or a system that sets out what everyman woman and child should be entitled to in this day and age. Admittedly I haven’t read the bill of rights but I would be surprised if even this covered it in enough detail. We have economic systems communication systems, transport systems. and various other systems that make up the set of people systems. What we don’t have is an overarching people system that states what all other systems should enable for all people in society and which things people should have by right in a modern technologically advanced society.
            A good way to think of it from a philosophical and moral viewpoint is what is the justification to have a system where any man have he right to own a ferrari (or superyacht or whatever luxury item you choose to insert) whilst another is homeless.
            The system should be termed The People System or the Human system or something along those lines.

            The people system would be a set of outcomes that all systems should be geared toward delivering on. Where a system doesn’t deliver those outcomes that system should either be changed so that it does deliver those things or removed altogether and replaced with something that does.

            The people System should give every single person the right to the following
            Freedom in the form of liberty, speech and freedom from persecution.
            Healthy Food
            Clean Air
            Appropriate Clothing
            A good Education
            Access to Communication
            Electricity
            Clean water
            The ability to access wants

            The systems that are used to deliver these things should do so with as few barriers as possible.

            I don’t believe the current debt based system would deliver these
            (and doesn’t obviously) and even if it did it isn’t without a significant barrier for a person to be able to do so.
            So it would need to be changed so that it does, or replaced with something that does and has minimal barriers to people attaining those things.
            An example would be removing the current debt based central banking system and replacing it with a secure crypto currency that enables a UBI for everyone. Alternatively the two could be run in paralell with the crypto being able to be used to obtain items that it is determined people should have by right under the people system.

            This could be set up in such a way that as over time more things are automated, those who no longer need to work could be involved in programs that work towards the betterment of society and the freeing of more people from having to work. Perhaps it is only 2-3 days per week
            Luxury goods could be transitioned to a split between a temporary access or usership model whilst ownership could still be there for those still having to work. At least until Society had made the necessary cultural shift and that was no longer required.
            The programs to develop improvements for society could be continued indefinitely.

            At least you then have a powerful justification to eliminate homelessness and a framework to do so that supercedes the power of our current economic system.

            Hope that makes sense

            • Ad 1.2.1.2.2.1
              4 December 2015 at 1:33 pm

              Why not just look up the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights?

              You might be surprised what you find there.

          • Ad 1.2.1.2.3
            4 December 2015 at 1:31 pm

            Proudhon: “property is theft!” I think that was his sole contribution to humanity. They tried centralized control of housing in the Soviet Union and it was terrible. The end result was a totalitarian state.

            The New Zealand setup used to be that a significant enough proportion of the rental market held by the public sector set the benchmark for private sector rents. That, plus getting on the Housing Corporation list, plus big subsidies. If you were in Council pensioner housing, rents were well controlled. The achievement that has been lost is social security. That’s worth aiming for, not stripping people of all ownership.

      • Detrie 1.2.2
        3 December 2015 at 10:05 am

        A close workmate was forced into renting many years ago and has on average moved every 2-3 years. Although many landlords talk of long term arrangements, in practice it seldom happens and he is forced to move on. A 12 month renewable term is usually the best you can get. His life and that of his kids is regularly turned upside down going through the process of finding a new ‘home’, yet increasingly more costly and further from work. His current place is quite nice and landlord good, but he knows that sooner or later, he’ll have to start again.

        He’ll never have a place he can really call home and retire to. And God help him when he retires in a few years and lacks security of income, meaning the odds of being accepted as a good tenant will plummet. Like others, he’ll probably have to move several hours out of Auckland, away from family and friends.

        • Ad 1.2.2.1
          3 December 2015 at 11:38 am

          Exactly the kind of cold story I had in mind with the post.
          Some real truth told there about how really scary retirement is for many now.

      • Bill 1.2.3
        3 December 2015 at 10:44 am

        Those 12 month fixed term leases where tenants have to pay the remainder of the 12 months if they leave have been a favourite of slum-lords renting out to students in Dunedin for years.

        I decided maybe 15 years ago that I wouldn’t sign any leases (covered by generic tenancy law) or pay any bond (offered a legally binding note instead). It worked surprisingly well, as I seemed to only get good landlords after taking that decision.

        • Detrie 1.2.3.1
          3 December 2015 at 12:56 pm

          I suspect when you’re forced to move with only a few weeks notice, then find there’s 10-20 others wanting the next rental property, you’re powerless. Certainly in no position to set your own terms. As another said, rental properties, esp in Auckland, are there for speculation and quick returns to the landlord/investor.

          Maybe for Auckland, we copy what’s happening in many American cities where rental means moving into a large apartment block and sharing facilities. Ideally they should be owned or under the control of the city council. Sorry, maybe that’s too socialist and 1970s… Profit, not people is the priority today.

          • Ad 1.2.3.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 1:52 pm

            You are exactly right. There is non substitute if you are the wrong side of seventy for actual cast iron tenure.

            At the margins there are still a few – a rare few – who will try communal shared facilities. There’s an eco-village in Ranui that does that. IMHO what you are describing is what Council-owned pensioner housing should be.

  2. Dorothy Bulling 2
    3 December 2015 at 9:09 am

    We had our home on the market for a long time before it sold. Would have suited a family but loan to value restrictions limited the number of buyers. This is hard on those wanting to downsize. The builders in this new small subdivision tell us that even here in Invercargill there is an urgent need for at least 200 homes of the style we now live in. So its a perfect storm, lack of buyers and then not enough new neat retirement properties on the msrket. I feel blessed every day that we found this new smaller home near the innrr city. We are 1 of 8 on what was 2 good sized sections. Life is good for us but I worry about ithers who can’t sell, can’t afford lots to maintain the big old house, and then can’t find or can’t afford the decent home to live out the rest of their lives.

    • Ad 2.1
      3 December 2015 at 9:17 am

      You did exceedingly well to get out.
      The cities that are ageing very fast – particularly Invercargill and Dunedin – have a very high risk of an oversupply of large, old, high maintenance homes. Whereas the demand from this rapidly ageing population is for small, low-maintenance and highly secure units with health services very close by.

      This significant market mismatch is strong and getting stronger.

      I see it occurring in families near to me, and the damage done to this home owning generation and their descendants is long and deep.

      • weka 2.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 9:42 am

        One thing I’m hearing from people about to build a house for themselves is that there is huge pressure from the banks to build a kitset house (not sure what they’re called, but the pre-designed ones from the big firms). These houses are often too big for what is wanted and needed but the banks see them as the better investment.

      • BM 2.1.2
        3 December 2015 at 9:54 am

        They’re called retirement villages.

        Don’t you have these in Dunedin?

        • RedLogix 2.1.2.1
          3 December 2015 at 10:01 am

          Yes I was going to mention that.

          I actually own eight homes, but I’m a tenant myself. We haven’t lived in a home we own for almost 18 years now. When eventually I get too gaga to program anymore, we plan on going into a village of some description.

          Some of the newer ones around are bloody fantastic. Really.

          • BM 2.1.2.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 10:10 am

            Yeah, they’ve really come on in leaps and bounds, the US really lead the way on that.

            I’d have absolutely no issue living in any of the new developments, they’re brilliant for the oldies.

          • Colonial Viper 2.1.2.1.2
            3 December 2015 at 10:12 am

            RL – what needs to happen is a chain of these villages set up as a co-op or mutual organisation and owned by the families of the occupants and the occupants themselves – and not by money sucking corporates.

