Watch National party spokesman lay out the New Coalition Gov legislation that is said to be getting ‘Tuff on violent Crimes’… Tuff on Gang Criminals activity.
From Nov this year all gang insignia will be banned in public.
Courts will be able to issue Non-Consorting orders.
Police will be able to stop Criminal gangs from associating and communication.
Over the past 5 years gangs have surged 51%
Violent crime has spiked by 33%
National wants to stop this.
Changing sentencing laws to make criminals “face real tough consequences”.
Capping ‘discounts’ Judges can apply.
Making being a Gang member an aggravating factor.
Addressing serious retail crime.
Prioritising victims in our legal system.
They have set targets…. 20 000 fewer victims of violent crime and a 15% drop in serious youth offending by 2029.
National says this is about taking back control from Jacinda Ardern’s failed weak on crime approach.
********
Most of this sounds very good, yet not a fan of governments telling people what they can/cant wear… I mean who will the ‘insignia’ ban affect?
Ulysses motorcycle club?
Will it be illegal for people to wear Red shirts, Red caps, Red Sneakers, and drive red cars?
What about Tattoos?
It may find popular support among the sheeple yet IMO it is not well conceived, and will result in Bad policing.
We don’t want to end up like Jack booted Australia… yet that’s where this is heading.
We all know who the real criminal gangs are… what protections will there be for the rest of us citizens from police harassment?
At a minimum I think that there ought to be some sort of legal due process whereby Organisations are given a day in court to argue their case *before they are deemed to be a criminal gang*… that way Non-criminal associations won’t be wrongfully prohibited from wearing their organisational attire.
We will see If National has the resolve to enforce this policy as I can easily imagine huge groups of Gang members flouting this law… what are you going to do about that???
The other thing is you may have just made it harder to prove crimes were ‘gang related’ because they will no longer be wearing their insignia.
And so now the Police will harrass Gang members and others who are causing no real trouble… just walking/riding down the street… simply because of their clothing. That’s not being ‘hard on crime’… is it?
It’s just a gimmick really… a publicity stunt.
Even without their patches the gangsters will still be out there yet harder to identify.
No… all the other initiatives are Good… Enforce Good Laws… crack down on real crime 100%, yet the banning of clothing…esp without a due process is not good… probably counter productive..
How will ‘Police be able to stop people ‘associating and communicating’? Does this legislation give Police Powers to spy on all citizens?
What exactly are these Powers and how might they be abused?
Labour was super-soft on crime… they blamed Pakeha for Maori Crime!
Remember when the Mob took over Opotiki?
Blogged about it…
“The greatest perpetrator of misinformation during the pandemic has been the United States government.”
Dr. Martin Makary
(Johns Hopkins Surgeon
Misinformation that Covid was spread from surface transmission. That Vaccinated immunity was far greater than natural immunity. That masks were effective.
Now we have the definitive Cochrane Review.
What do you do with that review?
Cochrane is the most Authoritative evidence body in all of medicine and has been for decades, do you just ignore it, not talk about it.
Misinformation that Myocarditis was more common after infection than the vaccine *Not True* its 4 to 28 times more common after the Vaccine.
That young people benefit from a Booster. Misinformation.
Our two top experts on vaccines quit the FDA in Protest over this particular Issue. Pushing Booster in young healthy people. The data was never there. That’s why the CDC never disclosed the hospitalisation rate among booster Americans under Age 50.
The Vaccine mandates would increase Vaccination rates. George Mason University studies shows it didn’t.
It did one thing. It created ‘Never Vaxers’… who are now not getting the childhood vaccines they need to get.
Over and over we’ve seen something that goes far beyond using judgement with the information at hand. We’ve seen something which is Unforgivable and that is the weaponisation of medical research itself.
The CDC putting out their own shoddy studies like their own study on natural immunity looking at one State for two months when they had data for years and years on all 50 States… why did they only report that one sliver of data? Why did they Salami slice the giant data base? because it gave them the result they wanted. Same with masking studies… well the data has now caught up in giant systematic reviews and public health officials were intellectually dishonest. They lied to the American people. Thank you.
NZ and the MRNA
@HopeRising19
JUST ONE OF THE NZ NURSES WE LOST THROUGH COVID MRNA INJURY AND MANDATES…
Julie
Batch number FK0115
(written by Julie Oct 2022)
My name is Julie, and I am a Mandated Health Worker with a 37yr nursing career.
