There is not going to be anything that will actually change the judicial process that has occurred so far. It is a nonsense to entertain a fantasy that the legal process up to this point actually could be revisited and new charges laid. This is not going to happen. The same as there has been no prosecutation over the CTV building collapse in Christchurch. The standard of proof required is very high and cannot be sheeted down to any one individual as multiple persons were involved inside the mine.
Re-entering the mine has never been considered wise because of the risk of triggering another explosion or fire. This is not what voters signed up to when the government formed a policy prior to the election. It is very questionable that this could be achieved within the government budget.
Of course, if you have an unlimited budget... you dont, there is no commercial imperative to reopen the mine, the original access tunnel was 2 km long and that mine is full of methane and all it needs is some enough oxygen to become explosive and it is a gassy mine with a high proportion of methane. The fact it was fiercely on fire is a big negative which means in all probability a lot of equipment will be needed to control the air inside the mine. Most ventiliation of mining assumes you can suck out all the methane and replace it with fresh air, well as soon as air is introduced there will be enough oxygen to cause an explosion so some way has to be found to get rid of all the methane without it blowing up or catching fire. All this will add to the cost and is not actually that simple otherwise it would never have blown up in the first place.
Labour only campaigned on re-entering the drift. Not the mine itself. Driving a 200 metre tunnel into the mine is probably going to cost a lot more than this, it could easily blow out to $100 million the way the cost continually blew out when the Pike River company was driving in there, there is a fault line with fractured rock.
In Australian mines have been closed sealed up with bodies inside them. Also has happened in NZ. They didnt happen to have a government willing to throw $100 million (probably the 1 cost by the time this is all finished) around because I doubt this will actually give them any more information than they already had, claims the police will reopen the case and take someone to court are fanciful because the police made the right decision because NZ doesnt have a corporate manslaughter law.
I doubt it will go back in production as the coal isnt worth bugger all but they have misled voters by only campaigning that they would reopen the drift as far as the rockfall and now they want to undertake the huge risk and expense of reopening the mine, have the so called experts forgotten this mine exploded four or five times and caught fire and the GAG machine had to be flown in from Australia to extinguish it.
Labour said they were going to open the drift, not the mine itself. A 200 metre tunnel will be very expensive to drill into the mine and they risk it blowing up or catching fire again.
The rest of NZ is not going to fund the cost blowout that is inevitable once this department realises re entry is not a cakewalk. Underground mining fires such as the one that occurred when the mine blew up are extremely difficult to extinguish. The fact that the mine could explode or catch fire quite readily if it is re entered and be very difficult to extinguish has to be a consideration and probably will be material to the process.
I dont believe one word the Mayor says. This has been a big issue for at least two years. Its not like its suddenly popped up and her first reaction was to suspend Cr East.
It starts looking very political, a big photo opportunity for the government on the West Coast but that hundred million that will probably be the 1 cost could actually support a lot of jobs over there.
It was never an election promise to carry out the very risky and expensive procedure of reopening the mine. All that was proposed was opening up the drift to see if there were any bodies in front of the rockfall. Now that tunnel they are proposing to reopen will almost certainly blow out as it is not an easy option to put a tunnel into a mine that is an explosion risk and through fault lines with shattered rock which makes the tunnel more expensive. The Pike River company had a lot of trouble with the fault line and a collapsed ventilation shaft so there is a likely risk of the cost blowing out and the government will be under pressure to keep driving in at more cost just as the Pike River company was.
$1 million per family but it will probably blow out to two or three times that. Now that is a lot of government largesse, how about they give every family in NZ a million dollars, never happen would it.
It pays to do your homework and weigh up the risks. For example Flockton Basin had a notable history of flood issues going back decades. It wasnt a recent thing that they were having floods there, it was just more recent since the quakes.
Perhaps you should reflect on why we have a red zone at all. It exists because poor quality earthquake prone or TC3 land was allowed to be developed without applying the requirements of the Buildings Act. This will probably happen again and history repeat itself as politicians are spineless weak and unaccountable.
Ever since some do gooder decided that councillors should be full time professional politicians in stead of working people with a real job somewhere else as they once were. When the CEO was called the City Manager, The whole idea that some left wing politicians have come up with that a council is run like a business and elected members are full time politicians.
