I guess Asset Sales aren’t a core voter issue in Hamilton. The tipline reported that the protesters performed their protest to a total of 6 people. And half of those thought it was a free concert with the band just warming up.
Poll over the break. Read more »
Shearer was due to be in the Tron same week as the leadership caucus. Problem for Shearer is that the silly Council planners in the Tron are doing everything they can to make it more expensive and difficult for Kiwis to build a new home. This silly design rule is already in place in Rototuna (where the Council didn’t even bother consulting properly with the lower cost builders) and now HCC want to extend it to the rest of Hamilton.
Section buyers looking to build in Rototuna are finding it’s harder to make their dream homes a reality as they struggle to design houses within new rules.
And there are fears that the changes, introduced by Hamilton City Council, could bump up the cost of buying a section, and therefore the cost of building a house, by up to $15,000.
The new rule, already being applied at three Rototuna subdivisions – Eton, Glaisdale and The Meadows – stipulates that the garage must be built at the back of the house so that living areas are closer to the street.
The changes are aimed at cutting down crime and improving urban design, but builders say they are struggling to design houses that comply with the new regulations.
Hamilton builder Alex Burns, who has 35 years experience in the industry, said the new requirements could drive up the cost of sections.
A National government plan to unlock more land with council won’t work in places like Hamilton as the Council instead creates smaller and smaller section sizes and rule changes like this one that mean the orientation of a section will change and you’ll actually need around 20% more infrastructure (mainly roading) and create grid towns (as that will be the most efficient way to approach the issue).
With this rule change, the Council cites ‘community feel’ and safety (as far as people noticing strange cars in the neighborhood, burglars etc) but seem to ignore other aspects of Kiwi life such as we like our backyard BBQs and privacy, if we choose to then we get to know our neighbors (changing the house orientation toward the street doesn’t make people want to interact. I’m not sure these planners have considered that their new rule changes could actually put more kids at risk of being killed on their driveways – but at least the burglars will stay away.
To be fair Hamilton lost the Clap Capital years ago to Gisborne and Hastings, but they seem to be really making a play for Nikki Kaye’s constituency:
Mardi Gras could be coming to town if Hamilton Pride succeeds in a new bid to make the city the gay capital of New Zealand, and they’re challenging the council to help make it happen.
Lynda Johnston and Hamilton Pride hold Pride Week every year as a way to ”fight the heterosexual norm”, and said if they can build up more momentum they can put the city on the map.
”This identity is something that one has to work for and work on. We know that Sydney is famous for the gay and lesbian mardi gras and that’s a world famous event.
For Hamilton, it’s slightly tongue and cheek because we’re also pointing to the fact that we’re a very conservative part of New Zealand, so we’re trying to move that along ,” Ms Johnston said.
While Pride Week continues to grow each year, Ms Johnston said there is still more to be done, and would be helped hugely by backing from the Hamilton City Council.
An observant reader comments on my earlier post about Fran Mold attempting to counter the Moroney Effect.
On the back of the womans weak-ly article – it’s worth pointing out that the red car of shame is actually an Audi, and the lovely farmhouse they are pictured in front of is in rural lifestyle area Matangi – actually Lindsay Tisch’s electorate, which her kids were schooled in. Yeah, she’s really keen on supporting the blue collar workers in Hamilton West…and their schools..
I know plenty of MP’s both National and Labour don’t live in their electorates, but not many as sanctimonious about looking after the downtrodden as Sue…I’m sure a Toyota Corolla would have done the trick, why Audi?…and if you want to go European why not a nice Finnish Tunturi?
It certainly looks like Sue Moroney has borrowed the Greens shield of sanctimony.
Who’s going to win?
Sonny Bill’s team?
Or the team from South Africa?
From February in the Waikato Times:
Labour MP Sue Moroney has called for “people power” as the battle to save Hamilton’s Municipal Pools enters its final, desperate stage.
Hamilton City Council has vowed to lock the gate to the century-old outdoor pool complex on March 31 because it will not spend the $1.4 million needed to fix the leaking complex.
The pools are the only public swimming complex in the central business district and one of only a handful of outdoor heated pools in the Waikato.
Patrons of the pool have launched a spirited campaign to fight to keep the “munis” open, and held a public meeting on Wednesday night to draft their battle plan.
Mrs Moroney attended the meeting and told the 130-strong crowd that people power was the only way to change the council’s mind.
“I urge you to fight,” she said.
And yesterday in the Herald:
Plans to save the leaky Hamilton Municipal Pools have been ditched after the groups backing them realised they would be too expensive.
Swim Waikato and Sport Waikato have completed their business case on the long-term future of the pool and deemed it wasn’t viable under a trust arrangement.
The joint proposal to the council during its long term plan hearings in May was one of the last hopes for the 100-year-old pool and the council decided to close it for a year to give more time for the proposal to be investigated.
But the operations and activity performance committee heard yesterday that the groups had walked away from the proposal.
Sue wanted the ratepayers of the Waikato to literally pour thousands into a big concrete leaky hole…
Once again, everything Sue Moroney gets involved with turns to custard – this is an extension of ‘the Moroney Effect’
‘If it involves Sue, it’ll turn into Poo’.
In other matters I understand she has decided to extend the Moroney Effect into Todd McClay’s Rotorua electorate, recently opening an office there. Word has it Todd McClay danced a jig and has started calling his the electorate “The Fortress”.
Socialist Cindy has upset the bogans of Hamilton
But Ms Ardern replied the concept already existed here: ”It’s called Hamilton.”
Her remarks have drawn return fire from several local politicians, including city councillor Dave Macpherson who said that the ”foolish swipe at Hamilton by a little-known Labour party hack would have been more hurtful to the city, had it been made by a representative of a more relevant party, such as the Greens.”
Ouch!
Is David Fisher Dotcom’s bitch?
Insurance companies don’t do this, why don’t we just privatise the whole thing?
Does Len Brown sniff axle grease?
Has Hamilton become the new Palmerston North?
Shouldn’t the title be “Lifts skirts“… or perhaps drops knickers?
Was 50m enough overtaking room?
Have they considered…you know…moving?
With the V8s gone and the financial fallout that remains it seems that Hamilton has gone to the birds.
Is this what Michael Redman and Bob Simcock meant when they set up the Tron to be the events capital of New Zealand?
I wonder if Michael got things in train for Auckland to get the V8s before he resigned from ATEED?
I wonder how watertight that agreement is with the Aussies eh, Len?
Hamilton may not be the clap capital but it does look like the wasted public spending capital. Though maybe they are just trying to set a target for Len.
Hamilton has racked up $255.89 million in new debt in the past five years – with Claudelands Event Centre tagged as the single largest contributor.
New figures show the event centre and city roading contributed to half the council’s new debt since 2007.
The city council proposes to cut services and sell assets to pay it off.
Next month the city’s total debt is expected to reach $400 million – and more than half of this was due to recent spending.
In response to the figures, the council’s finance and monitoring committee chairman Dave Macpherson said hindsight showed the council made some wrong decisions.
“In 20/20 hindsight I don’t think we would have done it and I don’t think the community would have supported it either. In hindsight it [$255.89 million in new loans] is too much.”
Someone should ask the Breakers why they won’t play in the Claudelands Events Centre.
