The peaceful hikoi against 1080 is met with a 40-50 strong Police presence & a lawyer giving legal advice says she was assaulted

“A large group of anti-1080 protesters were partaking in a hikoi to Parliament when they were met with an “enormous police presence”, according to lawyer Sue Grey who was among those protesting.”

Sue said she was later assaulted whilst giving legal advice to arrestees.

“Ms Grey estimated there were between 40 and 50 police officers blocking the road from Onepoto Domain as the group were preparing to cross the Harbour Bridge.

“The whole thing just turned ugly in moments from the police conduct,” she said. “It was just unbelievable; it was like walking into a nightmare. They were extremely firm and in some cases physically assaulting people. It was a very frightening scene that I’ve never come across before.” ”  newshub.co.nz

A large Police presence     Photo: News Hub

Remember folk, your government (that is how a corporation & owns the factory that produces 1080) has allowed the rules to be changed to allow the dropping of 1080 into your waterways. I mention corporation because a corporation* cannot & does not  place the interests of you the people above those of the corporation.

“Up until 2017, regional councils issued resource consent certificates to government agencies and contractors that permitted 1080 poison bait to be spread across land and directly into water. However, in 2017, the New Zealand Government changed legislation, and that legislation now permits poison bait to be aerially spread across land and directly into water, without the requirement for a resource consent certificate – effectively excluding the aerial distribution of poison bait, from the protection of the Resource Management Act.” 
SOURCE:  https://www.tv-wild.com/hikoi

It was landing there anyway prior to this change (see here also), however it has now been made legal.

This should be concerning you.

The people on the hikoi have noted this change of tack & are saying in effect, ‘enough is enough’. We do not want our whenua, our land and our water, poisoned with impunity. Listen below here to more of that detail around why.

For further articles here on 1080, go to ‘categories’ (left of news page). Also, visit the 1080 pages for links to other independent info. In particular, see the page titled, ‘Suspected 1080 Poisoning Cases’. There is documented there the history of the Putaruru family who fell ill recently & the ensuing cover up on suspected 1080 poisoning following their hospitalization after consumption of wild pork. See also the case of the young hiker in the South Island who died & whose Doctor suspected 1080 poisoning. Her heart sent for testing, was lost by the authorities! Another cover up.

For on-the-ground coverage, see the many social media groups providing day by day updates, particularly the Hikoi of a Poisoned Nation, Operation Ban 1080, 1080 Eyewitness and No to 1080 Use in NZ groups on Facebook. There is a complete list of the many groups, resources, sites etc relating to 1080 at this link. Note: you will read the independent info & research at these links. It is somewhat different to the official mantra of the alleged safety of 1080 poison.

You can read the News Hub article at the link below:

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/07/anti-1080-protesters-arrested-following-confrontation-with-police-in-auckland.html

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SIGN THE PETITION TO STOP THE AERIAL SPREADING OF 1080

https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/petitions/document/PET_78808/petition-of-josephine-violet-stop-aerial-release-of-1080

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Finally, a must watch for detailed info on 1080, is the 4x international award winning film by the Graf brothers. (This is their website, you will also find them on Youtube).

 

TheGrafBoys

Published on Dec 3, 2013

SUBSCRIBE 13K

This New Zealand film has won 4 international environmental awards – but here in NZ, TV channels refuse to play it. Why? Because if they did, there would be outrage and riots over New Zealand’s use of aerially applied 1080 poison. See for yourself …

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Photos: News Hub (header image, Emille Leaf, hikoi organizer, arrested).

*THE CORPORATION is a Canadian documentary film written by Joel Bakan, and directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott. The documentary examines the modern-day corporation, considering its legal status as a class of person and evaluating its behavior towards society and the world at large as a psychiatrist might evaluate an ordinary person. This is explored through specific examples. Bakan wrote the book, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, during the filming of the documentary. If you like this film, please share it with your friends and support the makers by purchasing a full quality DVD at either of the two links below: http://www.hellocoolworldstore.com/ho… http://www.amazon.com/The-Corporation… Official Website: http://www.thecorporation.com

 

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Auckland Council names 25 blocks with cladding cores like Grenfell Tower