OCHT is a buck passing exercise by the CCC. I guess they want to make as much money as possible due to the fact so many of these council units (Which the council still owns 100% of and just leases to OCHT) are very run down and need major expensive upgrades to bring them to modern standards.
Dalziel just wants to get this issue out of the way before the local governmment elections hence her insistence it is all taken care of within a year. Everyone has to kowtow to her personal interests regardless of cost etc.
OCHT is a separate organisation as CCC only holds 49% shareholding. But since CCC for political reasons were unable to put the rents up too much their much touted reason to enable tenants to qualify for income related rents, is a smokescreen for being able to charge as high a rental as they please and it being out of reach of elected members.
As long as you have wealthy property owners (Cr Gough etc) sitting around the council table pushing for yet more rates money to be pumped into schemes to pump up their developments nothing will ever change. The stadium is an example of this, part of the cost of which will push up rates 60% in the next 10 years.
I think Johnny just wants a more balanced perspective from council because all they have at the moment is the schemes supported by the Goughs and other wealthy property owners calling for large amounts of ratepayers funds to be put into these things to shore up CBD property prices. Rmember Cr Goughs dirty thirty calling out derelict buildings, also an issue but no one said anything about empty land.
Elderly people or those with disabilities will find it difficult to get down the stairs of a moving bus to get ready to get off one stop before. Double Deckers are an attempt to cut costs by reducing the number of buses on a route and should never have been considered as a solution. Increasing the route capacity should be by running more of the existing buses which are much more suited for accessibility than a cheap and nasty double decker solution.
Councillors are responsible for plenty as they often override staff decisions as they believe they are actually competent whereas many of them are political has beens.
MSD does not pay accommodation supplement to anything like $300, the maximum amount would kick in well below that rate, now that CCC has leased these units to OCHT it means the council can pass the buck on whether they are charging reasonable rental, previously a political headache for council officers. Very sneaky.
The government review will be quietly shelved when Labour realises that power prices rose fastest during the term of Helen Clarks government. The reason was that Michael Cullen went to the State owned power companies and got them all to hand over large special dividends to boost the governmments income, these amounts were spent on transport projects.
CCC owns the units but have leased them to this Trust. Clearly, the goal of the council, far from being their tenants qualified for income related rent, was to charge the huge rentals that would be needed to pay for decades of deferred maintenance and upgrades needed to modernise these flats.
I feel for these people, but it should have been well known for a long time that building at Southshore was always going to be fraught. In fact anyone who wants to buy into a sand spit area or one that is so low (having sunk considerably in the quakes) should have been getting advice on the risks and weighed them up. The fact CCC has had such a woeful past record in allowing unsuitable land to be built on should have rung alarm bells. Dont under any circumstances expect you have a right to build a seawall because there is absolutely no guarantee you will be allowed one. That said, everyone is ducking for cover on the fact these designations have been slapped onto this area with no warning and no compensation.
On January 27th The Press reported in this articlehttps://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100938149/did-missed-defects-lead-to-need-for-chlorination-of-christchurchs-drinking-waterQuote Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey says he would have compelled the city council to chlorinate water if it had resisted doing so.In other words the DHB has the power to compel the council to chlorinate the Christchurch water supply. Elected councillors do not have a free vote on this matter.Also search the Press archives you will find the water supply in Christchurch city has been contaminated with E Coli in water samples 125 times in four years.
The problem in local government is the attitude that they are the ones making the rules therefore the natural hazards prone land provisions of the Buildings Act were widely flouted. This would have been grounds for insurers to refuse to pay out in red zone areas which is why the government stepped in with the purchase offers.
correct. also this deal only funds less than half the total cost of the usual gold plated CCC project because the council really believes they sit on a money tree. The other $253 million that the council already committed from its own coffers means more rates rises.
Its called complying with the law of the land. That law mandates building cannot be allowed on land subject to a natural hazard. The regular flouting of this (largely by elected reps who believe they are above the law) created the whole red zone debacle after the quakes and the resulting extensive government bailout.
3.2 cumecs is the minimum flow level for this river. A piffling small amount of water for a river that size. Who is being fooled here, they are demanding the right to drain the river dry.
No, you are arguing the river should be bled dry, 3.2 cumecs is tiny amount to require as a minimum flow. These guys were still screaming blue murder with an earlier proposal for only 1.6 cumecs.
