Councils Holding the Country to Ransom

[mrsaneperson]

The same article did explain that the staffing levels is still less than the combined total of the individual councils and less than the projected amalgamated level.

Which article ? "Staffing levels less than combined individual councils", ..maybe but by how much? 500 more staff is a humongous increase in one year!

[Davo36]

My understanding was/is that staffing levels are now above the previous councils levels.

[Leftette]

Cell phone use in cars IS dangerous, flyer. I'm glad that it has been outlawed (although rarely do I drive and not see someone flouting the law).

[flyernzl]

That may be the case, but that is not the point I am making.

Each of these laws came into being on the basis of strenuous over-hyped campaigns in which the activists promised us that implementation would save lives, improve society, toilet train our children and bring world peace.

None of them can, of course. As you have said, in many cases people simply ignore the new law and carry on doing what they have always done.

Any law that cannot, in practical terms, be enforced is inherently a bad law.

There may be sensible arguments for bringing in a CGT, but we don't hear those. The PR is just about punishing landlords and and 'fairness'.

[speights boy]

Over 13,000 tickets issued per year for phone / driving offences.

[Davo36]

Nice little earner for the boys in blue.

[speights boy]

As well as doubling the fine; I would advocate having the phone placed under the wheel of the vehicle, and then having the law breaker drive over it.
That may reduce the occurrences a bit.

[PC]

Perhaps the boys in blue could lead by example?

Oh no - that wouldn't be "fair".

[muppet]

Nah.
The boys in blue drive around town with their ipads on their knees.

[eri]

auckland council

doing everything it can

to slow developers

and increase the price of housing

Sir Bob vented his frustration at the rule in a weekly Herald column this month after his company had to contact 13 iwi before it could remove an 11m concrete block wall and a window and replace it with a glass frontage for a ground-floor restaurant.

He called the process a racket and a classic case of bureaucrats worrying about cultural correctness without thinking through the consequences.

Aprilanne Bonar, who sought consent to build a new garage and swimming pool on her property in Titirangi, said she had had a positive and practical response from two iwi, Ngati Whatua and Te Kawerau Iwi Tribal Authority, for a cultural impact assessment costing $500, including an archaeologist visiting the site.

"It's pretty clear people have picked up that these kinds of very ill-defined powers look like the council is just going to get advice, but are being turned into de facto veto powers," said Mr Franks.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11328077

[speights boy]

auckland council
doing everything it can
to slow developers
and increase the price of housing

As are NIMBYs.

Locals fear HNZ plans for $8m site

Mt Albert residents are up in arms against a Housing New Zealand project, fearing a 34-unit site will soon have 80 apartments.

About 100 residents, many with homes worth $1 million-plus, this week met HNZ over the issue of 33 Asquith Ave on the Burch St corner, a site declared a special housing area.

Anne Duncan, a real estate agent, said many houses in the area were worth $1.3 to $1.5 million so she wants the scale and type of development limited. She says HNZ should sell the land.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11328003

[Davo36]

Here's the link to Bob Jones' article. Like always he calls a spade a spade: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-c...ectid=11321121

[Davo36]

Article on Auckland Council spending $76m pa more on staff than they budgeted for: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=11328550

This bit's funny:

But TV broadcaster and council critic Paul Henry said the mayor was making "the most liveable city a city that no bastard can afford to live in".

"There'll be no problems on the roads and his bloody rapid rail will be going as fast as anything because there'll be no one standing at the bloody station," he said.

[artemis]

National now has a clear run to get progress on RMA changes, and hopefully to put some serious pressure on councils to clear the rocks they have placed in the road to slow progress on a number of fronts.

[Davo36]

National now has a clear run to get progress on RMA changes, and hopefully to put some serious pressure on council's to clear the rocks they have placed in the road to slow progress on a number of fronts.

Yeah hopefully they'll make meaningful changes now. Because they've been tinkering with it up to this point.