Let’s reimagine the future of urban life — one city, one community, one happy place at a time. . . . → Read More: Let’s reimagine the future of urban life — one city, one community, one happy place at a time.
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 Comments are closed  Election 25, Video  council reform, Happy Cities, Video, Wellbeing, Whakatāne Election 2025, whakatane v wellington Wellington City Council did support several parts of the bill, such as measuring council performance, strengthening transparency and accountability and providing regulatory relief. Core services have been defined in the bill as network infrastructure, public transport services, waste management, civil defence emergency management, libraries, museums, reserves, and other recreational facilities. While museums were listed as a core service, festivals, live performances, stadiums, concert halls and large theatres were not. The submission points to the economic benefit of events such as the council-supported World of WearableArt show, which contributed more than $31 million to the city last year. . . . → Read More: Article: Wellington City Council pushes back on Government’s ‘back to basics’ bill Comments are closed Election 25, From The Press, News Clippings affordability, council reform, disagreements, LGNZ, rates, whakatane v wellington In a statement yesterday, Local Government Minister Simon Watts said some households were getting frustrated by unfair rate hikes during the cost-of-living crisis. It followed comments at the recent Local Government NZ (LGNZ) conference, where Watts compared councils to children and suggested that letting them do what they wanted might lead to bad choices. Olds, who attended the conference, told his colleagues and LGNZ representatives that he was disappointed that councils continued to get “beaten up by central government” over things that were out of their control. Councils had defended rising rates as they were dealing with increased infrastructure costs, unfunded mandates, insurance, and inflation. LGNZ chief executive Susan Freeman-Greene said tensions between local and central government were “a challenge”, and that councils bore the impact of frequent changes to government policy. . . . → Read More: Article: Councillors tired of being ‘beaten up’ and blamed by central government Comments are closed Election 25, From The Press, News Clippings, RNZ council reform, LGNZ, rates increases, whakatane v wellington 
Source Dave Stewart PDF I want to thank Peter Minten for his opinion piece (Where is your research?, Beacon. July 25) and acknowledging that the forces of conservatism are lining up our community owned assets for sale in order to pay for our 3 Waters infrastructure. Honesty like that needs to be applauded. At a . . . → Read More: Opinion: A mature conversation about unaffordable rates Comments are closed Election 25, From The Press council reform, rates, rates increases, tax cuts, whakatane v wellington OPINION: What do we do about 78 councils, rising rates and the need to improve efficiency and focus on the basics? Some argue the Government should simply pass a law to cap rates and let ‘the market’ sort itself out. But history tells us blunt interventions often generate unintended consequences. When councils have focused purely on rate minimisation in the past, they’ve generally cut infrastructure maintenance, inspections and deferred capital investment, contributing to a significant proportion of New Zealand’s $200 billion infrastructure deficit. Government wants to grow the economy and speed up housing development. Yet, ironically, it needs councils to enable housing growth, through investments in roads, water, transport and other essential services. Capping rates without addressing the funding model simply kneecaps councils’ ability to invest. Without money, projects don’t proceed and assets deteriorate. . . . → Read More: Article: The argument against council rate caps Comments are closed Election 25, From The Press, News Clippings, Other council reform, rates, rates increases, whakatane v wellington |
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