            • greywarshark 2.1.2.1.2.1
              3 December 2015 at 1:14 pm

              CV
              And developers/speculators. Recently the owners of a village project raised their annual amenity fees and other costs so much that the residents felt the pinch and rebelled. They got an advocate and took on the owners and organised to buy them out to stop this sort of gold mining.

              I fear that we will never be able to get euthanasia, choice of dying time, sensibly legalised because catering for the elderly will be one of the few business types that is growing in NZ. While the superannuation continues and the reliance on accommodation supplements which flow into the hands of waiting business seagulls who will fight and swoop on all the juicy offerings, while these help maintain investment opportunities and the appearance of NZ as a robust trading nation, gummint will keep we frail humans alive in some shape or form beyond our own wishes.

        • Ad 2.1.2.2
          3 December 2015 at 10:30 am

          Read the post BM. In fact, read the report upon which it is based.

          You need to own a home to sell to be able to get into a retirement village.

        • Anno1701 2.1.2.3
          3 December 2015 at 12:51 pm

          “retirement villages.”

          you mean Pensioner farms ? investment of the future im told
          !

          • Descendant Of Sssmith 2.1.2.3.1
            4 December 2015 at 6:13 am

            ” investment of the future im told”

            That and funeral parlours.

            Ahh the ghettoising of old people.

            And what price does the community pay for putting old people in ghettos. I know as a young couple 400 miles away from family (see I moved to where the jobs were like the right advocates) with young children the pensioner next door was invaluable in providing help and support and our children (her family had moved overseas for work) played a significant role in adding value to her life.

            I contrast my in-laws who live in a retirement village transferring their wealth to a corporate (and constantly complaining about it and moaning that the state should be paying for it) versus my mother who is looking after other peoples children, helping elderly get to hospital and the right medical care, making sure the neighbours are OK and so on.

            Part of that is how they were before becoming elderly of course but who knows what those in the retirement village could have contributed to their communities.

            It seems weird to me that we have to visit one side of the family in an institution when there seems little need for them to be there.

            Despite feeling secure they don’t seem particularly happy. Still at least we visit. Many don’t get visited at all.

            It’s also quite noticeable about how white these villages are. Nary a Maori or Asian face in sight. Maybe Auckland might show some increased ethnic diversity perhaps. I’ve only been to one retirement village in Auckland and that was all white as well.

            What’s going to happen to these villages as well when the baby boomers die off and what’s going to happen to those in them as the rooms can’t be filled and the firms go bust or when they sell them at the top of the market to make the capital gain and leave them with even less scrupulous owners.

            The driving out of the charitable resthomes and the council housing will leave these elderly people at the mercy of the free-market at some point.

            Like all housing there will be a glut at some point as those populations die off. What will happen when they are down to say 50% occupancy in 10 years time and there’s no state or council housing to put them in to.

            Will the state then be expected to take over?

            Short-term planning these villages in order to maximise profit.

            • Ad 2.1.2.3.1.1
              4 December 2015 at 1:41 pm

              People who have chosen to live in a retirement village are grown-ups who have decided to be separate from everyone else. If they complain, retirement village occupants appreciate complaining as I would an Olympic sport. Call it a privilege of being old.

              Your points about “how white these villages are” stems from Maori on average not living as long as pakeha, their private assets are on average lower, and some prefer to return to originating villages.

              There is no glut of retirement accommodation in the foreseeable future. As the graphs in the Salvation Army report show, ageing is a very long term trend in New Zealand.

              By and large the retirement villages plan for at least 80 years each of operation – pretty long term by most business standards. But once that equity goes, it’s gone, and the next generation generally get zip.

        • Heather Grimwood 2.1.2.4
          3 December 2015 at 6:56 pm

          To BM…only the relatively well -off, or folk who have had no hiccups in life can afford such places. Theory doesn’t equate with reality.

          • BM 2.1.2.4.1
            3 December 2015 at 7:20 pm

            You can always rent.

            I’d say that option will become the preferred option in the next 20 years.

            • Ad 2.1.2.4.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 11:43 pm

              It won’t be a preferred option, because it won’t be a choice.
              Which is the main point of the Salvation Army report that I cited.

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.3
        3 December 2015 at 10:17 am

        Ad, your observations of what is happening here in Dunedin is spot on.

        The amount of pre 1930s housing stock in this city is mind boggling. Many of those properties are getting to the stage where a lot of work and $$$ is needed to even keep them up to scratch.

        The rising water table and deteriorating old infrastructure in South Dunedin is already at a crisis stage but the can is still kickable down the road once or twice more and with the DCC still highly leveraged due to a sports stadium, their options are terribly limited.

        • BM 2.1.3.1
          3 December 2015 at 10:21 am

          Those areas in Dunedin south will be written off, they’re not worth saving.

          Building on a coastal wetland, not a good idea.

          • Ad 2.1.3.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 10:28 am

            That’s pretty cruel BM. Clearly you don’t have people living in the lowland areas of Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, or the Northland coastal communities.

            What is at stake is the security of well over a hundred thousand people.

            • BM 2.1.3.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 10:31 am

              Why bother spending millions/billions to save old shitty houses sited on a swamp?

              • Ad …
                3 December 2015 at 10:39 am

                Wrong question.

                The question is: what to do?

                The scale of the problem is such that central government no longer has the capacity to rebuild cities. Even when faced with a single catastrophic event like Christchurch, it has taken all the world’s main insurers, the full might of Christchurch City Council, drained EQC to its last drop, much of NZTA’s resources, and still it’s a housing mess years and years later.

                Twyford’s policy of a mass rebuild of cities will take at least a term to get off the ground and get rolling, even once elected. IMHO housing is a bigger problem than faced by Cullen towards the formation of NZSuper Fund and Kiwisaver. The elderly housing crisis is simply the bow-wave.

                All this, while the entire remaining NZ middle class gets hollowed out year by year.

                • Bill …
                  3 December 2015 at 10:52 am

                  What to do?

                  The same as should have been done post Ch/ch earthquake. Compulsory purchase of secure land. ‘Blueprint transfer’ from the abandoned area to the new. The advantage with sea level rise is that many houses can be shifted to their new location over coming decades.

                  I know it isn’t going to happen due to an avalanche of objections and the end result will be overseen by bumbling bullshit (as per Ch/ch).

                  • weka …
                    3 December 2015 at 10:54 am

                    What’s blueprint transfer?

                    • Bill …
                      3 December 2015 at 10:59 am

                      What I mean is create ‘a mirror’ of the original location. Y’know? Number 7 Oily Way is still no. 7 Oily Way and still five minutes from whatever it was five minutes from.

                      Transfer land titles, insurance policy etc. The insurance industry will have to be coerced 😉

                    • weka …
                      3 December 2015 at 11:02 am

                      Sorry, not following that at all. Someone would still need to build the new houses right? Who would that be? Geography would probably also prevent a blueprint being replicated elsewhere.

                  • Rosemary McDonald …
                    3 December 2015 at 11:52 am

                    @Bill…sea level rise, or coastal erosion.

                    This happened in Kairakau. The Council declared the land beachside unsuitable for living due to erosion. Some bach holders held out and lived rate free for quite sometime until the Council stepped in…

                    ” From 1970 – 1987 the front row of cottages were the subject of much public debate. The cottages were ordered to be removed once the Town and Country Planning Act was passed as they were found to be on the strip. Because of this the council could no longer rate the owners and they were given notice of 15 years to remove their cottages ferom the beach front. In fact they stayed for 19 years without paying any rates.