We followed the Grenfell Tower disaster (crime) for a time & have revisited it again recently with the anniversary this month. Many of those people are still not rehoused from that shameful gentrification debacle. If you visit the blogs of the Grenfell Action Group you’ll see as is common with these corporate coverups, a long standing battle with landlords/Councils etc over the lack of safety & the fire risk in that tower before & immediately prior to the disaster. I believe also from many reports on the ground that the numbers of fatalaties were also vastly under stated. People were also advised (as is apparently customary) to remain in their apartments, thereby more fatalities occurred. What a crime. Human life – the shameful ‘throw away’ mentality of those who ride on the backs of the poor. The cladding was the cheaper option … it saved money & lost lives. As for NZ, remember the CTV building in the Christchurch earthquake? Nobody has been held accountable for the many lives lost in that building and should have been. And we have similar inflammable fire risk cladding on our buildings? No worries, they have got that all covered we’re told….

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From the NZ Herald

Owners of the buildings have been told about the claddings but McCormick stressed the buildings were not necessarily dangerous to occupy because they had extensive fire protection measures such as sprinklers, alarms and escape routes.

Auckland Council has just released a list of 25 buildings with exterior aluminium composite claddings like the Grenfell Tower in London, where a fire last year killed more than 70 people.

But the council stressed the Auckland buildings with the flammable polyethylene cores in their claddings are not necessarily dangerous because they have other means of fire protection.

The huge Waitakere Stadium at Henderson, certain Auckland Hospital buildings in Grafton, Spark’s four-building campus in Victoria St, large residential blocks in the Viaduct and CBD, the huge PwC building on the city’s waterfront, TVNZ’s headquarters on Victoria St, Auckland University’s Owen Glenn Building and many apartment blocks appear on the list.

After a Herald official information request, the council named 116 buildings it said “appear to utilise ACP cladding to some extent”.

“In some cases the cladding material has a modified fire resistant core. Far fewer cases have cladding with a combustible polyethylene core,” said council building consents general manager Ian McCormick.

Apartment buyers warned of 13 towers

“The extent and use of ACP on the buildings varies considerably from the full facade, to decorative features only and many buildings examined did not contain ACP at all,” he said.

Owners of the buildings have been told about the claddings but McCormick stressed the buildings were not necessarily dangerous to occupy because they had extensive fire protection measures such as sprinklers, alarms and escape routes.

READ MORE

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?

c_id=3&objectid=12068992&ref=NZH_fb

Protesting for justice over the Grenfell Tower crime

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei marks the 40th anniversary of the Bastion Point eviction

And the land grabs continue….if you’re not up to speed with the shameful Bastion Point story here is a NZ OnScreen documentary … information you won’t have learned at school:

Bastion Point – The Untold Story

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Further you can read more at the waitangitribunal website:

The loss of the Orakei block

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Also, from ngatiwhatuaorakei’s website (go there for pertinent commemoration info):

BASTION POINT OCCUPATION TO BE COMMEMORATED ON THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY

Forty years ago, after 506 days of occupation, protesters faced off with members of the police, armed forces and the government over plans to build luxury housing on Ngāti Whātua ancestral land at Takaparawhau/Bastion Point, resulting in 222 arrests.

 

On Friday 25 May, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will mark the 40th anniversary of what has been called a defining moment in New Zealand history.

READ MORE

http://ngatiwhatuaorakei.com/bastion-point-40-years

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And from Scoop:

“Forty years ago, after 506 days of occupation, protesters faced off with members of the police, armed forces and the government over plans to build luxury housing on Ngāti Whātua ancestral land at Takaparawhau/Bastion Point, resulting in 222 arrests.”

On Friday 25 May, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will mark the 40th anniversary of what has been called a defining moment in New Zealand history.

This year, the commemoration honours those who took part in the occupation; providing an opportunity to further reflect on the efforts of those who strove for Treaty settlement and a better future for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.

The stand at Bastion Point is a prevailing benchmark for protest in Aotearoa, which led to the first successful retrospective claim hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal. It is a move that Joe Hawke, leader of the 1977 protest, has never regretted.

“I went onto the Point, not to invite an arrest, but to arrest a wrong, and 40 years on, all of Ngāti Whātua are benefiting from that stand”, he said.

