Someone's got to sort this mess out
New Zealand’s rising rates are primarily due to increasing costs for local councils, including infrastructure upgrades, population growth, and inflation, leading to higher rates to fund essential services and meet community needs.
Continue Reading
In the leadup to National’s first budget I protested that the planned tax cuts were unaffordable and stood on a roundabout in my home town and let everyone know I was concerned. The support was just incredible.
Soon I was joined by more and more people and we made a big noise predicting that everything that has happened was the only outcome from such disastrous policy. The Postpone The Tax Cuts Facebook Page remains a valuable historical resource recording how many people predicted the disaster that is this National led coalition government would be.
If you have spent about 5 minutes on the pages that are promoting the National led coalition government’s local council agenda you’ll have heard them swoon when the PM addressed the local council conference and told them his lot were going to amend the law and insist councils stopped doing things other than collecting the […]
Continue Reading
Source Australia is now in the thick of a federal election cycle, the United States just came out of one and in New Zealand, the fallout from the last national election has brought into focus a part of the political machine often out of view. To a voter’s naked eye, the impact of think tanks […]
Continue ReadingMy coalition aligned opponents are forever finding new electoral promises that they say will reduce our rates, but they never cost them. In reality they’re just regurgitating decades old neoliberal nonsense that, at the end of the day, just hands over public assets to private enterprise operators. Our holiday park, something that is central to […]
Continue ReadingSource Author – Jack Karetai-Barrett Māori wards in New Zealand have been a big topic in local government, especially when it comes to fair representation and Te Tiriti obligations. These wards give Māori a dedicated voice in decision-making, similar to Māori electorates in Parliament. But their introduction has been controversial, with laws changing back and […]
Continue ReadingSource Yes, it’s flat, but there’s another crucial reason why so many Christchurch residents ride – the city’s extensive network of cycle lanes. Simon Kingham’s 9km commute, from Beckenham in south Christchurch to the University of Canterbury west of the CBD, is mostly on cycle lanes. “It’s only the first 400 metres on the road, […]
Continue ReadingSource Here’s a classic example of Wellington telling local councils what to do but not funding it. Auckland ratepayers will have to fund $4 million because of the National led coalition government’s deal with the minority ACT Party to remove Safer Speeds from around schools. With rates rises reaching eye watering levels as a result […]
Continue ReadingThere are a few big reasons I want to be involved in the local body election campaign, and I haven’t looked past the campaign itself really. There’s so much silly talk being talked, especially in Whakatane with the kind of nonsense being floated. I’ll go into those in greater detail as the campaign proper heats […]
Continue ReadingSource It’s time for councils to have a respectful and mature conversation with central government about underfunding and undermining local democracy. Expect a call, Minister. New Local Government Minister Simon Watts. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro New Local Government minister Simon Watts announced to councils across the country today to speak up if they are struggling or […]
Continue ReadingSource Simeon Brown Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The new government’s Transport Minister has pulled the brakes on dozens of council projects designed to encourage cycling, walking and use of public transport across the country, sparking confusion in local authority ranks and fury amongst cycling advocates. In a letter to local authorities Simeon Brown said he told […]
Continue ReadingThere are a few loud and vocal supporters of the National led coalition government’s plan to demolish local democracy and run our town from Wellington. The Whakatane Action Group (WAG) is one of the loudest voices in support of Wellington versus Whakatane. In today’s Beacon there is a very good example of the kind of […]
Continue Reading