                    In 1987,following a long battle with the Central Hawkes Bay CouncilKairakau Holdings purchased the back paddock to accommodate all the front cottages when they were removed from the beachfront. This area has since been subdivided and roads and services put in. ”

                    http://ketechb.peoplesnetworknz.info/site/documents/show/75-the-story-of-kairakau

                • weka …
                  3 December 2015 at 10:57 am

                  “Even when faced with a single catastrophic event like Christchurch, it has taken all the world’s main insurers, the full might of Christchurch City Council, drained EQC to its last drop, much of NZTA’s resources, and still it’s a housing mess years and years later.”

                  Yes, and in addition to all the other factors, part of the problem was that many people wanted their investments paid back. If we had instead made sure that everyone who lost their home got another one, even if it was smaller or worth less or whatever, we’d be in a different position now.

                • greywarshark …
                  3 December 2015 at 1:20 pm

                  Ah but the middle class still see friends doing well. They may be getting near amnesic, personally they don’t feel hollow, and they are still fairly chirpy in the main. And the comfortably off sail off into bright sunsets and if it’s too hot they pay for their air con. Their self-satisfaction and determined ignorance seems unassailable.

                • Draco T Bastard …
                  3 December 2015 at 2:09 pm

                  Even when faced with a single catastrophic event like Christchurch, it has taken all the world’s main insurers, the full might of Christchurch City Council, drained EQC to its last drop, much of NZTA’s resources, and still it’s a housing mess years and years later.

                  The actual proof that insurance is a scam. If insurance worked it would have easily been sorted out but as it doesn’t it’s a mess as the insurers try not to pay out because they simply don’t have enough money to cover the full costs of shifting the resources and can never have enough.

                • toryman …
                  14 December 2015 at 9:07 pm

                  you must put your faith in john key the flag the flag

  3. Shona 3
    3 December 2015 at 9:10 am

    Spot on Sabine. As a baby boomer I am frequently disgusted by the callous, shallow and uncaring attitudes of my generation. Short sighted? absolutely. Visionless selfish and greedy, too.

  4. tracey 4
    3 December 2015 at 9:22 am

    My understanding is that Superannuation was calculat on the basis that by 65 a person was mortgage free (and therefore had no accomodation cost) and so the money they got from Super would cover other bills, food etc?

    If we, like other countries in the western world had low interest rates, much lower, and those who do own multiple homes can get their loans low, then the corresponding yield from a rental agreement will suffice. In Auckland the cost of borrowing cannot be offset by a decent yield frm rent, ergo, people buy to get the capital gain. IN Auckland renting is not the secure otpion but people can’t uy houses, so catch 22… We have been governed for soe decades by people who are wilfully turning away from these obvious problems, for their short term political lives, and presumably, for some, cos they are going to be fine, as are their children.

    • Ad 4.1
      3 December 2015 at 9:29 am

      Auckland is the cruelest vortex of insecurity we have.

      With the lowest interest rates for a generation, massive pressure on the remaining elderly to sell due to high City Council rates, and huge inward immigration ramping up house prices, essentially the whole of Auckland is no place to be old.

      • tracey 4.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 9:39 am

        Yup, rates alone are close to what you would pay for Body Corporate fees!

      • Whispering Kate 4.1.2
        3 December 2015 at 11:06 am

        I agree Ad, Auckland is too expensive for most people who are retired, the rates keep going up annually and they will be rated eventually, out of their properties. You have to be really wealthy to be able to absorb these rises and share investment frightens a lot of this age group because of the 1980’s share crash. Dodgy Finance Companies also scare people off with good reason. Thankfully we are in a situation where we will be able to weather the storm but you are right savings in bank investments are useless for fixed incomes.

        Another interesting situation I think is developing which is the slow withdrawal of retired people out of their suburbs and immigrants coming in and filling up these homes. People lose their neighbours who they identify with and find themselves surrounded by another culture who they cannot communicate with – people feel isolated, the secureness of knowing your neighbours if you go on holiday and need the cat fed, mail picked up or watering the vegetable patch disappears. This situation I know, as it is happening in my own suburb. Our street now has 75% immigrant occupancy and it grows every month. Often the home is occupied by the wife and children with an absentee husband, some of the homes are not occupied. One has the feeling that one is being harrassed in their own home on a daily basis by agents wanting to buy your home, it extends to being invited to Christmas dinner at a local cafe – no other word for it bribery if you ask me. For some reason our suburb is popular with the Chinese as there are some great schools close by. I can see in the future Auckland will a city of immigrants and kiwis will be driven out of the city through both of the above – rising city rates each year and land costs and the driving force of overseas residents wanting to reside here and their respective agents pushing the bar to the point of being a public nuisance to secure that home for them.

        • Ad 4.1.2.1
          3 December 2015 at 11:46 am

          I can hear your discomfort.

          You may well be right that there is active white flight out of Auckland for reasons other than cashing in the equity for retirement. (personally I think immigration into Auckland has been the making of the place, but that’s just me).

          But even when Aucklanders do cash out, it’s a once-in-a-generation event, where those who buy “down” and eat their equity, it’s then gone. That equity isn’t passed on upon death because it’s spent.

          That’s when the real intergenerational wealth transfer that has gone on for generations last century starts to really fall of a cliff. And at that point the housing ownership rate really goes off the cliff with it.

          There is a very clear timescale to this, as the post points out.

          • Whispering Kate 4.1.2.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 12:48 pm

            Absolutely, we are fortunate and are in a situation where we will be handing over our homes to our two children and will be keeping it an inter-generational situation. There is no way they will be able to put a foot in the door here in AK otherwise, one resides in the USA and has an amazing home, puts a lot of ours to shame and they only paid $425.000 US dollars for it just this year- solid timber kitchen, built like a brick proverbial and absolutely beautiful, so close to the city centre she can walk to work, they are coming home eventually and will at least, have a step on the ladder. When I say homes, we do own one other home and an apartment so we consider ourselves truly fortunate

            Its not that I dislike immigrants, some we know are lovely people, its just its becoming like an invasion of inappropriate proportions. Our other daughter lives in the city and is probably the only European who resides in the area where she lives. We visit her regularly and its like being in Hong Kong. You are correct, its a white flight out of the city and not for racial reasons – just the loss of identity in our neighbourhoods and ratched up house prices/rates. Future generations will accept and cope much better because they will have no choice.

            • Ad 4.1.2.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 1:48 pm

              I grew up in New Lynn, so I know the scale of change you mean.

              I am very glad my post doesn’t describe your circumstances. It’s getting rarer and rarer.

              • RedLogix …
                3 December 2015 at 6:04 pm

                There is no way they will be able to put a foot in the door here in AK otherwise, one resides in the USA and has an amazing home, puts a lot of ours to shame and they only paid $425.000 US dollars for it just this year

                We went through this exact display home a couple of weeks ago. 205m2, 4 bed, 2 bath, 2 car actually a really nice home, in a decently planned subdivision. One of 24 display homes in the same street, in a solid growth town. Shops within 800m. About A$380,000 including land, landscaping … ready to move in:

                https://www.simonds.com.au/#/display/53

                It’s way too big for us, and not a fit for our plans … but we are astounded at the value for money. Building costs here are almost 60% or less of NZ.

                • Ad …
                  3 December 2015 at 11:41 pm

                  We are so getting screwed here by the supplier oligopolies.
                  The cartel legislation proposed about five years ago has simply stalled under this government.