Joe will be part of the events planned for Friday 25 May that commemorate that struggle, foster reconciliation and re-affirm Ngāti Whātua’s footprint on the land in Auckland.

 

READ MORE:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1805/S00099/bastion-point-occupation-to-be-commemorated.htm

Help ‘Anti-corruption whistle-blower’ Penny Bright save her home by midnight 20 April! (DONATIONS PAGE NOW CLOSED)

To help stop the forced rating sale of my home by raising and holding $20,000 Auckland Council outstanding rates ‘in escrow’ with solicitor.

DONATE HERE

LINK TO VINNY EASTWOOD’S FB PAGE LIVE (until midnight 20th April)

I have until 24 April 2018, to get Auckland Council CEO Stephen Town to withdraw from the Auckland High Court, the forced Rating Sale proceedings against my home, or it will be sold.

Time is short.

This is only the second time ever that Auckland Council have applied for a forced Rating Sale against a freehold property.

In my opinion, I am being unfairly persecuted and prosecuted as an ‘Anti-corruption whistle-blower’, for my persistent and consistent efforts to help get full transparency and accountability in the spending of public monies on private sector consultants and contractors.

The amount I owe in outstanding rates, (excluding legal fees and penalties) is $20,000.

Altogether, I am seeking $21,000 on this Give A Little Page, $20,000 to cover outstanding rates (excluding legal fees and penalties), and $1000 to cover the Give A Little 5% service fee.

$21,000 is 2100 x $10

1050 x $20

525 x $40

420 x $50

210 x $100

105 x $200

42 x $500

21 x $1000

(The reason why I have set up this Give A Little page is because a number of people have asked me to do so, because they support my work and want to financially assist.

It has always been my intention to pay outstanding rates, but because I was broke, I would have been able to apply for rates postponement.

However, after an eleven year battle, it has never been my intention to apply for rates postponement, until the ‘job was finished’ and the following details of awarded contracts were available for public scrutiny.)

If I can raise this outstanding $20,000 rates money, and have it sitting ‘in escrow’ (in trust) in the HENDERSON REEVES CONNELL RISHWORTH TRUST ACCOUNT that will help apply more pressure for these forced Rating Sale proceedings to be withdrawn, and for the following details of awarded contracts to be published on the websites of Auckland Council and Auckland Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs), so they are available for public scrutiny:

* The unique contract number.

* The name of the consultant /contractor.

* A brief description of the scope of the contract.

* Contract start and finish dates.

* The exact dollar value of each and every contract, including those sub-contracted.

* How the contract was awarded, by direct appointment or public tender.

The close off day for this Give A Little Page will be 12pm Friday 20 April 2018.

As soon as the $21,000 is raised – I will close this page.

BACKGROUND:

Since 2007, I have disputed and refused to pay first Auckland City Council, then Auckland Council rates, because of the lack of transparency in Council spending on private sector consultants and contractors – their continuing failure to fully comply with the NZ Public Records Act 2005, section 17:

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2005/0040/latest/DLM345729.html

17 Requirement to create and maintain records

(1) Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its affairs, in accordance with normal, prudent business practice, including the records of any matter that is contracted out to an independent contractor.

….

Back in 2010, while I was disputing and refusing to pay Auckland City Council rates, I received a ‘Good Citizen’s Award from the Auckland City Council Eden/Albert Community Board, for fighting to help stop water privatisation and for more transparency in Council contracting.

However, under Auckland Council, my ‘reward’ (not that I choose to do this for ‘reward’) – is to force the sale of my freehold home?

I’ve now attended seven International Anti-Corruption Conferences, and was last year invited to, and attended the 2017 World Justice Project International Rule of Law Forum at The Hague, so I have developed a good understanding of the corruption risks in contracting out public services to private sector consultants and contractors, and I have offered to help Auckland Council and CCOs to finish the job and fully and accurately ‘open the books’.

New Zealand is ‘perceived’ to be ‘the least corrupt country in the world’, according to the 2017 Transparency International ‘Corruption Perception Index’, so arguably we should be the most transparent. But we don’t know exactly where billion$ of dollars are now being spent on the contracting out of so many Council services that used to be provided ‘in house’ by directly employed staff under the ‘public service’ not commercialised/ privatised model.

