Local News – Wellington Water Committee statement

By

-

March 4, 2025

Source: Porirua City Council

[Statement issued on behalf of Wellington City, Porirua City, Hutt City, Upper Hutt City and Greater Wellington Regional Councils.]

Today representatives of the shareholding councils of Wellington Water Limited (WWL), along with iwi leaders, met to discuss the implications of WWL efficiency and value for money reports for water reform.

All members of the Wellington Water Committee agree that it is utterly unacceptable that the operations and maintenance costs incurred by Wellington Water do not represent good value for ratepayer money. Members unreservedly apologise to the people of the Wellington region for the high costs identified and the failure to provide oversight on appropriate practices and organisational culture to ensure competitively priced services.

“The impact on our communities is simply intolerable and it cannot continue,” said Councillor Ros Connelly, Acting Chair of the Wellington Water Committee. “We will be urgently convening a meeting of the WWL Committee where the reports, implications and response can be confirmed, and we will ensure clear accountability going forward.”

All those in attendance reconfirmed a commitment to the need for water reform and for Wellington Water Limited to develop a robust transition plan so that a new entity can start off on the right footing.

“As part of the transition planning, further work will be done to test the cost assumptions being used to inform planning for the new water organisation. These assumptions must be robust and reliable in preparation for our water services delivery plan being submitted by 3 September 2025,” Connelly said.

The Extraordinary Wellington Water Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday at 3.30pm.

MIL OSI

UPDATED: Primary care funding a positive step in the right direction, says College of GPs

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: Royal NZ College of General Practitioners

This statement has been updated to reflect the Minister’s latest announcement made at 1pm today. The updated text is bolded–

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has welcomed the Health Minister’s funding announcement saying it is a big step in the right direction towards building a well-resourced and sustainable primary care workforce.

Increased investment in primary care has long been at the forefront of our members’ concerns and the College’s advocacy work, particularly improving access to GP, rural hospital and primary care services and growing, and retaining, the workforce.

College President Dr Samantha Murton says, “Any additional funding for primary care will ultimately benefit our patients and improve health outcomes, and as specialist GPs and rural hospital doctors who work in the community, this is our priority.

“As we know there are many areas in primary care that need permanent solutions and further investment, and the Minister has shown that he is willing to invest broadly. I hope that by incentivising primary care to nursing graduates they will see the value in what our workforce does and choose to stay in it for the long-term. This will help alleviate nursing workforce challenges especially in rural communities. Pay parity between primary and secondary nursing is what we still need to aim for.

“Providing timely and accessible care for all New Zealanders and the increased availability of telehealth will be beneficial, but it needs to be offered alongside improved support for face-to-face primary care services to ensure continued patient safety. Telehealth fills a niche, not a void,” says Dr Murton.

College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says, “Enabling more overseas doctors to gain general registration in primary care in New Zealand and gain valuable first-hand experience will boost the workforce pipeline. That said, we cannot take our focus off supporting our homegrown workforce. New Zealand needs to attract and retain 300 general practice registrars per year just to maintain GP numbers and investment in the training programme is critical to this.

“The Minister’s latest announcement to increase our homegrown workforce is welcomed by the College. These medical graduates who choose to train in primary care will see firsthand just how important and impactful continuity of care can be at a community level and, we hope they follow the rewarding pathway of becoming a specialist GP.

“Additional support will also be needed for our current specialist GPs who will be supervising these graduates on top of their already busy workloads.

“Investment in strong, future focused and sustainable primary care will reduce the pressure on secondary care. We look forward to further engagement with Minister Brown on lasting solutions that increase access to specialist general practitioners for New Zealanders and thank him sincerely for the steps he has announced.

“The College is pleased to see our ongoing advocacy has been reflected in the Minister’s decisions and we look forward to learning the specifics of this additional funding.”

MIL OSI

Transport – EMA backs congestion charging as Auckland’s traffic woes worsen

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: EMA

The release today of a study on congestion in Auckland adds to the urgency around the introduction of time of use charging, says the Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA).