  5. DH 5
    3 December 2015 at 9:43 am

    It’s worse than even the SA say. People who chose to save instead of buying a house are seeing the value of their savings annihilated. Not only do savings buy less now they also return less, falling interest rates reduce a savers income while their rents keep increasing.

    In a well run economy savings should at least keep pace with house prices. There’s little incentive to save otherwise.

    The biggest lie Kiwis have been fed is that we have low inflation. The definition of inflation is; “the devaluation of money”. The RBNZ blithely pretend that property isn’t bought with money, they deceitfully omit property from inflation figures.

    • Ad 5.1
      3 December 2015 at 10:12 am

      With house prices rising so fast – even with the 2-year selling restrictions now in place – savings are indeed getting devastated because they buy 10-15% less of a house every year.

      The bank deposit interest rates are a joke, in terms of any capacity to help supplement NZSuper.

      No-one with half a brain trusts the share market these days.

      Then there are these operators like Propeller Mortgages, who essentially enable the elderly to stay in their house but mine their own equity. It’s the whole population under 50 who really get hit hard with that.

      Home ownership used to be the very definition of safe. Apart from the question of foreign ownership of land and houses, we are seeing the hollowing-out of our bedrock of security on so many fronts.

      • DH 5.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 10:32 am

        Yup. So if you look at a person who decided to save instead of buying a house, well, they’re pretty well naffed aren’t they. Come retirement their savings can’t buy a house and they’ll be faced with ever increasing rents on a diminishing income.

        When you consider that successive governments have exhorted us to save it’s not unreasonable to state that savers have been totally betrayed.

  6. linda 6
    3 December 2015 at 9:50 am

    House costs are far to high we need a real crash badly to begin a reset

    • BM 6.1
      3 December 2015 at 9:59 am

      It’s not so much the house cost, it’s the price of the land.

      For example
      http://www.realestate.co.nz/2704203

      This property is for sale for $350,000

      The same type of property, (a bit bigger) in the same sort of area 15 years ago was around $45,000

      • Colonial Viper 6.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 10:09 am

        We’ve created an economy where property is seen primarily as a financial asset and the basis of many financial instruments; now lots of players are trying to make big profits off each stage of the house creation process.

        Someone has to pay for all of that…

      • Ad 6.1.2
        3 December 2015 at 10:32 am

        Have you tried to build a house recently?

      • tracey 6.1.3
        3 December 2015 at 12:00 pm

        Cool, so we just need houses that don’t need to be built on land…

        We call them Apartments (oh wait they are built on land and have BC fees)

        • Ad 6.1.3.1
          3 December 2015 at 12:54 pm

          There’s a good article on TransportBlog about the comparative regulatory cost of building apartments versus building standalone houses.

          • greywarshark 6.1.3.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 7:56 pm

            Ad
            If you have time and can remember the name or supply the link I’d like to look at that Transport blog about cost apartments v standalone houses. I had a look but here is a lot on Transport and if you know it that would be faster. Thanks in advance.

          • Draco T Bastard 6.1.3.1.2
            3 December 2015 at 8:49 pm

            This one?

            • greywarshark 6.1.3.1.2.1
              4 December 2015 at 11:40 am

              I guess that’s it DTB thanks. That’s the one I saw but it is based on Melbourne which is interesting for comparison but I thought Transportblog would be looking at NZ conditions.

        • greywarshark 6.1.3.2
          3 December 2015 at 1:28 pm

          What about houseboats? Has anyone lived in a community with them and had organised facilities?

  7. Colonial Viper 7
    3 December 2015 at 10:06 am

    The answer is to raise the Super eligibility age and keep the old bastards chasing jobs which don’t exist, because we can’t afford good things or a decent life for Kiwis.

    • Ad 7.1
      3 December 2015 at 10:21 am

      According to Phil Twyford this morning in the NZHerald

      “The only credible short-term way to deal with the problem is a Government-backed building programme where the Government works with private sector builders and architects but actually builds affordable homes and sells them into the market,” he said.

      He said the National Government was slowly being “dragged towards that conclusion” and was responding by redevelopment in Tamaki and by seeking partners to build on surplus Crown land.

      “But they won’t do it at scale.”

      • greywarshark 7.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 12:59 pm

        The idea of government building houses is great. Even greater would be that a separate department be responsible for this under a new House, Inform and Build Department (acronym the Hib Hub) that would do all it could to help people get into houses, advise on maintenance, insurance etc. to see that people could maintain the housing stock and that it be affordable.

        People who wanted a house could go for financial advice on how much they could save and where they would want to live in conjunction with their jobs, transport, and future needs such as schools, Then they would go away and save like mad into Kiwibank and then they would receive a concessionary mortgage of 4-5% with up front heavy payments for two years, but then dropping back to a 10 year mortgage at a set rate. If young adults, it would be best if they used contraception and delayed children for a number of years.

        And they might start life in a two bedroom apartment, and then be able to shift to a place no higher than two storey with fenced garden area for each owner suitable for having two or three children and a dog, cat and be in a secure family house which allowed them a wee bit of discretionary money. Heaven. And it could be had if someone responsible and able got off their bum with a burning sense, not of flaming bum, but of desire to aid the young people (and the elderly) into reasonable and secure accommodation. A worthy task and not impossible mission if someone cared to accept it.
        edited

        • Ad 7.1.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 1:46 pm

          Lovely.

          The past is a foreign country.

          • greywarshark 7.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 2:06 pm

            Ad
            Of course that’s both true, and not so. The past is something that we made happen. With the will we could make it happen again. Our world is largely made by humans and even nature is affected though it retaliates. So the ingenuity of the past needs to be brought forward, and though the solutions of those times don’t or can’t be applied exactly the same, the clever, smart, practical and pragmatic thinking that keeps popping up here and elsewhere, can be, gathered and organised and used, put to work instead of just being words using wasted energy.

            • Ad 7.1.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 4:21 pm

              The closer we get to crisis, the more attractive the New Deal-type plans of the first Labour Government will appear.

        • linda 7.1.1.2
          5 December 2015 at 9:31 pm

          Germany homes are built in automated factories if we are serious about solving the problem automated factories provide the solution they can run 24/7

          • greywarshark 7.1.1.2.1
            5 December 2015 at 10:15 pm

            Thanks Linda. Good idea. May be too big and expensive for this country and it’s long geography. There are also modular house builders already here. Presumably if the speculators haven’t bought up all the land, they could put up some nice homes on well planned plots.

            And it seems to me that there isn’t a will to do the work that should be done by a government that wants a good life for NZs. Nothing is done in NZ that does not enrich someone. I don’t know if any one company or group of them is willing to invest. There is a lot of money for speculators and developers in the present market as it is. Our forests were sold off for a quick buck. Fletchers used to be a reliable NZ company but is export oriented and I think we pay more for our timber than when it is sold overseas. And there had to be an arrangement made that it wasn’t all presold for export or we wouldn’t have enough for the houses we have got

            http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/3d/are-kiwis-paying-too-much-to-build-our-homes-2015090616
            A 3D investigation has uncovered a whole range of practices in the building industry keeping New Zealand prices high, from perk trips for builders to exclusive stocking deals at hardware chains.
            By 2020 the value of building in New Zealand will top $200 billion, with hundreds of thousands of new homes and apartments.
            OPINION: Govt action needed on building industry

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11434478
            The country’s richest man, estimated to be worth US$7 billion ($9.1 billion) by Forbes, is gearing up for a transtasman sharemarket float of Carter Holt Harvey, tipped by market sources to be scheduled for June or July, which could value the business at up to $1 billion.
            The Auckland-based building supplies firm, acquired by Hart in 2006 for $3.3 billion and promptly de-listed from NZX and ASX, is the last remaining Australasian operation in his Rank Group empire.