DONATE HERE

MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE HERE.

https://www.ourplanet.org/greenplanetfm/penny-bright-anti-corruption-campaigner

and

https://www.ourplanet.org/greenplanetfm/penny-bright-is-new-zealand-really-one-of-the-least-corrupt-countries-in-the-world

OTHER ACTION:

A petition to Mayor Phil Goff to ‘Halt the forced sale of Penny Bright’s house’

www.toko.org.nz/petitions/halt-the-forced-sale-of-penny-bright-s-house

Funds raised will go towards the $20,000 in outstanding Auckland Council rates to be paid once ‘the books are open’. In any event monies collected for outstanding Auckland Council Rates, will be paid by the 20th April 2019 – it will be held in escrow till this time. In the meantime I will continue to work with Auckland Council and CCOs to help ensure the above mentioned details of awarded contracts are available for public scrutiny.

Important notice re TPPA ‘consultation’ meetings by MFAT

If you want to slide something under the public radar, do it just before Christmas, a time worn tactic. Important info here on meetings being conducted around NZ on TPPA which by my recollection was a no go for the new government/corporation that let’s face it isn’t really new… please share this info from It’s Our Future       EnvirowatchRangitikei

Our Government and MFAT may think that trying to keep Auckland’s meeting under wraps, and only visiting a small amount of cities is transparent consultation, we don’t. Kia ora koutou This week David Parker and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) are leading a series of meetings around the country to discuss the TPPA. The meetings  kicked off in Dunedin last night, Auckland tonight, Tauranga tomorrow and Hamilton on Thursday see here for more details. In collaboration with The Daily Blog, It’s Our Future is able to livestream tonight’s Auckland meeting. The meeting starts at 6pm and runs through until 7.30pm. The Daily Blog will be hosting the livestream which you will be able to find here. Please share the link out through your networks. Our Government and MFAT may think that trying to keep Auckland’s meeting under wraps, and only visiting a small amount of cities is transparent consultation, we don’t. But we think a livestream of the meeting adds a bit more transparency to the process. Nga mihi nui Chantelle Campbell It’s Our Future Co-coordinator

‘Goodbye to our bees’ – DOC spraying herbicide on Auckland maunga in suburb which paid $50K to be chemical free

Surprized? Our Department of Conservation appears to do anything but conserve. The lovers of 1080 that’s poisoning our entire ecosphere is very fond of glyphosate as well. Our DCs also slather it over everything, roadsides, berms, parks you name it. As always any mention of WHO’s concern it may cause cancer is totally ignored. Clean and green? I don’t think so. Check out our Glyphosate pages for more info on that. (Main menu)
EnvirowatchRangitikei

 

From tvnz.co.nz
An historic Auckland maunga is being sprayed with chemical herbicides to the dismay of surrounding residents who paid $50,000 in rates to keep their parks and reserves chemical free.

The chemical weed spraying measures are being undertaken on North Head mountain in Devonport, on Auckland’s North Shore, which is an historic battlement containing barracks, tunnels and gun emplacements, dating back to 1885.

North Head, otherwise known as Maungauika, is under the management of the Department of Conservation (DOC), who rent offices there, and for the duration of November will be spraying glyphosate, commercially known as Roundup, to combat kikuyu grass.

However, this chemical spraying flies in the face of an initiative which the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board region signed up to last year to pay Auckland Council $50,000 to not use chemical weed sprays in their local board region.

The catch is, the North Head maunga does not fit under the jurisdiction of Auckland Council, and the DOC can spray chemical weed sprays on North Head if they choose.

Department of Conservation sign on the North Head entrance gates notifying of the November chemical weed spraying.

Devonport locals irritated

Local residents on the Devonport Locals Facebook Group are suspicious and irritated about the practice.

“Always was chemical free in Devonport. Growl – naughty DOC,” Gail Ferrif Griffin wrote.

“DOC seem to have a problem with chemical abuse!” Ian Haley wrote.