How much liability did the Waimakariri Council have for creating a red zone in the first place? Zero. How convenient they were bailed out by taxpayers and given a get out of jail free card in the first place.
Christchurch now has a joint PT committee made up of the regional council sitting alongside the territorial authorities. For the first time we have a PT plan that was written by all these groups instead of the regional council by itself. There will be calls for more of these joint committees to be set up as people are getting sick of regional councils imposing all these problems in local authority areas by bean counters sitting in their regional offices.
Shame on Indepdendent Citizens claling for asset sales when they know the truth of the situation, that their councillors have voted for large rates increases then they try this smoke and mirrors nonsense as a distraction
Because the city council is not stepping up to do their bit to ensure there are enough roads for the PT network. Wellington is facing a huge problem that the council has their heads in the sand of increasing development with old roads that are carrying higher and higher traffic volumes.
It is the law of NZ that land subject to a natural hazard cannot be built on unless the hazard can be mitigated. CCC allowed a huge amount of historical development on unsuitable land, and insurance companies could have refused to pay out after the quakes, leaving thousands of property owners out of pocket.
Politicians take the rap because they have significant decision making power. The water well heads are example of neglect of core infrastructure that comes back to bite you in the bum because elected representatives have gone to departments asking for endless budget cuts to pay for lolly scrambles and re-election bribes.
This is actually how business is very often conducted by unscrupulous private sector contractors and everyone is getting ripped off, not just the council.
This only covers less than half the cost of the stadium. Further rates rises are needed to fund the $253 million that council already allocated that is not being funded by this deal. It is hardly going to be something that will appeal to residents already facing more than 50% rates increases over the next decade.
If you have a fleet of small buses for off peak times and a fleet of big buses for peak times then it is very expensive to have two fleets of buses that only get used for part of a day. Public transport works in Auckland and Wellington and it can be made to work in Christchurch by having a network that is more focused towards the needs of passengers instead of the nonsense cuts that National has forced primary through a cost cutting approach.
7500 is a ridiculous number of these columns. Someone has got their numbers crossed I think. However it is likely to be a highly suitable treatment but it highlights that a great deal of development across Christchurch was done on unsuitable land for too long.
Do you know that the people calling for asset sales are the ones who have benefited the most from these rates increases. Because so much ratepayer money is going into redeveloping the CBD, where land prices are too high, because it helps prop up those land prices. Thats why we need a huge expensive stadium in the CBD, and why suggestions the stadium and arena in Addington should be extended are not being considered.
There is no need for double deckers, it is a cynical cost cutting move to reduce the number of buses on the routes. Increase the frequency with existing buses.
By their dates they made their land purchase in early 2016. By which stage, the furore over the flood management zoning was already well underway. CCRU were already raising it. Wisdom at the time wouldhave been to have waited until the issue was conclusively resolved.
The red zone payouts intention was to give the council a get out of jail free card to avoid being sued by insurance companies for allowing land subject to natural hazards to been built on. If the CCC had done its job properly in the previous decades those areas would never had been had houses put on them without massive land stabilisation works. Look at the Bexley Wetlands housing development, no special land works needed, houses that effectively broke in half because the land was so unstable. The outcome now is that CCC staff have told the elected reps to pull their heads in and that they have to follow the law instead of rubberstamping approvals for these housing developments.
Just get a bit of a grip on reallty. THe regional council role in public transport is regulated and dictated by central government. These bureacrats actually have to work within the funding limits set by Steven Joyce as the Minister of Transport. They have to make the services fit the amount of available funding.
Chlorination is mandated by the DHBs medical officer. The Council cannot actually stop it, which is just as well considering the idiocy that characterises many public health related decisions made by elected councils.
Sure. All domestic pets, ducks and wildfowl can be exterminated to stop them fouling footpaths that can wash off into the stormwater system and all car washing etc banned. The pollution of our city rivers and streams through waterfowl and stormwater runoff is a known fact of life. That is where the primary risk comes from in the city.
It doesnt actually. The regional Council has no control over the amount of funding available for these servcies. The Minister of Transport makes those decisions. They Government has passed the buck when they are not prepared to properly fund the services which all depend on government subsidies to cover 50% of their costs.