            Fletchers owner Graeme Hunt got in trouble over business methods.
            http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/carter-holt-fletcher-building-fixed-prices-timber-auckland-market-regulator-says-bd-150396
            Carter Holt Harvey, owned by Graeme Hart’s Rank Group, and Fletcher Building, the country’s biggest listed company, admitted to the Commerce Commission that they agreed to fix prices for structural timber for some commercial customers in Auckland in late 2012 and early 2013.

            The Wellington-based anti-trust regulator today filed proceedings in the High Court against Carter Holt and its manager Dean Dodds and is awaiting a penalty hearing, it said in a statement. They cooperated with the investigation and have agreed to settlements in which they admit their conduct breached the Commerce Act.

  8. Rosemary McDonald 8
    3 December 2015 at 10:17 am

    The answer is to save and buy a small campervan/motorhome.

    About $20,000 will easily get you a modest vehicle, the NZMCA will guide you towards making that vehicle CSC, good old Kiwi ingenuity with the fiddly bits and BOOM…you can head off for a life on the road as a grey nomad.

    You’d be surprised at how many are doing this….especially after the finance company collapses.

    There is an entire infrastructure set up for CSC itinerants.

    We even have our own tunes….

    • Ad 8.1
      3 December 2015 at 10:25 am

      I have a lot of relatives on my Dad’s side who have done this, but they didn’t sell their family home. One of my uncles spent the last 7 years just touring around Australia, and just visiting relatives back here in the height of summer. It’s a great extended road-romance … but they found that after that many years, there’s a fair hankering to actually be in one place, with a little garden, and let family come to them. Romance turns into claustrophobia, fights, discomfort, rootlessness, and one crash away from complete disaster.

      In early next year we will be building a “Granny Flat” on the back of our Auckland house precisely to help an elderly in-law. It also adds massive value to the house as a whole.

      • Rosemary McDonald 8.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 10:47 am

        “Romance turns into claustrophobia, fights, discomfort, rootlessness, and one crash away from complete disaster.”

        We did a 7m Bus, in anticipation of a the inevitable inability of being able to afford to live in our home on the Invalids Benefit.

        And, the knowledge that when we did eventually have to sell the Big House, finding alternative wheelchair accessible housing would be extremely problematic.

        At an engineering shop, getting some Kiwi ingenuity built into our Bus, some grumpy old sod insisted that we could NEVER make it work with a wheelchair in such a small Bus. He was doing up a 10m job…no wheelchair.

        He was wrong. So wrong.

        If we were giving advice on itinerant living for seniors…we would advise to get the smallest vehicle possible. Then…no problem parking…including at the kid’s places when you’re called up for moko minding duties.

        The “infrastructure” I referred to earlier allows plenty of opportunities for social intercourse, getting out of the vehicle for extended periods and generally not only surviving but enjoying the lifestyle.

        And…we are exercising CHOICE and FREEDOM….this is life saving.

        • Ad 8.1.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 11:29 am

          I’m glad it worked out for you.
          Not sure it’s a policy prescription.

          • Rosemary McDonald 8.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 11:59 am

            “Not sure it’s a policy prescription.”

            And that is where the FCA comes in. An Act, that leads to policy, that actually acknowledges that for some this is the way they live…for whatever reason.

            It is a valid alternative for those eschewing the fossil factory.

          • weka 8.1.1.1.2
            3 December 2015 at 12:03 pm

            Tiny homes in general will increasingly be an option though. What we need to be careful of is when councils try to start regulating that in ways that protect the status quo.

            • Ad 8.1.1.1.2.1
              3 December 2015 at 1:44 pm

              We have real tiny homes already.
              They are the most land-efficient, transport-efficient, diversely designed, comparatively affordable things around with actual titles.
              They’re called apartments.

              • maui …
                3 December 2015 at 2:02 pm

                You can’t build and own your own apartment for less than $5000 though which you can do with a tiny home.

                • weka …
                  3 December 2015 at 2:31 pm

                  +1.

                  Best not to confuse terminologies Ad. Not everywhere has apartments, and not everywhere is suited to them. Also willing to bet they’re not tiny homes, just small compared to the NZ standard home.

            • maui 8.1.1.1.2.2
              3 December 2015 at 1:54 pm

              I think we’ll see stupid Council rules increasingly as they get into more financial trouble with burgeoning debt. Councils are run by executives, not by people wanting to setup community gardens. Any moves by people not to prop up the system through rates etc will come under pressure.

              • weka …
                3 December 2015 at 2:32 pm

                yep. People with attachment to their property as investment may start to frown upon neighbours in tiny homes too, which will be reflected by council. Let’s all bow down to the Property God.

    • millsy 8.2
      3 December 2015 at 10:30 am

      Seen a lot of campervans out there around in the past few years.

      • Rosemary McDonald 8.2.1
        3 December 2015 at 10:52 am

        “Seen a lot of campervans out there around in the past few years.”

        Oh yes!

        The indigenous campervan population is increasing rapidly, with the membership of the NZMCA doubling in the past eight years.

        The NZMCA is a powerful lobby group, hires lawyers such as Mei Chen to defend the right to Freedom Camp.

        • weka 8.2.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 11:01 am

          Actually the NZMCA has also been instrumental in removing free camping from NZ citizens. For instance it lobbied to make sure that only people with self contained vehicles could legally free camp here. It’s now defacto illegal for poor people to camp.

          • Rosemary McDonald 8.2.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 11:38 am

            weka….I am not always 100% in sync with the Club, but on the issue of Certified Self Containment I am in complete accord.

            There should be no freedom camping in non CSC vehicles in public places where there are no 24/7 toilet facilities.

            Or we get the whole ‘shitting in the bushes’ thing happening, which is pretty crap for the environment and for children who happen to put their bare feet in some swish banger’s turd.

            The NZMCA has no problem with non CSC vehicles camping where councils have provided toilets, and maybe rubbish bins.

            Many members of NZMCA fully support this.

            “It’s now defacto illegal for poor people to camp.”

            With respect, bullshit. And maybe, define “poor”.

            We ‘camp’, and we see many, many Kiwis who are clearly living in their cars…cars, mind you, and parking overnight where there are toilets available.
            It has been our observation that most of these ‘campers’ are left unmolested by the camping nazis, providing they don’t mess the place up.

            The GOOD thing the NZMCA has done (and I can’t believe I’m advocating for them to this level) is to make people aware of the Freedom Camping Act. http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2011/0061/latest/whole.html#DLM3742822

            and amoungst all the legalese there is THIS (that the NZMCA plugs)

            “12 Bylaws must not absolutely prohibit freedom camping
            (1)A local authority may not make bylaws under section 11 that have the effect of prohibiting freedom camping in all the local authority areas in its district.
            (2)This section is for the avoidance of doubt.

            We members pay the NZMCA ( a very modest fee, all up, for what we get in return) to lobby for our interests.

            I have posted the link to the FCA before on the Standard in relation to homelessness….
            with the suggestion that those on the ground lobbying for the homeless take a serious look at the Act.

            • weka 8.2.1.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 12:01 pm

              “There should be no freedom camping in non CSC vehicles in public places where there are no 24/7 toilet facilities.”

