Category Archives: Housing

Housing, New Zealand, News

Kiwis still on holiday & NZ govt tables bill for improved minimum rental housing standards! – make a submission by 27th Jan. Simple form provided!

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Important information from Laura – ActionStation petition site on making a submission to improve minimum rental housing standards. These submissions close on January 27th, while lots of Kiwis are still on holiday or at the beach! How typical of our current government to table this when folks are too busy or too removed from the information to know about it and/or respond. Please consider making a submission … ActionStation has provided a form to make it easy for you.   EnvirowatchRangitikei

p2503enz

“The government are currently taking submissions from the public on their Bill to improve minimum housing standards for rentals in New Zealand.

This is our opportunity to push for standards that would ensure everyone in New Zealand has access to a warm, dry home.

Will you make a quick submission? It will take 5 minutes.

Do you remember how last year, after a surge of people power (and sadly, tragic stories of sick and dying Kiwi kids) the government announced legislative changes were to be made to our minimum housing standards? Changes like requirements for smoke alarms and insulation in residential rental properties, among other things. [1] 

The Bill that would enact the proposed changes has just been tabled in the House and referred to Select Committee. [2] What that means is that members of the public can now have a say on minimum housing standards for rentals in New Zealand by making a parliamentary submission. The catch is these submissions close on January 27th, while lots of Kiwis are still on holiday or at the beach.

We believe that’s because although the changes proposed by the government have been a very welcome first step on the path to warm, dry and affordable homes for all – The Bill doesn’t go nearly far enough, and they know it.

So we’ve tried to make it as easy as possible for you to make a submission. We’ve spoken to a variety of social justice, children’s health and sustainability experts to get their point of view, and set up an easy to use form to make it really quick and simple for you to have a say on how we can improve New Zealand’s housing for all. Will you take action once again to help improve NZ’s poor quality housing crisis?

Click here to make a submission

We’ve included the expert analysis and recommendations for you to use in your submission; feel free to copy and paste the parts that are important to you, or just use our form to make your own submission. You don’t need to be an expert to have a say. Often a story from your own personal experience can be the most compelling submission of all.

So please, take five minutes to make a quick submission then share this campaign with your friends and family asking them to do it too ➜ www.actionstation.org.nz/minimum-housing-standards

Together we can ensure that everyone in New Zealand has access to a warm, dry, healthy and affordable home.

Thanks so much for caring,

Laura on behalf of the ActionStation team.”

References:

  1. ‘Government strengthens residential tenancy laws’, Isaac Davidson, NZ Herald, 08 Jun 2015

  2. Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and the relevant Beehive Statement.

 

Banking, Corporations, Government, Housing, Money

NZ needs a Consul-General (and a $6.2 mill mansion) in Hawaii because ‘the US has big defense headquarters in Honolulu’ … really?

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Our pretend government aka corporation is borrowing $27 mill a day to keep us afloat, and has spent $6.2 mill on a house that is double the value of surrounding houses. It’s not a house it’s a mansion fit for a king. Our corporation is also flogging off our state housing, whilst many Kiwis are homeless and doesn’t give a toss about kids in poverty. Here then is a blatant example of ‘let them eat cake’. Something has gone terribly wrong with this country that once stamped out poverty and homelessness. Our CEO is a banker folks, he’s not a leader. He simply poses as one.

john-key-swimming-pool-metro-2006

In case you missed it, the corporatization of our nation & its former government departments has led to a bottom line of maximizing profits. People no longer matter.

Read TV3’s story & watch the video ….

Untitled
$6.2 mill mansion for NZ Diplomat

“Would you like to own a $6.2 million house in Hawaii? Good news – you already do. But bad news – the Government has bought the place for a diplomat.

It has inspired Story to start up a brand new segment called Silly Spending.

One of the many real estate ads for the home describes it as “ultimate modern luxury”.

“The crystal chandeliers are a great touch. The whole effect is one of a jewel box.”

It is 570 square metres of exceptional floor plan. It’s about four times bigger than your house, if you live in an average New Zealand home.

It’s got a pool and spa deck and it’s one block from the beach. The house is almost twice the average price of houses around it.

We bought the pad last year for diplomat Rob Kaiwai. He’s New Zealand’s first-ever Consul-General in Hawaii. We set up that posting last year to help out the 14 diplomatic postings we already had across the United States.

If you’re thinking he might need his house for high-powered meetings, that’s what the office in downtown Honolulu is for.”

Watch the video for the full Story report.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/story/62m-hawaiian-pad-paid-for-by-taxpayers-2015092918#ixzz3nABLpqQ2

Corporations, Economics, Housing, Money

Another week of neoliberal economics – (and who cares about the poor?) – from the Daily Blog

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From the Daily Blog in NZ, a thought provoking look at the world of economics where policy fallout on human populations is of no particular importance. Discussing also the incentives (are there any?) for mothers to leave their babies in day care and take up paid employment. Many are apparently worse off for working full time.
Capitalism is not about free competitive choices among people who are reasonably equal in their buying and selling of economic power, it is about concentrating capital, concentrating economic power in very few hands using that power to trash everyone who gets in their way. (David Korten)

By   /   August 29, 2015
“In the world of economics there are no crises, no gender issues, no growing inequality, no precariat hanging on in a fragile labour market by their toenails. No families ‘choosing’ to be cold and sick so they can pay the rent, no mothers  sent to jail for infringing 19th century rules,  no children spluttering up sputum from 3rd world diseases because our  housing is so bad ,no inconvenient  hungry students with enormous debt ….
mansion-411128_1280Thus it was this week on Monday at the 13th annual economists breakfast  at the Heritage hotel in Auckland…

Economists after economist pontificated on whether interest rates and exchange  rates are going up or down and why and the virtues of quantitative easing that didn’t happen soon enough, apparently, except in the US.  Never a mention of fiscal policy, except the bad effects of increase in GST in Japan…
…of course, there was no mention by the economists of high rates of poverty, , casualisation, low pay and uncertain hours, rampant speculative activity in real estate and growing inequality, even though the IMF and the OECD are regularly warning of the dangers…

When the inevitable downturn produces higher unemployment, more foodbank demand, foreclosures and poor-330395_1280widespread mental illness, who asks or cares whether the economic system works for low and middle income people and their children?”

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