Auckland’s Cost of Congestion white paper, released by Mayor Wayne Brown, found congestion will cost Auckland $2.6 billion a year by 2026 – factoring in the cost of lost time, as well as impacts like reduced business investment and consumer spending.

EMA Head of Advocacy Alan McDonald says there finally seems to be the political will to implement time of use charging in New Zealand’s largest city.

The government’s Time of Use Charging Bill will be read in Parliament this month, and Auckland’s Mayor has come out strongly in support.

“The EMA has long advocated for time of use charging as it will help maximise the use of existing motorway and arterial corridors around the slowly choking greater city area,” says McDonald.

“The EMA commissioned NZIER to conduct a similar survey in 2019, which put the cost of congestion to Auckland’s economy at up to $1.3 billion annually.

“Things have clearly gotten worse.

“The local traffic modelling in the new report shows Aucklanders now sit in traffic for 29 million hours a year.

“Congestion charging is intended to reduce this traffic and introduce more certainty into travel times on our roading network, but it will also improve air quality and help to fund public transport.

“This means that allowing businesses and tradespeople who need their vehicles to effectively deliver goods and services around the city will have flow-on effects.

“There are also social benefits for residents who need their vehicles to make doctor’s appointments or drop kids at sport practices.

“Moves to charge commuters who travel at peak times will encourage many to use public transport and help the city derive maximum benefit from the City Rail Link when it comes online in early 2026.”

In central London, congestion charging was introduced in 2003 and has helped cut traffic by around 15%.

In Stockholm, where congestion charging was introduced in 2007, it has reduced traffic within the city centre by about 20%.

“Congestion charging has been shown to work around the world and the case for implementing it in Auckland grows by the day,” says McDonald.

“It’s time to put a solid case to residents that time of use charging has social as well as business benefits.

“It needs to be done right, but it also needs to be done with some urgency if we are going to unlock productivity in New Zealand.”

MIL OSI

The Week the World Changed

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: ACT Party

The Haps

Parliament didn’t sit last week, so your property was safe. ACT’s MPs were out, including at the Northland Field Days, Auckland’s Round the Bays, and holding public meetings as far south as Invercargill. This Thursday David Seymour and Todd Stephenson are holding a public meeting in Queenstown, details here, and on Friday Simon Court is in Hokitika, details here.

The Week the World Changed

Lots changed last week, or at least long-telegraphed changes were spelled out more in neon lights than dots and dashes. New Zealand’s insularity is famous, if there was a nuclear war in Europe the Herald would still lead with Auckland property prices, or whether the All Blacks will be free-to-air.

Insularity is all fine, most of the world is a hellhole most of the time anyway. But insularity can’t protect us from all hells, and some of them have got closer in the last week.

The protection we’ve had from the seas and friendly navies is ebbing away, even though we’ve relied on it since humans arrived here.

Part I: Nobody else could get here.

Part II: Only the British could get here.

Part III: Only the Americans could get here.

Depending on your perspective, the British part might be a mixed blessing, but on the whole we’ve built one of the most successful societies in history with little care for our security.

If that changes, we’re going to have very different things to think and worry about. We’ll have to think about confronting others who want to dominate and perhaps kill us for the first time in generations. Even the Herald will need to sharpen up.

The Trump-Zelensky-Vance conflagration was extraordinary. Trump is elected and the U.S. is a sovereign nation. They can act however they like, so we’re not passing judgement. We’re just trying to think through what it means for our sovereign nation. We don’t think there’s enough public debate about this to be ready for the world we’re entering.

After World War I the U.S. went isolationist, when World War II began the German Army was ten times larger than theirs. By the time they had U-Boats off the Eastern seaboard and planes bombing Hawaii, they were arming up again.

After World War II they decided to keep policing the world. It led to an extraordinary period of peace and prosperity (maybe it will be known as the second Elizabethan era, after QEII). Now the Americans are out of that game again. The Oval Office conflagration was perhaps just the neon-lit spelling out of something that’s been coming a long time.

Add that together with the Chinese ‘taskforce’ of three ships (and one sub?). It was not extraordinary, it just hasn’t happened here for a couple of generations. Ships that could easily rain down munitions on New Zealand cities, with there being little we can do about it, is a new thing to living New Zealanders. Perhaps nuclear-powered American ships weren’t that bad after all?