              Which is a policy designed to enable people who can afford CSC vehicles and prevent people who can’t.

              The reason we have had to have these laws is because of industrial tourism. International companies have been allowed to rent vehicles without toilets to overseas visitors and have then promoted free camping to them without any responsibility for what would happen including cultural differences in what is appropriate to do with human waste. That’s nothing to do with NZers who have traditionally car or tent camped outside of designated camp sites with toilets.

              There are people in NZ who can’t afford CSC vehicles and who want to free camp. You are suggesting that they should instead stay in designated camp sites. That’s not free camping.

              When I free camp I don’t shit in bushes. I deal with my waste in the appropriate manner. Just as I do when I go for a walk somewhere where there are no toilets. If people don’t know how to do that, then they need to be educated. Making everyone be self contained, or making councils put toilets in the wilderness is part of the problem.

              The values here are neoliberal. We have swapped traditional rights for profit generating activities that benefit some people and restrict or disenfranchise others. If you can afford to pay your way, great, otherwise tough shit.

              There were alternatives to this, but the NZMCA is a pro-motorhome group so of course it’s going to promote policies for its members. I’m pointing out that this is not about rights for NZers in general to free camp and actively restricts some of them. My comments on this don’t deny good things that the NZMCA has done.

              • Rosemary McDonald …
                3 December 2015 at 12:47 pm

                “There were alternatives to this, but the NZMCA is a pro-motorhome group so of course it’s going to promote policies for its members.”

                What were the alternatives?

                And, for clarity, when I speak about ‘freedom camping’ with respect to the ACT, I’m referring to urban and semi rural camping rather than ‘wilderness’ camping where it is appropriate to dig a hole for the biz..

                There is a sign to this effect at one of the Free Camping sites in the SI…No Spade No Stay!

                And…please don’t make the assumption that all NZMCA members are filthy rich neolibs.

                Some of us are anything but, and choose to live intinerantly because it allows us a sense of freedom that a hostile state would deny us.

                Some of us are also rabidly protective of the environment.

                • weka …
                  3 December 2015 at 1:22 pm

                  “And…please don’t make the assumption that all NZMCA members are filthy rich neolibs.”

                  I haven’t said that. Please go back and read my comments again. I’m talking about the NZMCA organisation as a lobby group. I’ve been very clear about that.

                  (edit, by definition the NZMCA members are people who own vehicles capable of self containment i.e. you can’t be a member if you car camp. That’s what I mean by representing their membership. However, despite big chunks of lower socio-economic groups like the housetrucking community belonging, the NZMCA still largely represents people who can afford self containment. That’s usually not really poor people).

                  And, for clarity, when I speak about ‘freedom camping’ with respect to the ACT, I’m referring to urban and semi rural camping rather than ‘wilderness’ camping where it is appropriate to dig a hole for the biz..

                  And yet the new laws prohibit free camping in wilderness areas unless you are self contained. Not sure what you mean by semi-rural.

                  “What were the alternatives?”

                  Tight regulation of tourism, especially for-profit internationally owned companies. Legislate differently for NZ residents and visitors. Allow free camping for NZers who can demonstrate that they know how to appropriately dispose of waste, whether that’s through SCS and dump stations, or other means for smaller vehicles.

    • Sabine 8.3
      3 December 2015 at 10:49 am

      Yep, thats gonna be it for a few people I know.

      I have a parcel of paddock with a caravan on it…..in the middle of nowhere, but I think it will house a few caravans when the times come.

      The biggest lie is that ‘we need high houseprices, so I can sell at a profit and maintain my lifestyle that I got used too when I stop working’.

      Can you tell me the many ways as to which this statement is just soooo wrong.
      But then no one listens to me. It is the boomers that need to wake up now and realise that their houses will not pay for the lifestyle they are used too, that their properties will not raise enough money to buy a smaller houses in the same area, that they will loose out on their children and grand children as either their kids have to move to somewhere cheaper if they want to own a house, or they will move to somewhere where they have enough money to cover the cost of 20+ years of retirement.

      Something gotta give, and alas, we live in a society where not one wants to give an inch.

      • RedBaronCV 8.3.1
        3 December 2015 at 11:53 am

        Might have to hand the house and maintenance over to the kids and get them to fund me into a mini house (no housework)

        • Sabine 8.3.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 12:46 pm

          this is what used to happen in germany on farms. The old ones hand the property over to the new farmer and they themselvs move into the Olden House. Next generations grows up, rinse repeat.

          I don’t think having inter generational living on one property is too bad, it has its perks. the oldies are not alone, and young ones have help with the kids and such.

          We really have to go back in time and start copying the things that were well, as obviously thinking that one can be retired for several decades on a fixed income and still insist in having ‘a lifestyle’ is not realistic. The same counts for the young ones that want a house and a lifestyle, unfortunately these times – if they ever existed – are gone. We can be happy to find an affordable place and hopefully live there for as long as possible and then keep it in the family with the help of the next generation. And that would include helping the oldies pay the rates, as that would be cheaper than having to buy a new house.

          btw. I read somewhere that most of the foreclosures in the states did not come from people not being able to pay their mortgages, but they came from the pool of people that had freehold properties but could not pay the rates. It was not the banks foreclosing, it was the cities foreclosing the properties.

          • Ad 8.3.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 2:01 pm

            That is part of the point of my post:

            With the decline in NZ housing ownership, the intergenerational wealth transfer, or house transfer, is gone for good. With it, a whole sector of society slides down the wealth ladder and in to asset-free stats: a generation that went backwards.

    • tracey 8.4
      3 December 2015 at 12:02 pm

      Then it is only a matter of time before they are regulated to hell and back for cutting developers out of a sweet retirement

  9. heather 9
    3 December 2015 at 12:07 pm

    What a sad sate of affairs, New Zealand used to be a proud nation of home owners. When my father came back from the war, whole suburbs were built in Napier for young families to live in, those homes are still there today, the service men and women got good loans to buy the homes to raise their families. This same practise happened all over New Zealand.
    Remember the pride when the first State Houses were built, people were happy and wanted to live in them. Communities grew up around these homes, school were built and we all benefited.
    Where did it all go so terribly wrong?
    Greed from people who wanted to make more and more and more money from those who could not keep up.
    Over the years, it has got worse and worse and look at the situation now, hundreds of older people will soon have no home at all. This present government is cruel and heartless, they have no care at all. Right wing councils have sold their rental housing and now landlords are making them too expensive. Auckland council have just put the rents up in their bedsit flats for pensioners, a man of 86 is afraid how he will pay the extra, he lives from week to week – it is a national disgrace.
    The sad thing is that how many people really care about those that don’t have a home?
    If this government really cared and really wanted to do something, it is not difficult, they could embark on a massive home building programme, like after the 2nd world war creating economic development across New Zealand.

    • Ad 9.1
      3 December 2015 at 2:08 pm

      Absolutely dead right Heather.

      I have not heard any party other than Labour propose the massive home building programme that you saw after World War Two. It’s just got to happen very soon.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.2
      3 December 2015 at 5:01 pm

      Greed from people who wanted to make more and more and more money from those who could not keep up.
      Over the years, it has got worse and worse and look at the situation now, hundreds of older people will soon have no home at all.

      It’s the general path of capitalism. A few get rich and everyone else pays in increasing poverty and decreasing society. It’s a lesson that we seem determined not to learn as 5000 years of capitalisms failure proves.

