Category: Politics
Over the weekend, Prime Minister John Key announced a new tranche of reforms for the Resource Management Act: “New Zealand needs planning law that enables economic growth and jobs, as well as providing strong environmental outcomes. The changes we are introducing are about striking that balance between our environmental responsibilities and our economic opportunities.
Auckland City’s draft Unitary Plan (UP) juggernaut has been forced to swerve this month. Maximum permitted height limitations proposed for buildings in Panmure, Onehunga and Pakuranga were lowered after concerted agitation by local residents. Much more needs to be done yet, not least because the UP has widespread ramifications for New Zealand’s economic performance.
The Government Communications Security Bureau legislation is now back in front of Parliament. Introduced by former Prime Minister Helen Clark under urgency in 2001, the original Bill was designed to establish a proper legislative framework for the GCSB, which had been operating since its creation in 1977 as a non-statutory organisation.
Such a lot of nonsense has been spouted about the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) that it's difficult to know where to start. Let's begin with the ridiculous. Peter Dunne has been publicly worrying that state agents are spying on him. Believe me, they aren't. Dunne isn't very interesting - especially not to our spies.
In the early 1990s the National government introduced welfare reforms that were met with enormous resistance and provoked a good deal of public sympathy for the plight of beneficiaries. The reforms featured benefit cuts which reduced most incomes by around 10 percent, with some losing as much as 25 percent.
With just a week to go until the consultation phase of the government’s constitutional review comes to an end, if you haven’t already sent in a submission, you have until 5pm Wednesday July 31st to do so. The review has focussed public attention on the exercise of constitutional power in New Zealand. In doing so it has become clear that the Maori sovereignty movement has made significant progress towards their goal of the co-management of the country.
A campaign is presently underway to convince the public that racism in the government sector is responsible for the poor social outcomes of Maori. Predictably the solution offered is preferential treatment for Maori - by enshrining the ‘principles’ of the Treaty of Waitangi into law.
The political panic over falling rates of home ownership is based on figures that cannot be relied upon, with home ownership rates probably not in decline at all. The concerns over housing affordability are concentrated in just a few centres around the country, where population increases have outpaced the building of new houses.
In May this year, the Retirement Policy and Research Centre (RPPC) published a PensionBriefing: Census 2013 - shortcomings in questions about housing. It suggests that trends in home-ownership rates are less clear than many claim and may even have been relatively unchanged in the 30 years 1976-2006.
On March 5, New Zealand held its census. And for four months starting next Monday, 25 March voting-age New Zealanders of Māori descent will have the option of switching between the Māori and general electoral rolls. The results of the census, and the Māori Option will be used to draw electorate boundaries for the next two general elections.
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