Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Protecting privilege in Epsom

TracyMac

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 15:13:58 +1200

Regarding the effect on pepper-potting on urban Maori communities, yes, it makes a significant difference when the faces you see around you are mostly brown, and the culture is embedded in THE community culture as a whole – not just the "other" or a token. I'm not at all surprised…

william blake

Fri, 25 May 2018 19:27:06 +1200

I wonder how many people in Epsom have rental property portfolios, that charge 'market rents', that result in poverty, mental illness and the need for state intervention in the property market.

Downbeatdan

Fri, 25 May 2018 10:13:17 +1200

:-)

Sacha

Thu, 24 May 2018 08:52:53 +1200

Disability advocates have a history of being 'nice' and look where that has got a movement easily eclipsed by others representing far smaller numbers.

Hilary Stace

Wed, 23 May 2018 19:21:34 +1200

Good question.

Sacha

Wed, 23 May 2018 18:36:09 +1200

I would hope universal design be incorporated into all new builds and therefore accessible to everyone

We deserve more than 'hope' – when will this be a compulsory standard?

Hilary Stace

Wed, 23 May 2018 16:28:23 +1200

I went to watch Question Time in Parliament today. It's so nice and still slightly unreal to see Jacinda as PM and those three parties in Government working together. A question came up on this issue and among various exchanges Phil Twyford said 6 units would be specifically for disabled…

Craig Young

Wed, 23 May 2018 13:42:31 +1200

Brilliant article, Russell. One of your best ever!

Kim Meek

Wed, 23 May 2018 13:11:15 +1200

Ugh . . .
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12053090

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 23 May 2018 12:50:55 +1200

Meanwhile in Chchch, the 'legacy' of Hekia Parata's tinkering has resulted in Shirley Boys' High and Avonside Girls being shifted out of Shirley/Richmond and away from the Avon – co-habiting on the old QEII Stadium site in the North Eastern bog areas.
People living in Avonside and Shirley are now…

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 May 2018 12:08:21 +1200

I grew up in times when state housing was in almost all suburbs – “pepper-potting”. It was tough being a poor kid at a prosperous school, but if you weren’t the only one, it wasn’t too bad.

Importantly, those schools were well-resourced and you got to see some of how…

TracyMac

Wed, 23 May 2018 11:53:57 +1200

And what gets me about the "I worked hard" line is the amazing arrogance that goes with it.

So apparently those people who work 2 or 3 minimum wage "part time" jobs (since rosters are carefully constructed to avoid creating full-time workers) in factories, cleaning, fast food etc etc etc,…

TracyMac

Wed, 23 May 2018 11:45:09 +1200

Well played. :-)

mpledger

Wed, 23 May 2018 11:35:00 +1200

Mark Richardson said:
"I've worked hard all my life and I've put my nuts on the line. I've tried to optimise every opportunity, I screwed myself to the wall to get into the eastern suburbs of Auckland."

It makes his opinions even less relevant – how can we trust anything…

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 May 2018 11:17:24 +1200

Meanwhile, professional shithead Mark Richardson:

"I've worked hard all my life and I've put my nuts on the line. I've tried to optimise every opportunity, I screwed myself to the wall to get into the eastern suburbs of Auckland.

"I don't then want [Phil] Twyford coming in and going 'we'll…

Russell Brown

Wed, 23 May 2018 10:53:59 +1200

Mental Health Foundation slams David Seymour's 'stigmatising' letter

andin

Wed, 23 May 2018 09:56:43 +1200

rich crazy people
Or in this case the Epsom Echo Chamber.

Tom Semmens

Wed, 23 May 2018 07:02:54 +1200

The myth of egalitarianism in this country is a poison that allows us to pretend that Jack is still as good as his master and we don’t have to face the cultural and social elephant in the room.

Roger Douglas and his mates main success was to turn a uniquely…

Kumara Republic

Tue, 22 May 2018 20:35:56 +1200

On the other hand, controversy over high-rise apartments in Auckland isn't new. These 2 Ponsonby apartments from the mid-late 1980s are still standing today.

Top Half: Excerpt – Ponsonby development controversy

Russell Brown

Tue, 22 May 2018 20:20:46 +1200

That is ACT policy isn’t it?