I had worked through the first lockdown, and had been in the Isolation Ward. Many of my colleagues requested not to work in this area for various personal reasons, but there was a group of us that rotated through, but also worked in our own areas as well. (There was internal discussion about whether this policy increased a risk of Covid spread, but it didn’t change).
We were not inundated with patients, and with many things cancelled the hospital was pretty calm… but there was an air of waiting for pandemic numbers to hit.
NZ borders were closed, MIQ was in operation, but the Covid admissions and presentation numbers didn’t escalate.
Then the Vaccines became available in New Zealand, and we went from recommended to MANDATED
I was researching the data safety manufacturers sheets prior to the mandates. By 1st November, I could no longer find them through search engines. The Medsafe site had 8 month old information, and then the emergency use authorization for the Covid vaccine was extended for two further years. I emailed Medsafe, but they replied to say their information was not updated, but now they refer straight to the WHO site information.
In 2019 I had experienced a flu vaccine reaction, (trunk and upper limbs rash, and exhaustion), and had reported this to CARM myself. Never have I had any previous reactions to any vaccines, and I have had the annual flu shot as this was offered free through our workplace. So I was worried, I did not want this Covid vax, but I was one of the last take it in my area.
So to keep my job, I had it in November prior to the mandate deadline. My arm was a little sore, but within 24hrs the lymph nodes under my arm, and the outer aspect of my breast felt full, swollen and tender. I had no rash, was tired, but tiredness was a normal for my shift worker very busy job.
Day 15 post shot, I experienced
TACHYCARDIA,
CHEST PAIN,
PALPITATIONS.
I was at work, and did my own obs (BP, heart rate, oxygen sats). In the weeks that followed, these palpitations continued intermittently, and not related to exercise, or any other precipitating events. The swollen lymph persisted. I also noticed that small fresh cuts on my hands were not bleeding.
I saw my GP, but she could not help me with applying for an exemption. Instead offering to make an appointment for the second to be administered in the Emergency Department. I was deemed High Risk, and she said there is a group that travels to areas to administer the vaccine to people like me.
She did not send me for ECG, or bloods or any further investigations. She did listen with a stethascope to ensure there was no “rub”, a sign of pericarditis.
I registered my own Adverse Event on CARM, a time consuming process- logged in as a health professional, the site kicked me off three times, and if the drug name was not spelled correctly it would not allow the forms to be accessed. It seems that a busy health professional would find the time required a real barrier.
ALSO CARM ADVERSE REPORTING IS NOT A REQUIREMENT FOR THE COVID VACCINES
nor do people realise they can register their own events. Or those of their loved ones.
Rather than take the second mandated shot I RESIGNED.
I did not have the emotional bandwidth to go through the hospital process of refusing the mandates, and the pathway of interviews and procedures the hospital had in place. There was short discussion with the manager of my area, (and in a public space) but she backed away from applying pressure.
I therefore finished my career January 1st 2022.I have had much help with finding ways to improve my health, and taken steps to manage my symptoms.
Thank you for reading, and please realise that we are not alone. Julie
#nzcovidinquiry2
Maxwell Joseph Davies.
19 Nov 1948 to 6 August 2024.
After a period of illness, on Friday 9 August 2024 family and friends laid Maxwell Joseph Davies to rest at Pyes Pa Cemetery.
Plot 80.
I had the honour of being asked by Max’s family to direct Max’s funeral service, and to deliver a short gospel message before Max’s body was carried out to his final resting place.
To many attendees at Max’s funeral my short Christian message at the end was probably seen as a superfluous 5-10 minutes to be endured rather than as anything important, yet for Reawyn, *And Max* his funeral was an opportunity not to be missed… to declare the truth about Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Far from being silly superstitions… Max’s and families faith is founded upon solid ground, and the Gospel message contains their highest values as they know how essential it is for every human being to come to a saving knowledge of why Jesus Christ voluntarily submitted to death on the Cross.
They were especially desirous for their close family and friends to know the love of God so that they might be saved from God’s Judgement for their sins… should the light of truth dawn in their hearts.
On this score… the Davies have proven their love, and faithfully fulfilled their moral duty.
Make no mistake… Heaven and hell ain’t no joke! It’s for real people!
