Yes, we definately need encouragement to build smaller and more affordable homes. The market in Auckland has not done that - I had 8 years processing Land Use consents for Auckland Council and there were lots of houses being consented, but the majority of them in the North Shore area were at least 4 bedrooms and 5 or 6 bathrooms. They were basically "show off houses" for migrants and had no appeal (or affordability) for anybody else.

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!

Unless you have good control of spending in a referendum, it can become an means for the rich to "purchase" legislation, or, an outlet for foreign manipulation. It was obvious that a lot of American fundimentalist megachurch $$$$$ flowed into Australia to support the "No" campaign. Probably not such a problem for us with one on cannabis reform, but anything like marraige equality or euthenasia will attract the attention, and the deep pockets of those who consider that there should not be separation of Church and State.

I think that a lot of their systems are so poor that even if they have Comms staff, the ability for anybody to find out what is going on is very limited. In my recent scrap with AT over yellow lines outside my house I was given 3 bits of completely wrong information in the space of 2 emails. After a bit of pushback, the positions on all 3 things were completely reversed. The AT staff member did not even seem to have access to information which would tell them whether or not a particular bit of road marking had been done by an AT contractor. First, they told me it had not, and when I responded that I found it unlikely that 3 days after I lodged a request for the yellow lines to be repainted, some random person with all the equipment just turned up and did it, they backtracked and admitted that yes, they had done it. Garbage in will give you garbage out.

Any evidence that the Greens asked for an electoral accommodation when they plunged in the polls? Also, distancing yourself from someone on an electoral suicide mission is not an improper thing to do.

At least he had got into a psych bed. I was at the District Court a couple of weeks ago when a lawyer brought in a client to see the Courts people about his bail. He was obviously very mentally unwell. She was going through his dates for Court etc which included an appointment at a Clinic in June. This was the begining of May. I bet by June he will be sicker and probably been arrested a few more times. At least he did have a bed in a boarding house.

Wasn't that Hobsonville? A good mix of social housing and private housing - scotched by Key as soon at the NACTs came into office.

You can apply for a Land Use consent over any land - whether you own it or not.Of course, you cannot utilise a consent unless you have the right to access the land. Getting an area designated as a SHA, and getting a development approved on it, can dramatically increase the value of the land, and as the consent runs with the land, you can sell the land with the consent in place.

MOE is a requiring authority. They can do pretty much what they like for education purposes on land designated by them for that use. They put in an Outline Plan of Works to show what they want to do, and Council then has 20 working days to either accept it or suggest changes. It is not a Land Use consent process.