If you mean hubs only 2 or 3 km apart it is a flawed concept that has already been forced in Christchurch due to the cost cutting mentality of previous government.
This is all a whitewash. The Mayor believes she can push chlorination safely out of the way of the local government elections next year by demanding it be fixed within 12 months. Of course, ratepayers may have to fork out big just to guarantee her re election chances. The CCC does not have a free vote on chlorination despite what is claimed, the councillors cannot actually stop the chlorination as they are required to have it by the DHB. So even if it takes longer than 12 months which is quite likely the chlorination will continue regardless.
Windows sucks, but Mac OS sucks even more. I used to maintain both in a school, while my desktop computers ran Linux, which wins hands down. Both MS and Apple have the same mentality of wanting to control your computer.
You cannot simply build the ground up as it will be washed away. Seawalls will not hold the sea back long term. The ground will be eaten away by the sea.
Read https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100938149/did-missed-defects-lead-to-need-for-chlorination-of-christchurchs-drinking-water where this is very clearly stated.
why the stadium is still not started after 7 years - because the main beneficiaries of stadium development are wealthy CBD landowners who happen to sit at the council table. They are actually commiting ratepayers to 60% increase in rates over the next decade even after taking this huge amount of money out of CCHL.
Tell you what mate. The rates subsidy to public transport is no different than the rates subsidy to build roads for all those lovely people to drive their cars on (which cars just happen to clog up with monotonous regularity). Lets see if we charged all the car drivers for the full cost of the roads they want to drive on that public transport wouldnt suddenly become cost effective again.
I think mr irreversible that when these places are like Hector and Granity being washed away by the sea there will then be calls for the council to compensate landowners which there are no grounds for. People who choose to buy land close to the sea are responsible for any issue caused by flooding from the sea, it is just one of the risks to be considered.
The LIM additions were consulted on. The real issue is why elected reps believe they can just hide behind the council staff and duck the issue of compensation.
Central Government funds 25% of the cost of these servies. The Minister of Transport under the last government mandated a cut in the subsidies. That is one of the major reasons for these changes taking place.
Because in those days if a rock came down and killed someone no one cared. And because the roads were very rough and unsealed. In fact the original road was much rougher than the present route with a zigzag at the quarry. You canot compared the road of today with the original.
Surface water contamination within city limits has nothing to do with dairy farming as there are no farms within most of the city limits. It is related to the risk of stormwater pollution which has always been an issue in the whole time the city has existed.
Residents groups like CCRU need to take some responsibility for this situation as they have given 0 hope to residents by promising to fight the flood management plans, Cr East being implicated in this as well. If the council had done nothing, then insurance companies would refuse to insure these properties. Effectively self interest from the existing residents has smokescreened the issue.
The timing might have been unfair, but barely 48 hours after Jacinda Arderns reset speechyeah sure, like that poll was taken the same day it was published was it? Rubbish, it was probably taken before she made her speech. It;s not very honest of Yardley and Duncan Garner to parrot this line that this survey result was a vote on her speech.
Councillors do not have the power to decide whether or not to chlorinate, this argument is facile. The council has been ordered to chlorinate by the DHB as it is a public health matter.
I got a NUC last year. Took it on holiday with me - hardly any more space than a laptop and I could take it with me when I went for a walk away from the camping ground and not have to worry about it being stolen.
The Councillors cannot stop the chlorination of the water supply. The District Health Board has the power to require the chlorination and has used it to require the chlorination of the Christchurch water supply.
What the elected councillors want or ratepayers is irrelevant. The city is required to implement chlorination by order of the Canterbury District Health Board.
Nope. The council should not be obligated to pay a cent towards a property because CCRU and others have fought tooth and nail to avoid the risks being put into their LIMs.
Chlorination is mandated by the DHBs medical officer. The Council cannot actually stop it, which is just as well considering the idiocy that characterises many public health related decisions made by elected councils.
There will be an election next year for all council memebrs. Are you really one of those people who is jumping up and down because it took two years to organise for an election.
Watch as very soon ways will be found to sell and redevelop it for more housing as politicians created the whole red zone mess in the first place by allowing unsuitable land to be residentially subdivided without adequate remediation.
Water NZ had nothing to do with this decision. The requirement to chlorinate the Christchurch water supply came from the Medical Officer of Health at Canterbury District Health Board.