Whatever the future holds let it not be said that they never tried to warn their loved ones about the impending Judgement of the Almighty upon the sins of humanity… and the simple way God has provided for us to be forgiven and made holy, so that we can spend eternity in his presence.
Let he that hath an ear to hear… let them hear.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
Paul The Apostle to the Gentiles. (Corinthians 1vs 18-21)
God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
Romans 5vs8
It was an honour to be asked to deliver these vital truths to the people Max held so dearly.
I did my best with the short time I had to prepare, and tried to balance the importance of what needed to be said, without too much imposition upon the occasion.
My intention being to write a tribute to Max’s faith to be put online as a memorial, and there I could say more.
Hence this tribute that is before you now.
I was asked by Reawyn to perform these rites… to bless her home, etc as more than 3 decades ago, I had the pleasure of Leading a bible study at Max and Reawyn’s home in Payne st Judea.
The Word of God found fertile soil there and Max and Reawyn’s faith grew strong… and enduring… transforming them into Bible believing… Grace preaching… Dispensational… Christians.
From that time onwards Max was no longer simply ‘a family man’ and a Builder…. he became ‘A soldier for Christ’… Max’s life became imbued with Divine strength and purpose.
God gave Max and family the fortitude to endure hardship, and to take pleasure in the simple things of life… esp family.
Max truly was a powerful and Godly Christian Warrior!
He was a beacon of light… Mighty with the Sword of the Spirit (The word of God).
Max was anything but a stereotypical Christian! He always was and remained to the end of his life… A Bougan… A Pakeha Maori, He loved a beer and a good yarn.
Unlike so many phony Pharisee type churchmen who preach Moral Legalism.. and posture with fake self-righteousness… mishandling the scripture and teaching false doctrines of works, and who don’t even believe the bibles they hold in their hands… Max was the antithesis of all those things! He a preacher of *genuine Christian truths*… of Humility, of grace, and of faith in the trustworthiness of the King James Bible.
He knew and preached the true Gospel of God’s grace given to us via God’s Apostle Paul…
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed… Rightly dividing the word of truth…”
2 Timothy 2vs 15.
There may be thousands of Christians and churches in New Zealand, yet sadly most of them wallow in False doctrine… and don’t properly understand the Gospel.
Very few indeed truly understand the scriptures to the degree that Max did.
He really was a beacon of light as he appealed to everyone he met to stop walking in darkness and embrace the Bible!
Max would extoll you to trust the King James Authorised version of the Bible… As God’s inspired and preserved revelation to us… The final authority in all matters of Faith and conduct.
Max lived a quiet life and received little credit for his labours for Humanity and God. No honours (except from his immediate circle) No fame.
Despite living in virtual obscurity It is my testimony to declare that when Maxwell Joseph Davies passed away Tauranga and New Zealand lost one of our Greatest Christians.
He lived a good life, and it is in recognition of His stature as a real Bible believing Christian that I write this tribute.
Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.
The same week Max passed away Lead vocalist of the 70s Rock Band Led Zeppelin Robert Plant turned 76… making him virtually the same age as Max… His age difference being 3mths.
You may be wondering why I mention Robert Plant in my tribute to Max Davies? Well, It has to do with the question…. What is a Good life? What is real Success?
Most people reading this know Robert Plant is ‘Rock Royalty’… having achieved ‘Legendary’ status… Living a life of fame and fortune… yet we also know the sands of time sooner or later run out for us all.
Robert Plant will eventually go to his grave with millions of adoring Fans paying him tribute… and by many people’s estimation Robert Plant has Lived Life to it’s fullest. Literally millions of Fans would loved to have walked in his shoes … Yet will any of that Fame and Glory matter when Robert Plant goes to meet his Maker?
In the final tally… when we each give account for ourselves before God Almighty do you really think all the fame and fortune will be deemed to have eternal glory?
No.
“For What profit a man though he should gain the whole world yet lose his own soul?”
Mark 8vs 36.
You see it is when we stand before God Almighty and our lives and deeds are (metaphorically speaking) weighed in his scale… that’s when the true values of things will be known. Do you expect God to use the same judgement as this lost world measures success?
To believe that is to be foolish indeed!
“…Behold, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding” Job 28vs28
If then we use God’s yardstick to measure what a Good and successful life is I contend that despite Max’s humble existence… in the final tally… God will find his works and his faith are of far greater eternal value than all Robert Plant’s so-called ‘Fabulous life of Earthy success’.