READ MORE

 

https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/goodbye-our-bees-doc-spraying-herbicide-auckland-maunga-in-suburb-which-paid-50k-chemical-free

Is NZ really one of the least corrupt countries in the world? What you need to know about your District Councils’ modus operandi – a revealing ‘must listen’ interview with Penny Bright

If, like myself, you’ve pondered at the current vagaries concerning our local District Councils, you need to hear this interview. Penny Bright asks the hard questions and like a dog with a bone, standing up for the marginalized, she won’t be sidelined. She expounds on her discoveries on the local governance front and what’s really been going on behind the scenes, away from public scrutiny. When you’ve listened, take a look at our Agenda 21/2030 in NZ pages on similar topic. See also our Local Govt Watch pages (main menu). They’re all related. All things became corrupted with Rogernomics and the big corporate switch that happened back then.
EnvirowatchRangitikei

 

From ourplanet.org

In this interview anti-privatisation and anti-corruption whistle-blower, Penny Bright, talks on issues around the three Cs – Corruption, Contractocracy, and Corporate Welfare, as well as issues around the private procurement model for public services.

Penny says the root cause of most corruption is privatisation. She asks why the Public Records Act is not being fully implemented and enforced in New Zealand.

If New Zealand is truly ‘the least corrupt country in the world’ – shouldn’t we arguably be the most transparent?

She says public transport is not public, and asks what the implications are of a fuel tax.

Penny has been involved in opposing the Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ project and speaks about dubious government and private dealings there.

She talks on the murdered Maltese investigative journalist who exposed the Panama Papers and has found some disturbing New Zealand connections.

Penny also speaks on State Capture, where private interests significantly influence the government’s decision-making processes to their own advantage.”

INTERNATIONAL RULE OF LAW FORUM

Penny Bright, was invited as a NZ ‘Rule of Law’ expert, together with nearly 300 attendees from 75 countries to the 2017 World Justice Project International Rule of Law Forum at The Hague. There she informed the delegates that New Zealand is a “Corrupt, polluted tax haven.

She says, “My political ‘bombshell’ was about NZ’s corruption REALITY, and

in my opinion, New Zealand is a ‘corrupt, polluted tax haven – a banana republic without the bananas’.

READ MORE & LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW:

https://www.ourplanet.org/greenplanetfm/penny-bright-is-new-zealand-really-one-of-the-least-corrupt-countries-in-the-world?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=penny_bright#.WgTYN22RrZk.facebook

The Crown owned Tamaki Regeneration Co. EVICTS 5 grieving children 3 wks after their mother’s death – a not uncommon occurrence we’re told

Since first publishing this, I’ve read several times in social media that this kind of eviction is not uncommon. In a recent post a woman said she has seen a family handed an eviction notice PRIOR to the grieving family’s arrangement of the tāngi of their loved one! This is about as low as one can go. This current post describes the delivery of an eviction notice … and the company has apologized since (having been caught out I suspect) however if there are more experiencing this then it clearly wasn’t a one-off blunder by rogue staff.  Bear in mind also the information that’s come to light from Auckland’s anti corruption activist Penny Bright’s info about the Nats land banking state homes in Tamaki since 2012 to make way for private mansions. If anybody reading this has been similarly evicted, please feel free to add the info (anonymously or otherwise) in comments. Stay tuned as I’ll update this as I hear more.

A young Tamaki family of five aged 12 to 25 were issued an eviction notice with only three weeks to pack up their entire household. This came just three weeks after their mother passed away in their arms following a short illness. The family had lived in their home for ten years. The letter addressed to their mother (then deceased) and hand delivered to the children by the landlord’s employees of Tamaki Housing, who declined the invitation to come in and discuss the notice, is cold hearted and to the point, covering such ‘essentials’ as, leaving the property clean and tidy and emphasizing that other tenants needed the house.

Great stuff Nats. With the devolution of your once caring Housing NZ to this corporate entity, you can really bare your sharp teeth at the bereaved and vulnerable.  Your other corporation WINZ is driving people to suicide. Quite a legacy you’re leaving us.

Photo/letter credit: RadioNZ, supplied by family

You can read the full story here:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/336310/children-told-to-leave-state-house-after-mother-s-death

The appalling treatment this family has received at the hands of this company contrasts somewhat from the profile presented on their website that promises to focus on:

“… delivering an innovative tenancy management approach based on supporting successful tenancies and being responsive to social housing tenants’ needs. THA works alongside Tamaki Regeneration Company (TRC) and other partners to make a positive difference to the lives of our tenants.”