  10. maui 10
    3 December 2015 at 12:08 pm

    We’ve got people living in cars and on the streets because they lack the necessary accounting chips to live somewhere decent. It should be a right that you can access a roof over your head. if Habitat for Humanity was as big an organisation as Fletchers we wouldn’t have a housing issue, a family in need could live in a container home temporarily until their house was finished. This is where Christchurch got it horribly wrong, temp housing was done so poorly. Letting the market decide is dysfunctional.

    • weka 10.1
      3 December 2015 at 12:27 pm

      All those campervans that no-one wanted, makes my head hurt how they got it so wrong. Although in hindsight, what happened to those? because there are people who could do with them now.

  11. Smilin 11
    3 December 2015 at 12:36 pm

    You AINT WRONG only one problem as soon as you borrow to develop your in the corporate financial loop then you become a corporate yourself -true financial independence is myth its just how much power to control your situations. the system is too big to fail so we all fall into line
    And even if you do have enough to pay for the whole thing then you have to get into the local council to protect your investment from the political troughers and their continual excuses to up your rates because its democracy you know you elected / cajoled into accepting their community value /status when you voted suck it up
    The point , money is the problem because many people create a lot value with very little money
    look at some of the so called low income areas in NZ, Northland /East Coast and take another look instead of accepting the govt BS and the MSM

    Money does not always represent value look at our PM cant really say my quality of life has improved since he s been running the country, only by my own efforts
    oh yeah he has cost me and many others more than he is worth

    • Ad 11.1
      3 December 2015 at 12:59 pm

      The alternative of a life without money doesn’t bear thinking about.

      You are either permanently poor, or you are bumping around in the black and grey economy, bartering from day to day, or unto the shadow world of the criminal underworld.

      And you will have got there through some catastrophic moment in your life to essentially foreswear the world as it is.

      Either way, you have chosen the most marginal of marginal lives.
      Certainly a life only for the very few, and not a life for the old and frail.

      • maui 11.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 2:25 pm

        What we’ve created is a society based on evaluating people on how much money they’ve got. We classify people in this way all the time, the middle class, rich, homeless, poor. How much crime and violence is caused by people not having their basic needs met, and just the feeling that’s it not an even playing field.

        • Olwyn 11.1.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 2:42 pm

          We classify people in this way all the time, the middle class, rich, homeless, poor.

          And whether consciously or not, we credit people with agency on that basis. Poor people are allowed agency enough to be blamed but not agency enough to be respected. With rich people its the other way round -respected but rarely effectively blamed. A voice talking about, say, fatness, on RNZ normally focuses on poor people and oozes with patronising superiority, like the Victorian do-gooder who insisted that we must “teach them to stop keeping their coal in the bathtub.”

          • greywarshark 11.1.1.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 7:52 pm

            True Olwyn, that wasy that respect and disdain is reversed between rich and poor is well put.

      • Draco T Bastard 11.1.2
        3 December 2015 at 5:08 pm

        The alternative of a life without money doesn’t bear thinking about.

        Yes it is. Same as thinking about how a society without private ownership is worth thinking about. Both are also worth bringing about.

        Money, as they say, is the root of all evil and today’s neo-liberal systems proves that once again.

        You are either permanently poor, or you are bumping around in the black and grey economy, bartering from day to day, or unto the shadow world of the criminal underworld.

        False dichotomy.

        • Ad 11.1.2.1
          3 December 2015 at 5:31 pm

          Well, there’s a lovely romance to living without money. I guess.

          In the US in the early 1970s (see Easyrider) and in New Zealand in the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a great surge of communal living, house-bus living, experimental architecture, etc etc brought on by a very similar kind of end-times melancholy that I hear from a lot on this site when talking about climate change.

          It lasted less than a decade in New Zealand. I studied it a bit at Uni, together with a history of utopias.

          You can still see a band of about twenty-thirty house buses travelling in one great convoy from city to city in New Zealand, selling essentially hippie tat.

          There will always be a few who willingly choose the Outsider life. But it is essentially the life of a liberated peasant. Great if you choose, it, shit if you’re forced into it.

          All power to those who want to live the idealistic life – I admit I’m a bit less idealistic than I used to be, and I respect that you are more idealistic than me.

          • Draco T Bastard 11.1.2.1.1
            3 December 2015 at 8:22 pm

            Your thinking is incredibly limited. You point to a single example and say that was how it was and thus this is how it will always be.

            This is what the actual thinking involves:

            Very briefly, The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change; a holistic global socio-economic system called a Resource Based Economy that works toward a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are not only paper proclamations, but also a way of life.

            The Venus Project presents an alternative vision for a sustainable world civilization unlike any political, economic or social system that has gone before. It envisions a time in the near future when money, politics, self and national-interest have been phased out. Although this vision may seem idealistic, it is based upon years of study and experimental research. It spans the gamut from education, transportation, and clean sources of energy to total city systems.

            • Ad 11.1.2.1.1.1
              3 December 2015 at 11:30 pm

              What you point to is an obscure and otherwise ignored leader from a stillborn movement who proposes to turn the world upside down. All power to them, and if that’s what alters your thinking for good, all power to you. See if any political party is interested. See if it gains some followers. Knock yourself out.

              Honestly I’m pretty comfortable with my actual thinking Draco, and no I don’t need yet another framework. I deal with plenty already.

              Now, I’ve just come home from work, and let me give you the lived reality of those who live outside the money-system in New Zealand, from the front page of the Western Leader tonight:

              “Gypsy Fair Turns 25

              Twenty years ago, Gavin McKenzie traded his life at the Hobsonville airbase for a house bus. Now, McKenzie is he field manager for the Original Gypsy Fair (…)
              To mark the occasion, the group is “heading back to its roots”, McKenzie says. “There will be more handcrafted products, live glassblowing, wood-crafting, a guy tie-dying shirts from scratch – everyone’s an individual.” (…)

              McKenzie says the group has “taken the handle on the romantic side of gypsy lifestyle, or at least the we tern idea of it.” He likens them to Johnny Depp’s character in the film Chocolat. “It’s a way of life”, he says. The fair has been running in its current format for 25 years. Prior to that the group travelled off the back of the Nambassa festivals of the 1970s. (…)

              That’s the life without money, living in a house-bus, rebelling as perpetual outsider from the system, and doing it in New Zealand style. In political idealism terms, they are the 1% of the 1% of the 1%.
              Whereas this post deals with where the reality of life is going for New Zealanders as a whole, 22% of them. Not the final hundred 1970s refugees and their followers. Actual lived reality.

  12. greywarshark 12
    3 December 2015 at 12:41 pm

    Another slogan:
    Housing is a Need.
    Not a Want.

    Every living thing on the planet needs a house.
    A hermit crab. A bird in its nest. A gorilla in its tree. A dog in its kennel. A fish in the right water, fresh or salt.

    A person in their own little or large place, for safety, for sleep, for meals, for security, for the backdrop to their life to furnish, decorate and be a place for that special individual to which they’ll return after the daily duties of life.

  13. Mike the Savage One 13
    3 December 2015 at 12:56 pm

    The John Key led government is known for sticking its head deep in the sand, and sadly most NZers seem to do be doing the same thing. That is the case for climate change issues, generally for environmental and sustainability matters, it is the same also for future problems with retirement costs and for housing in this country.

    Let the magic wand wielding “free market solve it” is their mantra.

    But the market has failed the poor and will fail the soon increasing number of elderly poor. I will count myself to be heading into this scenario, of future elderly not having their own home, not able to afford market rentals and not able to live a decent future, which will be a future in dismal poverty, dependent on some perhaps sympathetic landlord, of which there are very few.