Second tunnel a possibility for re-entry of Pike River mine
Not all of the mining families are in favour of this proposal.
Second tunnel a possibility for re-entry of Pike River mine
There is not going to be anything that will actually change the judicial process that has occurred so far. It is a nonsense to entertain a fantasy that the legal process up to this point actually could be revisited and new charges laid. This is not going to happen. The same as there has been no prosecutation over the CTV building collapse in Christchurch. The standard of proof required is very high and cannot be sheeted down to any one individual as multiple persons were involved inside the mine.
Second tunnel a possibility for re-entry of Pike River mine
Re-entering the mine has never been considered wise because of the risk of triggering another explosion or fire. This is not what voters signed up to when the government formed a policy prior to the election. It is very questionable that this could be achieved within the government budget.
Second tunnel a possibility for re-entry of Pike River mine
Of course, if you have an unlimited budget... you dont, there is no commercial imperative to reopen the mine, the original access tunnel was 2 km long and that mine is full of methane and all it needs is some enough oxygen to become explosive and it is a gassy mine with a high proportion of methane. The fact it was fiercely on fire is a big negative which means in all probability a lot of equipment will be needed to control the air inside the mine. Most ventiliation of mining assumes you can suck out all the methane and replace it with fresh air, well as soon as air is introduced there will be enough oxygen to cause an explosion so some way has to be found to get rid of all the methane without it blowing up or catching fire. All this will add to the cost and is not actually that simple otherwise it would never have blown up in the first place.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
Labour only campaigned on re-entering the drift. Not the mine itself. Driving a 200 metre tunnel into the mine is probably going to cost a lot more than this, it could easily blow out to $100 million the way the cost continually blew out when the Pike River company was driving in there, there is a fault line with fractured rock.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
In Australian mines have been closed sealed up with bodies inside them. Also has happened in NZ. They didnt happen to have a government willing to throw $100 million (probably the 1 cost by the time this is all finished) around because I doubt this will actually give them any more information than they already had, claims the police will reopen the case and take someone to court are fanciful because the police made the right decision because NZ doesnt have a corporate manslaughter law.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
I doubt it will go back in production as the coal isnt worth bugger all but they have misled voters by only campaigning that they would reopen the drift as far as the rockfall and now they want to undertake the huge risk and expense of reopening the mine, have the so called experts forgotten this mine exploded four or five times and caught fire and the GAG machine had to be flown in from Australia to extinguish it.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
Labour said they were going to open the drift, not the mine itself. A 200 metre tunnel will be very expensive to drill into the mine and they risk it blowing up or catching fire again.
Second tunnel a possibility for re-entry of Pike River mine
The rest of NZ is not going to fund the cost blowout that is inevitable once this department realises re entry is not a cakewalk. Underground mining fires such as the one that occurred when the mine blew up are extremely difficult to extinguish. The fact that the mine could explode or catch fire quite readily if it is re entered and be very difficult to extinguish has to be a consideration and probably will be material to the process.
Last government under fire as council seeks to throw off shackles to change district plan
I dont believe one word the Mayor says. This has been a big issue for at least two years. Its not like its suddenly popped up and her first reaction was to suspend Cr East.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
It starts looking very political, a big photo opportunity for the government on the West Coast but that hundred million that will probably be the 1 cost could actually support a lot of jobs over there.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
It was never an election promise to carry out the very risky and expensive procedure of reopening the mine. All that was proposed was opening up the drift to see if there were any bodies in front of the rockfall. Now that tunnel they are proposing to reopen will almost certainly blow out as it is not an easy option to put a tunnel into a mine that is an explosion risk and through fault lines with shattered rock which makes the tunnel more expensive. The Pike River company had a lot of trouble with the fault line and a collapsed ventilation shaft so there is a likely risk of the cost blowing out and the government will be under pressure to keep driving in at more cost just as the Pike River company was.
Pike River re-entry could cost $12m more than $23m budget, minister says
$1 million per family but it will probably blow out to two or three times that. Now that is a lot of government largesse, how about they give every family in NZ a million dollars, never happen would it.
Submissions open on Canterbury public transport plan
Motorists do not pay for local roads. These are funded by ratepayers.