Barry97

Tue, 22 May 2018 19:35:32 +1200

I always thought that Epsom should get the opportunity to try out removing zoning from their 2 grammar schools and allow all the South Auckland kids to bus in. That is ACT policy isn't it?

Michael Meyers

Tue, 22 May 2018 19:29:03 +1200

This RMA hypocrisy is astounding but not surprising. I guess they’re just showing that only rich people should benefit from “freedom”.

Kumara Republic

Tue, 22 May 2018 19:22:41 +1200

What David Seymour and his blindly loyal constituents want is exclusionary zoning that's tantamount to redlining, as it's known in the States. It amuses me no end that those who keep slapping us on the head about the virtues of free markets, suddenly become big-government statists at the very mention…

simon g

Tue, 22 May 2018 18:27:42 +1200

When I lived in Epsom I used to resent these people coming into our community. Some of them had been involved in crime and other anti-social behaviour, even spending time in jail. They took advantage of the taxpayer and had little regard for the rest of society.

But the National…

Joe Wylie

Tue, 22 May 2018 18:16:32 +1200

I grew up in times when state housing was in almost all suburbs – "pepper-potting".

Most of those micro-enclaves in "better" suburbs were wiped out during the Shipley era policy of "market rentals". From the financial inducements offered to some stubborn tenants by developers and their agents, it seems that…

Sacha

Tue, 22 May 2018 17:59:05 +1200

The Party that wants to scrap the RMA and allow people more "freedom" to build what they want on their own land – now complaining about what some organisation wants to build on their own land.

Lil Seymour has been running that contradiction for years. Shameless.

Lindsey Rea

Tue, 22 May 2018 17:50:06 +1200

The Party that wants to scrap the RMA and allow people more "freedom" to build what they want on their own land – now complaining about what some organisation wants to build on their own land. You could not make this shit up!

izogi

Tue, 22 May 2018 17:41:38 +1200

Thanks for the excellent summary, Russell.

Just on this closing:

Perhaps the party should just surrender its founding conceit and be done with it.

I can't speak for others, but my impression's been that ACT did that a long time ago. The values aren't strong when you can keep a…

TracyMac

Tue, 22 May 2018 17:38:02 +1200

I grew up in times when state housing was in almost all suburbs – "pepper-potting". It was tough being a poor kid at a prosperous school, but if you weren't the only one, it wasn't too bad.

Importantly, those schools were well-resourced and you got to see some of how…

James Littlewood*

Tue, 22 May 2018 14:52:06 +1200

Love the bit about

ask questions, voice concerns and make suggestions

Why not throw in a swimming pool?

Helga

Tue, 22 May 2018 14:37:54 +1200

That attitude – I PAID for my privilege- was also expressed at a pre-Unitary Plan I went to in Mt Eden. When a very intelligent-sounding (no mental health problems!) young man dared to say he’d love to buy an apartment near his work in Mt Eden – a woman got…

Tinakori

Tue, 22 May 2018 14:16:04 +1200

I wouldn't wax too lyrical on David Seymour's opposition to a social housing development in his electorate. He is by no means the only MP in Parliament to have objected to social housing developments over the years. It's a multi-partisan point of view when it affects electorate MPs. Some might…

Tim Michie

Tue, 22 May 2018 12:30:02 +1200

Seymour’s nonsense doesn’t reflect the whole electorate at all. My homes of nigh on 20 years fall within the boundaries and we’ve had former institutional patients accomodation, alcohol and drug recovery houses and paitients, admittedly some more disturbing to residents than others, but without harm. Currently hostel accommodation partying is…

Grant McDougall

Tue, 22 May 2018 11:57:25 +1200

Last week there was a story on Newshub about a rumour that National was not going to give Seymour a free pass in Epsom next election.
When asked about this, Simon Bridges was very vague and non-committal about continuing the free pass.
I can't remember exactly what he said, but…

linger

Tue, 22 May 2018 11:28:06 +1200

the local residents are quite capable of scaremongering themselvesthough as the local residents constitute the largest concentration of Act (in effect, Seymour) voters in NZ*, that is not necessarily an independent data point.

* ignoring DWTS (or did people just vote to prolong his embarrassment?)

Russell Brown

Tue, 22 May 2018 11:01:32 +1200

A copy of the letter.

Public Address

Tue, 22 May 2018 11:01:31 +1200

Discussion from blog post.