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Ready to home-print. The latest and previous issues of LETTERBOX. 

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QUOTABLE QUOTES

 

“When you have something to say, silence is a lie.”

 – Anon

CBD CHARM OFFENSIVE

 It seems the WDC has embarked on a good news charm offensive to restore confidence in the Central Business District. Several positive stories have appeared in the Northern Advocate recently, and it is indeed encouraging to hear that some CBD retailers are doing well and living up to the Council’s Loving it Here motto.

Positivity is welcome, but it should come with a dose of reality. Empty shops remain a very visible feature of the CBD, and decades of plans and strategies have failed to reverse the decline.

IS A BIGGER COUNCIL BETTER?

Guest column by Muriel Newman, founder of the New Zealand Centre for Political Research

The Coalition’s proposed shakeup of local government is well underway, with councils being asked to decide the shape of future mergers. But New Zealand has been here before — and there are important lessons from the past.

In the 1980s, New Zealand had around 850 local authorities. Communities also had an effective veto over amalgamations: if 15 per cent of voters petitioned for a referendum, a proposed merger could be defeated.

SILENCE TO MINISTER’S DIRECTIVE

 In the last issue of LETTERBOX, we reported that on the 30^th of June, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts had written to local councils raising concerns about the continued use of RCP8.5, which the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has dismissed as “implausible”.

He said, "...the Government does not consider it appropriate for worst-case assumptions to become the default basis for investment decisions that impose significant costs on current and future ratepayers."

T2 FOLLOW UP

In the April issue of LETTERBOX, we raised concerns about the T2 bus lane between Kamo and the CBD, following criticism from businesses affected by the changes. We asked Brad Flower, Chairman of the Whangārei District Council (WDC) Infrastructure Committee, for an update on the project. Here is his response:

CR APOLOGIES, WELL SORT OF

 The Kaipara Lifestyler has reported that a WDC councillor has apologised for posting an AI-generated image showing a human body (representing the Kaipara District Council) being dismembered into cuts of meat and cannibalised by the WDC and FNDC.

The comment “Knives being sharpened as the menu now has a mains on the list, being KDC” was posted to the Kaipara District Council’s official Facebook page by Cr Paul Yovich, the Chairman of the WDC Finance Committee, and given a Like by Cr Brad Flower, Chairman of the Infrastructure Committee.

ELECTION 2026 CANDIDATE PROFILE - GARY PAYINDA, LABOUR

In this, the third of our Meet the Candidates interviews, we put a number of questions to Gary Payinda, Labour candidate, Whangarei electorate. Here is the full list of questions and Gary's response.

 QUESTIONS

1. Do you believe you can make a greater contribution to society as a member of Parliament than you can as an emergency medical specialist? 

MINISTER’S DIRECTIVE TO COUNCILS ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE

 In the last issue of LETTERBOX, we raised the possibility that councils may face legal challenges if they continue to use RCP8.5 to justify their planning rules. This follows the United Nations committee responsible for the emissions pathways used in climate modelling rejecting RCP8.5 as "implausible".

Now, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts has written to local councils raising concerns about the continued use of RCP8.5. He said, "...the Government does not consider it appropriate for worst-case assumptions to become the default basis for investment decisions that impose significant costs on current and future ratepayers."

CARBON COSTS - $60M BAILOUT

 

The Government has handed Fletcher Building a $60 million grant to keep New Zealand's only cement manufacturing plant operating after the company warned that rising carbon credit costs under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) would otherwise force its closure.

Golden Bay Cement, which operates the Portland plant near Whangārei, said the rising cost of carbon credits had put it at a major disadvantage compared with imported cement, which is not subject to the same carbon costs.

Fletcher said an independent assessment found the plant would likely close by 2030 without Government support, leaving New Zealand reliant on imported cement.