Time for council to drop carrot and pick up stick
The reason they dont have a scheme is because they have CBD landowners sitting around the council table.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
It pays to do your homework and weigh up the risks. For example Flockton Basin had a notable history of flood issues going back decades. It wasnt a recent thing that they were having floods there, it was just more recent since the quakes.
North Canterbury red zone land transferred from Crown to Waimakariri District Council
Perhaps you should reflect on why we have a red zone at all. It exists because poor quality earthquake prone or TC3 land was allowed to be developed without applying the requirements of the Buildings Act. This will probably happen again and history repeat itself as politicians are spineless weak and unaccountable.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Ever since some do gooder decided that councillors should be full time professional politicians in stead of working people with a real job somewhere else as they once were. When the CEO was called the City Manager, The whole idea that some left wing politicians have come up with that a council is run like a business and elected members are full time politicians.
Acute services building delays cause 'significant pressure'
Another case of National Government signs a fixed price contract that pushes all the risks onto the contractor?
Council flats landlord ordered to repay tenants after overcharging for 'dated', 1-bedroom unit
OCHT is a buck passing exercise by the CCC. I guess they want to make as much money as possible due to the fact so many of these council units (Which the council still owns 100% of and just leases to OCHT) are very run down and need major expensive upgrades to bring them to modern standards.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Dalziel just wants to get this issue out of the way before the local governmment elections hence her insistence it is all taken care of within a year. Everyone has to kowtow to her personal interests regardless of cost etc.
Council flats landlord ordered to repay tenants after overcharging for 'dated', 1-bedroom unit
OCHT is a separate organisation as CCC only holds 49% shareholding. But since CCC for political reasons were unable to put the rents up too much their much touted reason to enable tenants to qualify for income related rents, is a smokescreen for being able to charge as high a rental as they please and it being out of reach of elected members.
Time for council to drop carrot and pick up stick
As long as you have wealthy property owners (Cr Gough etc) sitting around the council table pushing for yet more rates money to be pumped into schemes to pump up their developments nothing will ever change. The stadium is an example of this, part of the cost of which will push up rates 60% in the next 10 years.
Time for council to drop carrot and pick up stick
I think Johnny just wants a more balanced perspective from council because all they have at the moment is the schemes supported by the Goughs and other wealthy property owners calling for large amounts of ratepayers funds to be put into these things to shore up CBD property prices. Rmember Cr Goughs dirty thirty calling out derelict buildings, also an issue but no one said anything about empty land.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
Elderly people or those with disabilities will find it difficult to get down the stairs of a moving bus to get ready to get off one stop before. Double Deckers are an attempt to cut costs by reducing the number of buses on a route and should never have been considered as a solution. Increasing the route capacity should be by running more of the existing buses which are much more suited for accessibility than a cheap and nasty double decker solution.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
Councillors are responsible for plenty as they often override staff decisions as they believe they are actually competent whereas many of them are political has beens.
Council flats landlord ordered to repay tenants after overcharging for 'dated', 1-bedroom unit
MSD does not pay accommodation supplement to anything like $300, the maximum amount would kick in well below that rate, now that CCC has leased these units to OCHT it means the council can pass the buck on whether they are charging reasonable rental, previously a political headache for council officers. Very sneaky.
Being cold and rationing heating is now normal in New Zealand
The government review will be quietly shelved when Labour realises that power prices rose fastest during the term of Helen Clarks government. The reason was that Michael Cullen went to the State owned power companies and got them all to hand over large special dividends to boost the governmments income, these amounts were spent on transport projects.