The Cook Islands appear to be shifting their allegiance or at least trying to eat their cake and have it, too. Their comprehensive strategic partnership with the Chinese Government appears to open the Cooks up to Chinese investment and development, as well as resource extraction. It might allow a workforce of Chinese nationals in the Cooks that would give the Chinese Government reason to ‘protect’ them. That would be a crisis.

From a defence and security point of view, the Cook’s gambit is a stationary version of the ships. The Chinese Government is asserting that the South Pacific is in their sphere of influence, and that’s a different proposition from the democratic British or Americans doing it.

It all adds up to our country needing to change footing. Muldoon once said ‘New Zealanders will never vote on foreign affairs.’ We’ve been shielded, but as our shields ebb away, we will need to change our stance.

A lot of questions become much clearer.

Could we afford to ban oil and gas exploration?

Could we afford to shut the country down for an extravagantly long time over COVID?

Could we afford to create a binary state based on a false interpretation of the Treaty?

The answer was always no, but now there is another reason why.

The New Zealand project needs to sort its internal problems with a lot more maturity, so we can face up to external ones. Another reason why we cannot afford a Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori fiasco, and why ACT must keep the alternative Government bold.

MIL OSI

Fresh stats reinforce tourism’s contribution to the economy

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: New Zealand Government

New figures out today again reinforce the importance of tourism to sustained economic growth, Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says.

International Visitor Survey results for the year ending December 2024 show a significant increase of 23 per cent in annual visitor spend.

“These figures are further encouragement for a sector which continues to work really hard to regain its pre-2019 ground,” Louise Upston says.

“While the annual visitor spend is still below pre-pandemic levels, it’s clearly on the rise.

“Today’s MBIE numbers show that international visitors spent $12.2 billion in New Zealand in 2024, including $3.2 billion in the December quarter alone. When adjusted for inflation, this is 86 per cent of 2019 levels.

“The increase in spending aligns with a higher number of international visitors to our shores, up 12 per cent from the previous year.

“Visitors on holiday typically spend more than those visiting for other reasons, and because there were more international holidaymakers in 2024, that drove up the overall spend.

“While different data sets and time periods mean some differences between these figures and those released with the Tourism Satellite Account last week, the consistent message across both is one of positive recovery for tourism in New Zealand.

“The International Visitor Survey is our most up to date dataset to track international visitor spending.

“The Government has a clear priority to unleash economic growth and getting our visitor numbers back to pre-pandemic levels will be critical to that goal. Economic growth is also key to creating more jobs and higher incomes and reducing the cost of living

“The initiatives we’ve already launched under the Tourism Boost package, including those to support our off-peak travel and regional tourism, will ensure that our tourism industry recovers and thrives.

“We’ve recently announced

$500,000 for marketing New Zealand as the ‘go now’ destination for Australians
$30 million to support conservation visitor related experiences
$3 million for regional tourism boost
$9 million for Great Rides cycle infrastructure

“That drive to encourage more visitors was also reflected during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Viet Nam, where Vietjet announced four flights a week between Auckland and Ho Chi Minh City from September.

“There will be more to come. 2025 is our chance to reinforce the value of tourism to a humming, vibrant country, where we welcome anyone, from anywhere, anytime,” Louise Upston says.

MIL OSI

Release: Fewer houses, consents down under National

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: New Zealand Labour Party

The number of building consents issued under this Government continues to spiral, taking a toll on the infrastructure sector, tradies, and future generations of Kiwi homeowners.

“The latest figures from Stats NZ confirm what the construction sector has been warning for months: building consents are down under the National Government. The slowdown is yet another sign that the Government’s economic mismanagement is making things worse for Kiwi households and businesses,” Labour infrastructure spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said.

“The economy remains weak thanks to the government’s cancellation of infrastructure projects, leaving 13,000 construction workers out of a job last year. Every scrapped project means fewer jobs and fewer homes, resulting in rising unemployment, rising homelessness, and the sharpest recession, excluding COVID-19, in 30 years.