We Christians do not serve the Lord in expectation of wealth or Fame, but out of our love and gratitude to the Lord for what he has done for us, and from our compassion for our fellow man… We have a message of hope and salvation for all who wander lost in darkness and sin… “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3vs16
In Christian virtue and by God’s metrics Max died a success!
Max died a truly wealthy man in the things that really matter!
Max left this life beloved by his wife and Children, with many friends, and well respected as a tradesman.
Max… as Head of his house was able to instill in his young children that life has real meaning and purpose.
He taught them that via faith in Christ not sin… nor even death can defeat the Christian.
Max taught his children with certainty that though they may be separated by death for a short while… to carry on and live our lives to the fullest… fulfilling our god-given purpose… and when each of our turns arrive… to face death with peace and hope trusting in God’s grace and goodfness.
In death the Christian is received by Christ.
Reywyn and Family…. Know this with certainty you shall be reunited with Max… for this is the promise and great hope of the Gospel.
Death can not eternally separate us who believe!
This is not my opinion… its what’s written in God’s Holy bible!
What a tragedy it is for a person to go though life thinking it is pointless and meaningless!
What a tragedy to face death without hope!
Especially given the fact that *Atheism is a delusion!* The Bible say’s ‘The Fool hath said in his heart there is no God!”. (Psalm 14vs1)
Max was not a perfect Christian, very much like myself Max had his vices and struggles. We are well aware of our shortcomings. These faults cause us to rely wholly on God’s grace. Thankfully We know we have been made free from the Law… by Christ, and that despite our own failures to live godly lives, we trust in the Cross, and in God’s love, mercy,
‘And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:’
Pil 3vs9
‘Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:’
Galatians 3 vs 13
5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Galatians 5
For by grace are ye saved: through faith. and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God.
Not of works lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2vs8,9
It has taken me a month to write this tribute because I feared not doing justice to Max’s memory.
I realise my chief difficulty comes from the fact that though I have many dear Non-Christian friends, I have far less dear Christian ones… and very few indeed as dear to me and as close to me as Max was… and I have suffered a great personal loss with his passing. He was (and indeed still is) one of my closest brothers in Christ…
Rest in Pease my friend…. Until we meet again!
Much Love and respect my Brother!
My one regret is that I allowed far too many years to pass without visiting you.
Sorry Bro.
Tim Wikiriwhi.
Christian Libertarian.
Dispensationalist.
Authorised King James Bible believer.
P.S I hope Robert Plant knows the only true ‘stairway to heaven’ is the Cross of Jesus Christ!
It’s not for sale… you can’t buy your way into heaven yet don’t be sad!
God’s Gift of salvation is *FREE* to anyone who believes the gospel that God sent Christ to die for our sins, and that he rose again from the dead in victory over sin and death, and whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!
Update: 9-9-24… The video did not last 24 hours before it was removed from Youtube… yet here is an X link that I think is the same one….
https://x.com/i/status/1832798498439462953
Dr. John Campbell fears his You Tube video will either be Shadow banned or censored.
Watch below.
Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly from Pfizer and Moderna: A Comprehensive Longitudinal Study
https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/a…
Our observations suggest the presence of some kind of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 injectables.
International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research
https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/i…
Full version of the journal
Vol. 3 No. 2 (2024): Injuries, Causes, and Treatments, Part 2
https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/i…
Creative Commons link
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/…
Observable real-time injuries at the cellular level in recipients of the “safe and effective” COVID-19 injectables are documented here for the first time,
with the presentation of a comprehensive description and analysis of observed phenomena.
The global administration of these often-mandated products from late 2020 triggered a plethora of independent research studies of the modified RNA injectable gene therapies,
most notably those manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna.
Analyses reported here consist of precise laboratory “bench science” aiming to understand why serious debilitating, prolonged injuries (and many deaths) occurred increasingly without any measurable protective effect
The contents of COVID-19 injectables were examined under a stereomicroscope at up to 400X magnification.
Carefully preserved specimens were cultured in a range of distinct media to observe immediate and long-term cause-and-effect relationships between the injectables and living cells under carefully controlled conditions.
From such research, reasonable inferences can be drawn about observed injuries worldwide that have occurred since the injectables were pressed upon billions of individuals.
