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@taniwharugby said in NZ Politics:
@victor-meldrew we all good, no flu here!
Yep. One of the key reasons given for relaxing the restrictions in the UK was to allow things like the flu virus to spread and build up immunity in the summer months when it's way less dangerous. Modelling showed up to 200% more flu deaths if restrictions hadn't been stopped.
Difficult one for governments to manage.
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@taniwharugby so those assets were purely funded via rates? Not central govt + regional govt + rates (to be fair that is a tangle of funding I know little about). They don't say much about the state of those assets either - just because they don't have debt against it currently doesn't mean the system is in good nick, or that they won't have to borrow for future work.
Not to sideline the mighty WDC but they could well be an edge case in terms of debt v assets. No doubt at all that some regions are doing better than others - but at a macro level we are way behind. -
@paekakboyz They have just finished building a brand new treatment station, have spent alot on the infrastructure the past 10-20 years improving all 3 of the water systems (drinking, stormwater, sewerage)
As the debt part, not overly relevant though is it? I mean if I owe $500,000 on my house that is worth $1,000,000 and someone wants to buy it for $300,000, thats not a great deal is it?
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@taniwharugby said in NZ Politics:
Maybe the Govt could just set up a Regulatory board to assist in management, not steal assets from Councils....
Running out of things to borrow against?
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@taniwharugby said in NZ Politics:
@paekakboyz They have just finished building a brand new treatment station, have spent alot on the infrastructure the past 10-20 years improving all 3 of the water systems (drinking, stormwater, sewerage)
As the debt part, not overly relevant though is it? I mean if I owe $500,000 on my house that is worth $1,000,000 and someone wants to buy it for $300,000, thats not a great deal is it?
If they give it back to you to use then its not so bad. That quote from WDC makes out that the water system will be ripped up and taken away. Only the governance of them is going and you get compensated millions for that (plus reduced running costs for council itself with less meetings)
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@taniwharugby Similar in Auckland. Watercare are just about to finish the 15 km Central Interceptor tunnel at a cost of a couple $Billion to prevent storm water causing issues with sewage into the harbour and Cindy wants to take charge.
@Crucial Same issue as I have with the removal of the DHB's - don't trust central govt to manage things any better. MoH is fucking useless why would we put those fluffybunnies in charge. Waka Kotahi have fucked up everything they've touched in Auckland.
So yeah - I get the Councils' reluctance.
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@dogmeat said in NZ Politics:
@taniwharugby Similar in Auckland. Watercare are just about to finish the 15 km Central Interceptor tunnel at a cost of a couple $Billion to prevent storm water causing issues with sewage into the harbour and Cindy wants to take charge.
@Crucial Same issue as I have with the removal of the DHB's - don't trust central govt to manage things any better. MoH is fucking useless why would we put those fluffybunnies in charge. Waka Kotahi have fucked up everything they've touched in Auckland.
So yeah - I get the Councils' reluctance.
Fair enough. I don't see the MoH having any more to do with running the system than they currently do. They provide funding, policies and governance. IMO it is a quality over quantity argument and the disparity over performance among DHBs can be better by utilising the cream of the crop among them. Not to mention the cost savings (if they get it right) that can go into investing in outcomes rather than operation. That's the hope anyway.
I don't really understand the water thing to be fair and only see it as this same argument that we are wasting so much money and effort by having so many 'small operators'..
I will totally concede that having them run by public servants would be a disaster.
Oh, and WK is a basket case organisation that doesn't know it's arse from it's elbow. That can all be traced to some very bad decisions and management.
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@crucial the worst performing DHB in the country also happens to be the one that has amalgamated.
I'm actually all in favour of a smaller number but three is too few IMO.
Funding, policy and governance are the three biggest failures of the NZ health system. I deal with both DHB's and MoH on a daily basis. It's interesting but I know which has the slenderest grasp of reality.
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https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/already-have-a-visa/one-off-residence-visa
This looks like a good move.
I know councils like to call water infrastructure "assets" but they look like multigenerational liabilities to me - can't actually sell them, they can't be repossessed, and you have to maintain and replace them.
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@godder said in NZ Politics:
https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/already-have-a-visa/one-off-residence-visa
This looks like a good move.
I know councils like to call water infrastructure "assets" but they look like multigenerational liabilities to me - can't actually sell them, they can't be repossessed, and you have to maintain and replace them.
Is that the approved narrative Labour fanboys are using to convince themselves this is a good idea ? . Let’s see how you feel when National get back in power and start using this legislation to pork barrel wins in marginal seats .
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Gary Judd did an interesting column on the Three Waters scheme a month or so back.
https://www.garyjuddqc.com/post/ideological-government-indulging-sectional-political-constituency
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@jc said in NZ Politics:
Gary Judd did an interesting column on the Three Waters scheme a month or so back.
https://www.garyjuddqc.com/post/ideological-government-indulging-sectional-political-constituency
Same approach they are trying for the DHBs.
South Africa had a well known term for this sort of policy.
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Meanwhile, in other political news, Billy TK is being charged with Electoral Act breaches and obtaining with deception in relation to the election last year.
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How can this be OK? The government announced a $785m bridge that was immediately derided by pretty much everyone, then later on simply cancelled it but not before Waka Kotahi kicked off a project that has consumed $50m so far, with more to come. When will they realise that what they say has consequences?
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@jc said in NZ Politics:
How can this be OK? The government announced a $785m bridge that was immediately derided by pretty much everyone, then later on simply cancelled it but not before Waka Kotahi kicked off a project that has consumed $50m so far, with more to come. When will they realise that what they say has consequences?
In fairness, the project has been going for a while. It just ballooned from an original 'sling a walkway under the clipons' to a tube, the landing areas needed to be sorted out, and then the bridge couldn't handle the loading.
The spend on the random cycle bridge would be a small proportion of the other work going on in the background for a few years (including paying for IP for the bridge concepts)
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@jc said in NZ Politics:
@nzzp Don’t you only pay for IP if you use it? Otherwise all you are paying for is time and materials. $50m is a lot of t&m.
I think the sequence was that Bike Auckland developed concepts for the cycle/walk connection, which Waka Kotahi then picked up, and the architects involved went 'hey that's our IP you can't use that'. And then some $$$ were negotiated (I thought a few million, certainly not 50).
I'll put the boot into this government when needed, but my point was the $50M spend almost certainly largely predates the Shiny Cycle Bridge announcement.
Edit: Google says $1.6M requested
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/111924004/skypath-trust-set-to-demand-16m-nzta-payment-after-unauthorised-use-of-designs -
Unfortunate timing but I would guess this has been in the works for months.
NZ Politics