Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[miket12]

BNZ have now dropped their 6 and 18 month and their two- and three-year mortgage rates ahead of Thursday's OCR announcement. They'd previously dropped their one-year mortgage rate.

Speculation is that the banks have factored in a 25-basis point drop in the OCR but I personally wouldn't fix until after Thursday in case the RBNZ drops the OCR by 50 basis points.

We've got two mortgages on the rental property... one is off set against our "rainy day fund" and the other came of fixed on to floating at the end of September. We're waiting until after the OCR announcement to see if the banks move further in interest rate drops and whether we'll fix for 6 or 12 months. Isn't it fun playing the mortgage interest rate game? No really.... but at least they're heading down and not up!!!

 

[jonesy101]

If One.nz have any sense they should remove every character from those stupid ads. Brother from another udder and the man munching on a biscuit can stay though.

 

[miket12]

The hatred on Winne at the moment is nothing compared to what a number of developers/builders in Auckland are feeling towards Chris Bishop and the Auckland mayor/councilors at the moment.

A bit of background. Under the previous government (and in consultation with National), Megan Woods released a town planning proposal for councils to adopt called Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) which allowed for greater intensification by allowing up to three houses to be placed on a site and up to three Storeys high without requiring a Land Use resource consent.

Auckland council then put into place Plan Change 78: Intensification (PC 78) which allowed for large parts of Auckland to be changed from the zoning requirements of the old district plan (called the Auckland Unitary Plan). Even though PC 78 hadn't been fully implemented, Auckland Council started accepting developments for the changed zoning requirements.

Then there was the general election and National and the other coalition partners decided that the MDRS didn't go far enough... they wanted Councils to allow for even greater intensification by, amongst other things, allowing for taller apartment buildings within walking distances from train stations, transport hubs and "city centres".

This meant, that last month, Auckland councillors voted to accept Plan Change 120 (PC 120) as a replacement to PC 78. The problem is that when they kicked PC 78 to the curve, ALL buildings designed to it (and the MDRS) instead had to comply with Auckland Unitary Plan. This means, any resources consents currently under review by Council now have to be changed back to the Unitary Plan requirements which, in most cases, only allows for two dwellings on a site without a Land Use resource consent and can only be two storeys high.

Any dwellings that are currently under construction or with a building consent will need to have a Certificate of Compliance applied for before 9 October. In most cases, neighbours permission (good luck getting that if the neighbour didn't want a three storey dwelling built beside them) will be needed for Council to issue a Corticate of Compliance.

The happiest people are Auckland City town planners who now have a huge number of Resource Consent applications to work through and surveyors/private town planners as they apply for resource consent dispensations for all the developments currently underway.

There are some extremely pissed off developers out there who have spent thousands on documentation for developments which now may be useless!!!

 

[Worried2Death]

It is allegedly worse than a baby was found at the camp

Worse? There's not much worse than that, must be fukn horrific if true.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Worse? There's not much worse than that, must be fukn horrific if true.

Pregnant again?

 

[defensivebomb]

Pregnant again?

Even worse than that.

Wearing a Cronulla jersey

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Are all the posters outraged at Colberts show being cancelled (blaming Trump) also outraged at Stuart Nash being cancelled by the left for his crude description of a woman?

 

[Bay39er]

Pregnant again?

..

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Who’s over council rate increases?

Rates can’t keep growing higher than the overall economy, inflation and wages.

We accepted 10% rises when it was from $1000 to $1100. $100 a year is manageable. When rates compound and go from $8k to $10k it’s unsustainable.

I’m voting for any candidate in elections that will reduce rates, even if they are in all other ways incompetent. Councils can collapse as far as I’m concerned. The system relies on ever growing promises and is unsustainable.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

The hatred on Winne at the moment is nothing compared to what a number of developers/builders in Auckland are feeling towards Chris Bishop and the Auckland mayor/councilors at the moment.

A bit of background. Under the previous government (and in consultation with National), Megan Woods released a town planning proposal for councils to adopt called Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) which allowed for greater intensification by allowing up to three houses to be placed on a site and up to three Storeys high without requiring a Land Use resource consent.

Auckland council then put into place Plan Change 78: Intensification (PC 78) which allowed for large parts of Auckland to be changed from the zoning requirements of the old district plan (called the Auckland Unitary Plan). Even though PC 78 hadn't been fully implemented, Auckland Council started accepting developments for the changed zoning requirements.

Then there was the general election and National and the other coalition partners decided that the MDRS didn't go far enough... they wanted Councils to allow for even greater intensification by, amongst other things, allowing for taller apartment buildings within walking distances from train stations, transport hubs and "city centres".

This meant, that last month, Auckland councillors voted to accept Plan Change 120 (PC 120) as a replacement to PC 78. The problem is that when they kicked PC 78 to the curve, ALL buildings designed to it (and the MDRS) instead had to comply with Auckland Unitary Plan. This means, any resources consents currently under review by Council now have to be changed back to the Unitary Plan requirements which, in most cases, only allows for two dwellings on a site without a Land Use resource consent and can only be two storeys high.

Any dwellings that are currently under construction or with a building consent will need to have a Certificate of Compliance applied for before 9 October. In most cases, neighbours permission (good luck getting that if the neighbour didn't want a three storey dwelling built beside them) will be needed for Council to issue a Corticate of Compliance.

The happiest people are Auckland City town planners who now have a huge number of Resource Consent applications to work through and surveyors/private town planners as they apply for resource consent dispensations for all the developments currently underway.

There are some extremely pissed off developers out there who have spent thousands on documentation for developments which now may be useless!!!

I have to renew a waste water (septic) consent in Auckland as it’s been in place for 15 years. $4k council fees, $5k for an engineer, $1k in testing and other costs.

The system has been tested every month, serviced independently every 6 month, never had an issue or exceeded its design. Someone make it make sense!

Were all paying for this red tape as highly qualified people are employed doing irrelevant tasks. People wonder why the cost of living is so high in NZ and businesses are closing everywhere.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Heads up, I pay $1000 per year for servicing and council monitoring of a small commercial septic system in Auckland.

The council is now making rural Auckland properties get their septic system serviced and overseen and approved by council. At the moment it’s free (first year). Give it a few years and another ‘user pays’ charge will be passed on as council sticks their nose in where it’s not needed.

Add it to the pool monitoring fees, dog registration, commercial building WOF checks, etc that keep council people employed at our cost.

The creeping red tape is enough to make me start researching how to become a sovereign citizen

Council rant over. Get them under control National!

 

[defensivebomb]

Are all the posters outraged at Colberts show being cancelled (blaming Trump) also outraged at Stuart Nash being cancelled by the left for his crude description of a woman?

I suspect Nash has been told to get out there with loose lips and rebrand himself. It doesn't really look like he is reining it in - quite the opposite. Looks like he is courting a type of voter

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

I suspect Nash has been told to get out there with loose lips and rebrand himself. It doesn't really look like he is reining it in - quite the opposite. Looks like he is courting a type of voter

Winston, Jones and now Nash playing politics Trump style!

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Thought for the day:

The Greens see colonised peoples (like māori or Palestinians) as having had their sovereignty violated, the right to self-determination and the right to their land and culture.

Yet simultaneously they argue that individuals have a right to move freely and are hence, pro immigration and anti nationalistic (burn flag) values.

Square this circle…