In addition to cellular toxicity, our findings reveal numerous — on the order of 3~4 x 106 per milliliter of the injectable
— visible artificial self-assembling entities ranging from about 1 to 100 µm, or greater, of many different shapes.
There were animated worm-like entities,
discs, chains, spirals, tubes,
right-angle structures containing other artificial entities within them
All these are exceedingly beyond any expected and acceptable levels of contamination of the COVID-19 injectables,
and incubation studies revealed the progressive self-assembly of many artifactual structures.
As time progressed during incubation, simple one- and two-dimensional structures over two or three weeks became more complex in shape and size developing into stereoscopically visible entities in three-dimensions.
They resembled carbon nanotube filaments, ribbons, and tapes,
some appearing as transparent, thin, flat membranes,
and others as three-dimensional spirals, and beaded chains.
Some of these seemed to appear and then disappear over time.
Our observations suggest the presence of some kind of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 injectables.
Dr. Young Mi Lee,
Jeju, Jejudo, 63098, Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Professor Daniel Broudy, Okinawa Christian University, Japan
How to win the argument that Maori ceded sovereignty
Q1. Was the main purpose of Te Tiriti o Waitangi for Maori to cede sovereignty to Queen Victoria?
A1: Yes. It is clearly stated in the Maori, English and translated versions of the Treaty such as:
Article 1
The chiefs of the Confederation of the United Tribes and the other chiefs who have not joined the confederation, cede to the Queen of England for ever the entire Sovereignty of their country.
Article 3
In return for the cession of the Sovereignty to the Queen, the people of New Zealand shall be protected by the Queen of England and the rights and privileges of British subjects will be granted to them.
Copies of the Treaty can be viewed here: http://nzmediawatch.com/Treaty_of_Waitangi_side_by_side_-_Maori_English_Translation.html
Q2: Did the Maori chiefs understand the meaning of sovereignty?
A2: Yes. Documented and verified historical evidence shows that Maori understood the meaning of sovereignty in the Treaty. For example, at the signing of the Treaty on February 5th, 1840 missionary William Colenso made detailed notes of the meeting. Endorsement of Colenso’s authenticity is the fact that the Māori Council in 1987 used his record of the speeches to validate their claims. Here’s some quotes affirming that Maori understood the meaning of sovereignty:
Hoani Heke – chief of the Matarahurahu Tribe: “Yes, it is not for us, but for you, our fathers – you missionaries – it is for you to say, to decide, what it shall be.”
Tamati Waka Nene – chief of the Ngatihao Tribe: “I, Tamati Waka say to thee, sit. Do not thou go away from us: remain for us – a father, a judge, a peacemaker”
Later, in 1858, Hōne Heke’s tribe (Ngāpuhi) re-erected the flagpole at Russell, that he was famous for cutting down, and said: “We have a Queen, Queen Victoria. Which is what we agreed to in the Treaty”.
At the 1860 Kohimarama conference in Auckland these Maori validated that they ceded sovereignty by stating:
Wikiriwhi Matehonoa of Ngati Porou: “We are all under the sovereignty of the Queen”
Horomona Toremi of Ngati Raukawa in Otaki: “You over there (the Pakehas) are the only chiefs… Let there be one word for all this land”.
Tamati Waka Nene, one of the leaders who signed at Waitangi, said: “I know no sovereign but the Queen, and I never shall know any other. I am walking by the side of the Pakeha”.
More info here: https://bassettbrashandhide.com/post/dr-lawrie-knight-fact-checking-waitangi-tribunal-finding
Q3: There were over 80,000 Maori and only around 2,000 settlers. Why would Maori cede sovereignty?
A3: There are many reasons such as:
1. Northern Maori were afraid that the Southern tribes would come and slaughter them for Utu – because the Northern tribes had previously slaughtered the Southern tribes.
2. Maori were afraid of the French: “We have heard that the tribe of Marian [the French] is at hand, coming to take away our land”.
3. With the advent of whalers, traders, sailors and settlers disease was decimating Maori at around 4,000 deaths a year. There was a strong possibility that Maori could become extinct if something wasn’t done.
New Zealand had no law and had become very dangerous. Maori wanted the English to bring their technology and governance to fix it.