    The state housing sector (Housing NZ) is busy selling properties, most going to developers making a good buck out of reselling developed land and properties, while the future “social housing” tenants will be stuck in tiny boxes, shoe-boxes we better call it, stacked on top of each other, with no use of a garden to supplement food, with little external land available for other living needs. Perhaps a balcony may be available, perhaps only in the shade, to grow a few pots with herbs.

    I am sick and tired of both this shit government, but also Labour, who talk a lot about it, but focus rather on new home buyers in the middle class, for not committing enough, if any at all, to future, affordable state housing for people that need it. And what we get here under Len Brown in Auckland will also not solve the challenge, as his developer friendly Council does all to facilitate their quick and easy building of yet more shoe-box apartments. The PAUP hearings have already shown how Council is willing to settle for a minimum requirement of only 30sqm for a studio apartment, and NO minimum dwelling mix in any new developments. They are even planning on abolishing having sufficient storage space, for instance enough to put a bicycle in, when it comes to new dwellings in apartments and so.

    So prepare for this, dear fellow persons in Aotearoa NZ, or start standing up and fight for more state housing, in a decent form.

    Let us start with new regulations, to force developers to provide a minimum of 15 or 20 percent of affordable homes in all new developments. That is the minimum we can expect, but Council will not have it, rather settles for 10 percent, and offers even bonuses and exemptions for developers. Bring in a hefty land tax for unused and unoccupied land suitable for development in residentially zoned areas, bring in also a capital gains tax, and stop speculators, full stop. Also get to dealing with the monopolies and oligopolies that rip us off as building suppliers and so.

    But as long as the middle class supports the status quo and as long as they are OK with their existing home values going up in value, we may find that nobody in sufficient numbers will vote for a government that brings needed change.

    I despair at the ignorance by so many, maybe we need an economic crash for more to bloody wake up. Until the shit hits the fan and more face a gloomy future, we will have a continuation of muddling through and heads stuck in the sand.

    • Pat 13.1
      3 December 2015 at 1:05 pm

      +1
      ..though I am sure you will now be accused of being a RW stooge or the like for having the temerity to criticize Labour.

      • shorts 13.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 1:40 pm

        I don’t understand why Mr Little and everyone in labour don’t mention kiwi build ever single bloody day…. until the thought/concept is entrenched in media and the publics minds – I think a huge number of kiwis recognise the housing problems we face and know its going to come down to the govt sorting it – so push the barrow labour and use it as the foundation stone of the party ever being in power again (cause what you’re currently doing ain’t working…)

        • Ad 13.1.1.1
          3 December 2015 at 2:09 pm

          Twyford mentioned it today in the NZHerald.
          I agree – if they campaigned on that and not much else they would hear the resonance up and down the country.

      • emergency mike 13.1.2
        3 December 2015 at 3:44 pm

        “I am sure you will now be accused of being a RW stooge or the like for having the temerity to criticize Labour.”

        Then I guess you’re new here, where it happens daily. You should have seen the David “Mumblefuck” Shearer days.

    • Ad 13.2
      3 December 2015 at 1:58 pm

      “force developers to provide a minimum of 15 or 20 percent of affordable homes in all new developments”

      From experience even the suggestion ends up in an almighty class war.

      I remember vividly a public meeting (I won’t even name the downmarket suburb) seeking to get a new housing development for 20 Housing New Zealand units on a brownfield site. Amongst the screaming and yelling at the politicians supporting it valiantly on the stage, I have always remembered this line: “I’m not having 20 piles of shit dropped on my driveway.”

      And you wonder why John Key pulled the requirement for HNZ rentals to be ‘pepper-potted’ through the Hobsonville Development.

      As for “affordable”, there’s no definition at all.

      • Mike the Savage One 13.2.1
        3 December 2015 at 4:50 pm

        “As for “affordable”, there’s no definition at all.”

        The rule or definition seems to be, it must be at or below median house price value, or be “affordable” by median income earners, which absolutely shuts out very, very many people, especially those on minimum or just above minimum wage earners, and certainly the much abused on benefits.

        They are the “crap” in this society, which has lost its moral compass long ago. Shame on NZers voting Nats, shame on the ones voting ACT, even a warning to those voting NAT Light (aka Labour).

        It is time to call the real shots, and name the problems by their name. We have under the present scenario a shit chance for anything to improve.

        Also does it make me ANGRY that Labour (31 at least) voted in favour of the RMA bill before Parliament, supporting Nick Smith and the government on some changes, that will be more serious than most realise.

        This country is stuffed with such politicians running the show, what a shame.

  14. greywarshark 14
    3 December 2015 at 1:59 pm

    Great post Ad – lots of background and advice and future thought arising.

  15. b waghorn 15
    3 December 2015 at 6:23 pm

    It has to be the state that provides a large amount of the housing if the market was going to , it would of by now.
    If people want security in their tenancy it has to come with responsibility ,like repairing any damage done .
    A house for life is fine as long as people accept it may not be the same house, as there needs at 20 will differ from when there 40 ,65 and 80.
    As for people wanting to have it all by finishing there days in comfort in their big house in the big smoke rather than down shifting to a smaller housr in a cheaper area and investing there leftover money from there house, the advise of Mick Jagger comes to mind.
    You can’t always get what you want. But if you try some time , you get what you need,

    • Ad 15.1
      3 December 2015 at 11:36 pm

      This is now too big a problem for the state to alter. The thirty years of perpetual shrinkage of the public sector, its capacity, its neglect of the instruments is still has legal power to use … the gearing up required would take years to achieve.

      Let alone the fights that would be bought with the astonishingly powerful real estate and development sectors.

      I think the patterns that the Salvation Army are pointing to are permanent. Even denting them would entail the most almighty political fight.

      • Pat 15.1.1
        3 December 2015 at 11:46 pm

        Im willing to bet that similar sentiments were expressed in the 30s and 50s

      • ropata 15.1.2
        4 December 2015 at 12:27 am

        bullshit … if “parliament is sovereign” as our leaders like to brag there is NO REASON for the housing crisis to continue…

        so either (a) parliament is NOT sovereign, or
        (b) the Gnats actually want the housing crisis/bubble to continue

        a few strokes of the legislative pen and you can change a nation

  16. Alister Barry 16
    3 December 2015 at 11:53 pm

    In 1968 the government built 30,000 state houses.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 27

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 hour ago
  • Ticket To Anywhere

    You got a fast carAnd I want a ticket to anywhereMaybe we make a dealMaybe together we can get somewhereAny place is betterYesterday’s newsletter, Trust In Me, on the report of abuse in state care, and by religious organisations, between 1950 and 2019, coupled with the hypocrisy of Christopher Luxon ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 hours ago
  • Stories of varying weight

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Balancing External Security and the Economy

    New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    19 hours ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: The unravelling of the offsets

    The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • What makes us tick

    This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Foreshore and seabed 2.0

    In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the Royal Commission report into abuse in care

    Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 26-July-2024

    Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • God what a relief

    1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • Trust In Me

    Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 26

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Care report released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 26

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024.  “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane.    “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says.   “This will be our third visit to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Backing mental health services on the West Coast

    Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries

    New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments

    Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board

    In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today.  “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum

    Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum.  While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation.  “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan.  “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons

    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot

    The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway

    The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Update on global IT outage

    Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership

    New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.    “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns

    New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • 'Pacific Futures'

    President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests.    Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone.    Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-07-27T01:48:43+00:00