“If the Government was serious about economic growth, it would reverse its cuts and invest in public services, infrastructure, and new homes, not axing funding for schools, hospitals, and public housing,” Barbara Edmonds said.

In the year ended January 2025, consents fell to 33,812 new homes, down 7.2 percent compared with the year ended January 2024.

“New homes are getting further from reach thanks to the reckless cuts of this Government. It’s not only public housing that’s been ditched – new privately owned family homes aren’t getting built either. Any promises of homes from Chris Bishop are down the gurgler,” Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“On top of that, National’s $2.9 billion landlord tax cuts have made things worse. Labour kept interest deductibility for new builds to encourage investment in more housing, but National scrapped that, shifting investment away from new builds and back into existing homes. That means fewer houses being built and house prices likely to increase.

“It’s simple: build more public houses so people have somewhere to live. Don’t make living so expensive that people can’t build homes. Housing is the bare minimum that people need to live and it also helps grow the economy by getting more Kiwis into work,” Kieran McAnulty said.

Stay in the loop by signing up to our mailing list and following us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.

MIL OSI

Health – Primary care funding a positive step in the right direction, says College of GPs

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: Royal NZ College of General Practitioners

The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners has welcomed the Health Minister’s funding announcement saying it is a big step in the right direction towards building a well-resourced and sustainable primary care workforce.

Increased investment in primary care has long been at the forefront of our members’ concerns and the College’s advocacy work, particularly improving access to GP, rural hospital and primary care services and growing, and retaining, the workforce.

College President Dr Samantha Murton says, “Any additional funding for primary care will ultimately benefit our patients and improve health outcomes, and as specialist GPs and rural hospital doctors who work in the community, this is our priority.

“As we know there are many areas in primary care that need permanent solutions and further investment, and the Minister has shown that he is willing to invest broadly. I hope that by incentivising primary care to nursing graduates they will see the value in what our workforce does and choose to stay in it for the long-term. This will help alleviate nursing workforce challenges especially in rural communities. Pay parity between primary and secondary nursing is what we still need to aim for.

“Providing timely and accessible care for all New Zealanders and the increased availability of telehealth will be beneficial, but it needs to be offered alongside improved support for face-to-face primary care services to ensure continued patient safety. Telehealth fills a niche, not a void,” says Dr Murton.

College Chief Executive Toby Beaglehole says, “Enabling more overseas doctors to gain general registration in primary care in New Zealand and gain valuable first-hand experience will boost the workforce pipeline. That said, we cannot take our focus off supporting our homegrown workforce. New Zealand needs to attract and retain 300 general practice registrars per year just to maintain GP numbers and investment in the training programme is critical to this.

“Investment in strong, future focused and sustainable primary care will reduce the pressure on secondary care. We look forward to further engagement with Minister Brown on lasting solutions that increase access to specialist general practitioners for New Zealanders and thank him for the steps he has announced.

“The College is pleased to see our ongoing advocacy has been reflected in the Minister’s decisions and we look forward to learning the specifics of this additional funding.”

MIL OSI

Transport – Auckland congestion costing freight companies and customers millions

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Transporting New Zealand Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says reducing congestion will have big benefits for freight efficiency, labour productivity, and emissions reduction.

“The report estimates that congestion in Auckland is costing our trucking members $130 million dollars per year – costs that end up impacting businesses and consumers across the country.

“Congestion reduces the number of trips that freight operators can complete, puts pressure on drivers who are only legally permitted to work a certain number of hours per day, and pressures freight companies to put more, less efficient vehicles on the road.”

Kalasih hopes there will broad cross-party support for sending the Government’s Time of Use Charging Bill to the select committee stage so it can consider improvements to the proposed legislation around freight and supply chain implications and exemptions.

“Getting congestion charging settings right is really challenging, and essential to getting enduring schemes put in place. Only a handful of cities operate comprehensive congestion charging schemes, and there have been many proposals that haven’t gone ahead due to concerns about cost implications and implementation.”

The latest New York time-of-use scheme is currently subject to legal action by the Trucking Association of New York, alleging that trucks are being disproportionately charged.