View our video about it here: https://x.com/nz_media_watch/nz_media_watch/status/1765921884254929198
Finally, though some might say that the 2014 Waitangi Tribunal findings that “in February 1840 the rangatira who signed te Tiriti did not cede their sovereignty”, that is just opinion and not based on verifiable historic evidence. Only the Maori version of the Treaty should be used to determine its meaning because Captain Hobson, as requested by Queen Victoria, stated that the Maori Tiriti o Waitangi was the true agreement and that all other copies “… and all signatures that are subsequently obtained are merely testimonials of adherence to the terms of that original document” which is Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Reference: McQueen, Ewen (2020). One Sun in the Sky: The untold story of sovereignty and the Treaty of Waitangi. First Edition. New Zealand: Benefitz Ltd.
**************************************************
Related posts from Tim…
The High Court has quashed the Covid-19 vaccine mandate for police and Defence Force staff.
The order required Defence Force personnel, and police constables, recruits and authorised officers to have two doses of the vaccine by 1 March, or face termination.
Fewer than 300 of the more than 31,000 staff affected by the mandate across the organisations remain unvaccinated.
On 6 January, three unvaccinated staff sought a judicial review of the mandate.
They were supported by affidavits from 37 of their colleagues in the same situation.
Justice Cooke today released his decision which upheld their claims the vaccination order breached their rights under the Bill of Rights Act.
While the judge did not accept some of the applicants’ arguments, he agreed the mandate infringed on section 11 and section 15 of the Act.
Below is a speech recently delivered by NZ PM Chris Luxon at a conference filled with ‘Local/regional/City Mayors and councilors whereby he put them on notice to quit their extravagant spending habits on Socialist ‘White elephants’ and to return to taking care of their core responsibilities.
His speech embodied much of my own 2 decades of activism and engagement in local body politics whereby I have been calling for an end to the largess… an end to all the woke insanity… etc.
Though I am not a Luxon fan… he gets top marks for this excellent speech that hits the nail squarely on the head!
His speech was not well received… no surprises there!
Jordan Williams, Exec Director of the NZ taxpayers Unions reports…. “Immediately following the Prime Minister, the Labour-aligned President of Local Government New Zealand, Sam Broughton, got up and tried to put the boot into Mr Luxon.
Broughton said that criticism of local government “is not productive”. That got a loud cheer from the attendees in the room. He also called on new ways for councils to tax local communities, in addition to rates!
Read the speech for yourselves and you will see why it would have made the average Woke City Mayor and Councilors writhe in their chairs.
Tim Wikiriwhi
Christian Libertarian.
Read on!
Photo credit: Skynews.
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon
Prime Minister
21 August 2024
Speech to LGNZ SuperLocal
conference
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone.
Before I begin, I’d like to thank LGNZ for their invitation to speak here today.
I spend a lot of time meeting with many good mayors and councillors across the country, but this is a great opportunity to speak to so many of you here all at once.
So, thank you to LGNZ for that opportunity, and more importantly, thank you to each of you for stepping into the public square and serving your communities in these roles.
I’d also like to acknowledge Minister Simon Watts and, in particular, Minister Simeon Brown, who are here.
As you know, Simeon is responsible for the Local Government portfolio, has an ambitious reform programme, and has accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. So, thank you, Simeon, for all of your hard work and leadership.
New Zealand faces big infrastructure challenges – Water. Transport. Resilience. And each of those will be absolutely critical to get right.
We know your communities need the tools to sustainably finance the necessary investment. So, we’re making changes.
Through changes agreed by the Local Government Funding Authority, we’re alleviating pressure on council debt caps, which will relieve a lot of pressure on fast-growing councils.
We’re presenting a suite of options for achieving local water reform that will satisfy ratings agencies’ concerns while maintaining local control of water.
We’re also taking a hard look at a range of rules and regulations that incur costs that central government directly loads onto councils. Traffic management is a good example of an area we know desperately needs change.
And Simeon Brown will soon present more detail on our framework for Regional Deals – how they will work, what we want to enable for communities, and, most importantly, what we expect in return.
So, we’re doing our part. And I believe it’s time for local government to do theirs.
Ratepayers expect local government to do the basics and to do the basics brilliantly. Pick up the rubbish. Fix the pipes. Fill in potholes. And more generally, maintain local assets quickly, carefully, and cost effectively.
But nothing in life is free, and ratepayers expect to pay for it in exchange. But what they don’t expect to pay for is the laundry-list of distractions and experiments that are plaguing council balance sheets across the country.