You may be interested to know as per above quote, that Tamaki Housing in a Google search comes up alternatively as Tamaki Regeneration:

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Contact Us | Tamaki Regeneration

http://www.tamakiregeneration.co.nz/contact-us

Complaints. Formal complaints must be made in writing, and will be acknowledged within two working days of receipt. TRC will respond to complaints within 15 …

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Tamaki Regeneration, Crown owned, featured recently here in an article supplied by Penny Bright, activist and independent candidate for Tamaki.

Tamaki Redevelopment Company Ltd’s Crown Shareholders Nick Smith & Bill English

Penny outlines the history of this company and its part in what she believes is the gentrification of Tamaki by property developers. She says in effect that Tamaki Regeneration is:

“… forcing poor people – ‘State tenants’ off prime real estate to make way for private mansions for the wealthy … “

In light of what has happened with this family, this appears correct. In her article she outlines the scam regarding the two companies known as Tamaki Redevelopment Company Ltd, and Tamaki Regeneration Ltd. A must read.

Read her article here:

https://envirowatchrangitikei.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/the-nats-have-been-land-banking-tamaki-state-homes-on-prime-real-estate-since-2012-clearing-out-the-poor-to-make-way-for-private-mansions/

You may also like to read Bryan Bruce’s take on this incident, who first drew my attention to this article. Below the RadioNZ article he posts (that featured here) several people have commented that this treatment of its tenants by Tamaki Housing is not unusual. A common occurrence apparently. They’ve since withdrawn the eviction … for now … cold comfort for these five young people who still have no guarantee they can stay.

In conclusion, all I can say is this is just about as low as any government could go. Remember they (rather the corporation/govt they work for) owns the said housing company. I figured the death of two homeless men in the cold of Auckland’s streets was bad enough … this adds further to the outright ugliness of neo-liberal economics and how it really works for the rich while screwing over the poor. Shame on you Nats.

EnvirowatchRangitikei

 

To Auckland people – important meeting with Health Minister on fluoridation and health supplements! 14th June Browns Bay

Important information from Vinny Eastwood

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman is pushing 2 major rafts of legislation, “Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Bill” which would be better termed “The Mass fluoridation of public water by stealth bill.”
Plus, “The Natural Health and Supplementary Products Bill” which is basically “The ban natural vitamins and give big pharma a monopoly bill”.

Coleman’s having a public meeting at The Marine Center in Browns Bay, 7pm Wednesday The 14th Of June to discuss public health.
We need HUGE amounts of people to turn up!
Many health freedom advocates and people with vaccine injured children are already planning to attend so they can tell their stories and speak out against the dangers of vaccines.
Let’s hope as many people as possible who are opposed to Fluoride come along as well!

The Marine center On Google Maps: https://www.google.co.nz/maps/place/Browns+Bay+Marine+Centre/@-36.7…!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x6d0d3a5c279e922f:0xbc6bb1c81ef1a3a2!2sBeachfront+Ln,+Browns+Bay,+Auckland+0630!3b1!8m2!3d-36.7146804!4d174.7489504!3m4!1s0x0:0x6822ea6b9df9fb91!8m2!3d-36.7133585!4d174.7492768

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Kapiti Coast DC’s sham consultation – see LG’s definition of consultation, it’s not what you think

More (what I call) dodgy District Council goings on here, and just down the line. To learn what LG’s definition of ‘consultation’ is go to this link: https://issuu.com/contrafed/docs/lg_dec_1612_issuu/24 It differs somewhat from the person on the street’s I’d say.

Waikanae Watch

As was observed in several posts last year, the council’s bureaucratic elite spends huge amounts of Ratepayers’ money on expensive outside consultants, usually Auckland based.  Their ideas are then turned into plans and pursued.  Period.

There are multiple ‘consultation’ documents on different topics released each year, full of expensively produced fancy graphics, because there is a requirement under the Local Government Act (see this post) that the public are consulted.  But it’s apparent that the most that can be expected from this process is minor tweaking. The substance will remain unchanged.

What happens after tens of millions of dollars are squandered on useless projects?  No problem, they’ll just tax the Ratepayers even more to repeat that. In the ten years from 2006 to 2016 our own Rates including the water charges went up 61% — general inflation in that same time was 20%.  A real increase of 41%.

What…

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