Kalasih says that Transporting New Zealand would like to see exemptions for freight and goods vehicles permitted by the legislation.

“Transporting New Zealand is concerned that the proposed legislation limits exemptions to emergency vehicles. This is bad news for bus users and road freight businesses who will have to pass costs on to consumers. Overseas schemes allow for wider exemptions that maximise savings for consumers and businesses.”

“Around half of all vehicles in the London charge area are exempt or qualify for a discount.”

Kalasih says ruling exemptions out entirely will prevent an evidence-based assessment being done where schemes operate on key freight routes or around freight or passenger hubs.

He says that Transporting New Zealand will be consulting with its membership on the legislation and making a major submission at any select committee considering the legislation.

About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is the peak national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Our members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.

Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.

MIL OSI

Local News – Porirua celebrating 60 years as a city

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: Porirua City Council

Porirua city is turning 60 this year. We officially became a city on Saturday 2 October 1965 when our population hit 20,000, meeting the threshold (at the time) to become a city.

Today Porirua is home to more than 62,000 people and our city is growing and changing all the time.

It is a vibrant, diverse and welcoming place that is expected to grow to be home to more than 83,000 people by 2054, with an extra 10,000 homes needed.

Porirua Mayor Anita Baker says it’s a privilege to represent Porirua during this milestone year.

“While Porirua has a long and rich history, the period we have been a city is relatively short. Porirua became a borough in 1961 and a city four years later in 1965.

“I was born in Porirua and have lived all but 10 years here. For me, it’s where I live and work and is a place I am proud to call my home.

“A 60th celebration is usually called a diamond anniversary but for me Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour is the jewel in our crown. We haven’t always looked after it as well as we could or should, but the recent signing of Te Wai Ora o Parirua – the Porirua Harbour Accord shows a shared commitment to restoring the special taonga, which our city is centred around,” she says.

We will be marking our city’s actual birthday more formally nearer to the date. In the lead-up to our 60th birthday we’re spotlighting photos of notable events and places in Porirua’s recent history in a #60for60 campaign.

You can see the photos – which are published at least weekly – on our Facebook page or check out our dedicated web page, which gets updated as the photos get published: poriruacity.govt.nz/60for60

MIL OSI

Local News – Porirua Grand Traverse hits milestone

By

LiveNews Publisher

-

March 4, 2025

0

Source: Porirua City Council

Michael Jacques is far too busy to think about popping champagne to mark a significant birthday for one of the region’s most popular multisport events.

When first run in 2006, Porirua Grand Traverse (PGT) had 240 participants testing themselves over, in and around Porirua’s hills, forests, coastlines and waterways. By 2020 the numbers had swelled to more than 1000.

Twenty years after its first iteration, PGT has gone from being a major challenge for serious multisporters to a true festival of fitness and a major community occasion, says current event manager Michael Jacques.

“Porirua Grand Traverse was founded by a group of people who thought the city’s awesome outdoor resources would be a perfect way to showcase the region and encourage locals to explore their back yard,” he says.

“With the fun run, the fun bike, multisport and duathlon races, mountain biking and mountain running, it caters for everyone and we’ve been lucky to enjoy plenty of local support – from Porirua City Council to local volunteer groups, sponsors and families.

“Our motto is ‘all ages, all abilities, all amazing’ – we want PGT to be one of the most inclusive endurance events in the country.”

Local Deb Lynch, a three-time PGT winner, recently took out the iconic Coast to Coast event in the South Island for the first time. Michael proudly says Olympic and world champions have also regularly taken part in Porirua’s big day.

Based at Whitireia Polytechnic, Michael says about 120 volunteers are needed to make PGT run smoothly on the day. Over 20 years, the amazing people who have helped make it so successful is a “staggering” number, with total volunteers numbering well over 1000, he says.

The trust that organises PGT might enjoy a celebratory drink post-race, but for now there’s too much to do before this year’s big day, Sunday 6 April, Michael says.

“Anniversary years are always popular and right now we’re tracking well ahead of previous events.”

MIL OSI