The building we’re in today is a classic example. With pipes bursting and other infrastructure under pressure, Wellington City Council decided to spend $180 million of ratepayers’ money on a convention centre, which, according to public reporting, is now losing money.
It looks very nice, and it’s very nice that politicians like us have another expensive room to deliver speeches in, but can anyone seriously say it was the right financial decision or the highest priority for Wellington given all of its challenges?
Ratepayers are sick of the white elephants and non-delivery. So, my challenge to all of you is to rein in the fantasies and to get back to delivering the basics brilliantly.
Councillors often tell me that they agree with all that, but there’s a problem. They just need more help from central government, usually in the form of cold, hard cash.
I have to be honest with you – the previous government might have taken that approach, but the party is over.
There is no magic money tree in Wellington, thanks to the previous government’s economic mismanagement and vandalism.
Shifting your costs onto taxpayers doesn’t save anyone any money. It means ratepayers pay more tax, and are left with less of their own money, to meet the cost of a slightly smaller rates bill.
Or it means we spend less on health and education so that councils can avoid tightening their belts exactly as Kiwi families, businesses and central government have had to do across New Zealand.
Yes, I’m sure that will be very popular among councillors, who want to spend money without raising rates to pay for it. But if any of you think those will be the terms of a regional deal, it’s time to come back to reality.
We do want to work closer together – and there will be new revenue tools for councils, where that makes sense – but the days of handouts are over.
I know some councils already well understand that new operating environment and they are taking their responsibility to ratepayers very seriously.
Thank you for those efforts, because your unrelenting focus on delivering value for money is making a real difference in your communities.
Finally, if there was any doubt about our commitment to getting local government back to basics, I have some announcements to make today on our local government work programme.
First, Cabinet has agreed to streamline the purpose provisions in the Local Government Act to get councils back to basics.
For Councils, that means abolishing the four wellbeing provisions in legislation and restoring focus on local services and infrastructure.
For ratepayers, it’s simple. The central government focuses on must-haves, not nice-to-haves, and we expect local government to do the same.
Second, Cabinet has agreed to investigate performance benchmarks for local councils, similar to the approach some Australian states apply to their local authorities.
In theory, the Local Government Act establishes the accountability of local authorities to the communities they serve. But in reality, it’s difficult to get consistent, easily accessible and comparable information about how councils are actually performing.
The performance measures we’re looking to introduce are in areas councils should already be monitoring closely, such as financial performance and customer service delivery.
But sunlight is the best disinfectant – and ratepayers deserve to know exactly what they’re getting for their rates.
Third, Cabinet has agreed to investigate options to limit council expenditure on ‘nice-to-haves’.
In some Australian states, revenue caps are applied to non-core activities to control rates increases.
We’re interested in how a similar approach could work here in New Zealand, ensuring the right balance between ratepayers’ interests and councils’ financial positions.
Yes, councils need adequate revenue to fund core responsibilities like roads, rubbish and water, but the value-for-money proposition is more questionable in a range of other areas.
Councils need to examine those areas more closely, and I’m up for any tool – like revenue capping – that makes them do so.
Fourth, Cabinet has agreed to review the transparency and accountability rules that apply to councils.
It’s unacceptable that the rules as they stand today allow unelected officials, in many cases, to prevent elected members from accessing the information they need to represent their communities. We will review those settings.
There have been too many absurd scenarios in which ratepayers are effectively shut out of decision-making because elected members’ rights to access information are treated as a secondary consideration.
My expectation is we find a way to end those practices.
In conclusion, we want a productive and constructive relationship with local government – one that enables your growth and development and gives you the tools you need to pay for it.
But we expect you to spend ratepayers’ money responsibly. In short, localism comes with both rights and responsibilities.
In central government, we’re getting on with the job. We’re stopping wasteful spending, shifting money from the back office to the frontline, setting clear delivery targets and expectations, prioritising what to do and what not to do, and letting Kiwis keep more of what they earn.
My parting message: it’s time for you to do the same.
Go line by line, stop the wasteful spending, remove the bureaucracy, focus on better customer service, and end the projects that aren’t delivering value for money.
Ratepayers don’t expect much – they just want the basics done brilliantly.
We’ll play our part – now it’s time for you to play yours.
I’m confident that working together, we can achieve a lot for New Zealanders – better infrastructure and more resilient communities, all at an affordable price for ratepayers.
