Someone's got to sort this mess out
Eroding the power of Te Tiriti o Waitangi — whether explicitly or implicitly through laws such as the Regulatory Standards Bill — has serious strategic, legal, and economic consequences for Aotearoa New Zealand’s trade agreements and exposure to ISDS cases. Here’s how and why:
Continue Reading
Let’s demand courage. Vision. Long-term thinking. A mayor and councillors who are eager to work together for all of us — motivated not just by managing the now, but by building a strong foundation for the future. Let’s be honest about the challenges, and clear-eyed about the kind of community we want to be. Let’s vote for leaders who can hold this nuance — honestly, logically, and compassionately. Because ultimately, the four wellbeings weren’t just policy. They were a reminder of what really matters. And whether they stay in law, they must stay in our decisions.
Continue Reading
Our discussions shouldn’t be about debt, but about what our debt is paying for and who is benefitting from it.
Continue Reading
May 21 2025 “We shipped over four pallets of Wai Mānuka, which landed two weeks ago, and we’re now in discussions to manufacture and send a full container ahead of the US summer months,” Mr Harawira said. A single container of Wai Mānuka holds more product than the company has sold through New World supermarkets across New Zealand over the past 15 months. “In our original plan, we expected to ship our first container within 12 to 18 months — not as part of our second order,” Mr Harawira said.
Continue Reading
Apr 11, 2025 Everyone in the world knows Benji Marshall is from here. We own him. Dame Lisa Carrington is our queen. Adored and respected by a whole new generation of would-be gold medal winners on our awa every morning. We have orchestras, brass bands, choirs, poets, dancers, kapa haka and other performing artists of every description who are among the best in the land. Art and recreation have a place in our civics and it’s the job of the council to support this. Critics will argue that we don’t need it, and it doesn’t give anything back. But it’s a fallacy to say that.
Continue Reading
Apr 9, 2025 The rest of the world is getting grumpier and grumpier and old men with bushy eyebrows and trillionaires for aides are talking about taking over countries to boost security. Just steal them, plonk an army onsite and take over. Like Vietnam, or Afghanistan. What could possibly go wrong.
Continue Reading
Apr 2, 2025 The Enhance Coastlands Art Project saw 19 power boxes painted by artists, including up-and-coming names, school students and art class participants.
Continue Reading
Mar 21, 2025 If you hear a bigot attacking diversity, equity and inclusion, ask them what it is they are against. Is it diversity, is it equality, or is it inclusion? And then ask them to tell you what they have against any of these things. I promise you it’s a conversation that will bring a smile to your face.
Continue Reading
Feb 21, 2025 Thank you for putting your name forward to lead our community, Dave.
Thanks, regardless of the outcome of the election, I will still lead in the same way I always have, by speaking truth to power. That can be in a council chamber, a letter to the editor, or on a roundabout.
Continue Reading
Feb 19, 2025 Councillor Tánczos said the hikoi was “fantastic”. “The community turned out in force to express their concern and anger. I think we sent a powerful message to Te Whatu Ora and the Government.” He said the Hikoi for Health Coalition would be sending a list of six demands to Health NZ Te Whatu Ora and the Minister of Health this week. “It’s important for a community like ours to stand up and have a voice for these kinds of things.”
Continue Reading
Jan 31 2025 It’s time to stand up to Wellington as one voice and that time is now.
Continue Reading
Dec 20, 2024 WAG are using rhetoric that suits their argument but is at odds with the truth. This is becoming a concerning habit, especially around a democratic process.
Continue Reading
Nov 15, 2024 I know a small number of people would love an autocratic mayor, but to those people I simply ask this question – what if that mayor was me?
Continue Reading
Oct 25, 2024 I took the liberty of asking to see the minutes of the meeting where the master plan was approved and found that, along with a new toilet, we are getting new lights, improved pedestrian access, better facilities for disabled ratepayers, more cohesion with the RSA next door for our memorial services, lighting and improved ability to run night-time community events and a host of other enrichments which, as is now customary, were left out of the rants by the negativity brigade.
Continue Reading
Oct 16, 2024 The Sunday Market organisers have always had a strong community-minded focus and offer stall spaces free to community groups such as Waste Zero Whakatāne, school fundraising groups and political parties before elections. It is also a prime spot for us as a community board and for Whakatāne District Council to have engagement with the public on various topical issues, such as the long-term plan. As a community board we would like to take this opportunity to support the organisers of the Sunday Market and acknowledge how much mahi goes on behind the scenes to make it happen every week.
Continue Reading
Oct 16, 2024 WHEN anyone disagrees with WAG, there’s a pile on in the Beacon letters until they give up and shut up. I’m thankful that Dave Stewart has not been bullied into silence as well. There’s more than a few of us who are also sick of WAG’s constant grumbling, negativity and disinformation, and who are pleased to see his comments published in the Beacon.
Continue Reading
Oct 11, 2024 My concerns about WAG’s negativity is that it risks hiding the costs and outcomes that are the alternatives, as we discovered after the post-election euphoria of the cancellation of the previous government’s water reforms – a $440,000,000 ratepayer bill. This concerns the risk of the support WAG have given to central Government’s attacks on local democracy under the banner of “local government reform” without knowing what it will look like. We only need to ask the good folk of Dunedin with the huge protests over the hospital cancellation or Wairarapa, with the eye watering hike in user pays road tolls, to see how badly that can turn out.
Continue Reading
Sep 13, 2024 I am disappointed but not surprised that WAG does not see itself as having to offer alternatives to the programmes they criticise because, as we all know, criticising someone or something is easy. Alternatives are harder. And we do all acknowledge that there is a lot the council could do better. As my opinion piece pointed out, banging on about something you don’t like without clearly laying out the alternative has led us to face a $440,000,000 bill as the alternative to the old Three Waters legislation. I thank WAG for owning their support for this alternative.
Continue Reading
Aug 30, 2024 Whakatane Action Group are using rhetoric that suits their argument but is at odds with the truth. This is becoming a concerning habit, especially around a democratic process.
Continue Reading
Jul 12, 2024 As part of the protest group Postpone The Tax Cuts, we met with Ms Kirkpatrick on May 3 this year and conveyed to her our concerns about the amount of borrowing that the National-led Coalition government would need to undertake to finance this budget. We were told to wait until the budget came out and then see if our concerns were valid.
Well, it turns out Finance Minister Nicola Willis will need to borrow $28.7 billion over the next four years. That’s up by $22 billion from the $6.5 billion forecast just before Christmas that sent financial experts across the political spectrum calling on the Government to postpone the tax cuts.
The tax cuts themselves will cost Ms Willis $14.7 billion.
Continue Reading