Council flats landlord ordered to repay tenants after overcharging for 'dated', 1-bedroom unit
CCC owns the units but have leased them to this Trust. Clearly, the goal of the council, far from being their tenants qualified for income related rent, was to charge the huge rentals that would be needed to pay for decades of deferred maintenance and upgrades needed to modernise these flats.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
I feel for these people, but it should have been well known for a long time that building at Southshore was always going to be fraught. In fact anyone who wants to buy into a sand spit area or one that is so low (having sunk considerably in the quakes) should have been getting advice on the risks and weighed them up. The fact CCC has had such a woeful past record in allowing unsuitable land to be built on should have rung alarm bells. Dont under any circumstances expect you have a right to build a seawall because there is absolutely no guarantee you will be allowed one. That said, everyone is ducking for cover on the fact these designations have been slapped onto this area with no warning and no compensation.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Nitrate is not cost effective to remove from water supplies, it has to be stopped from getting in to begin with
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
On January 27th The Press reported in this articlehttps://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100938149/did-missed-defects-lead-to-need-for-chlorination-of-christchurchs-drinking-waterQuote Canterbury medical officer of health Alistair Humphrey says he would have compelled the city council to chlorinate water if it had resisted doing so.In other words the DHB has the power to compel the council to chlorinate the Christchurch water supply. Elected councillors do not have a free vote on this matter.Also search the Press archives you will find the water supply in Christchurch city has been contaminated with E Coli in water samples 125 times in four years.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
The problem in local government is the attitude that they are the ones making the rules therefore the natural hazards prone land provisions of the Buildings Act were widely flouted. This would have been grounds for insurers to refuse to pay out in red zone areas which is why the government stepped in with the purchase offers.
Christchurch stadium the big winner from council's plans for Government funding
correct. also this deal only funds less than half the total cost of the usual gold plated CCC project because the council really believes they sit on a money tree. The other $253 million that the council already committed from its own coffers means more rates rises.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
If the land sunk so low in the quakes how did it miss out on being Red zoned like Brooklands
Who is likely to stand as Christchurch's mayor in the next election?
That was Brownlee who also gave the council a get out of jail free card for all the dodgy houses built on unsuitable land
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
Its called complying with the law of the land. That law mandates building cannot be allowed on land subject to a natural hazard. The regular flouting of this (largely by elected reps who believe they are above the law) created the whole red zone debacle after the quakes and the resulting extensive government bailout.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
The final responsibility lies with the regional council to have checked out the numbers before they put the routes into being.
Mayor takes on regional council over proposed 'colossal' blow to local economy
3.2 cumecs is the minimum flow level for this river. A piffling small amount of water for a river that size. Who is being fooled here, they are demanding the right to drain the river dry.
Mayor takes on regional council over proposed 'colossal' blow to local economy
No, you are arguing the river should be bled dry, 3.2 cumecs is tiny amount to require as a minimum flow. These guys were still screaming blue murder with an earlier proposal for only 1.6 cumecs.
North Canterbury red zone land transferred from Crown to Waimakariri District Council
How much liability did the Waimakariri Council have for creating a red zone in the first place? Zero. How convenient they were bailed out by taxpayers and given a get out of jail free card in the first place.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
Christchurch now has a joint PT committee made up of the regional council sitting alongside the territorial authorities. For the first time we have a PT plan that was written by all these groups instead of the regional council by itself. There will be calls for more of these joint committees to be set up as people are getting sick of regional councils imposing all these problems in local authority areas by bean counters sitting in their regional offices.
Council assets might not have been sold – but they have been mortgaged
Shame on Indepdendent Citizens claling for asset sales when they know the truth of the situation, that their councillors have voted for large rates increases then they try this smoke and mirrors nonsense as a distraction
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
Because the city council is not stepping up to do their bit to ensure there are enough roads for the PT network. Wellington is facing a huge problem that the council has their heads in the sand of increasing development with old roads that are carrying higher and higher traffic volumes.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
It is the law of NZ that land subject to a natural hazard cannot be built on unless the hazard can be mitigated. CCC allowed a huge amount of historical development on unsuitable land, and insurance companies could have refused to pay out after the quakes, leaving thousands of property owners out of pocket.
Christchurch ratepayers are unhappy with their Council but who will pay the price?
Politicians take the rap because they have significant decision making power. The water well heads are example of neglect of core infrastructure that comes back to bite you in the bum because elected representatives have gone to departments asking for endless budget cuts to pay for lolly scrambles and re-election bribes.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
This is actually how business is very often conducted by unscrupulous private sector contractors and everyone is getting ripped off, not just the council.
A desktop computer can be a better option than a laptop
I have one but it cant keep up on some of the videos I tried to play on it.
Council assets might not have been sold – but they have been mortgaged
Totally.
Christchurch stadium the big winner from council's plans for Government funding
This only covers less than half the cost of the stadium. Further rates rises are needed to fund the $253 million that council already allocated that is not being funded by this deal. It is hardly going to be something that will appeal to residents already facing more than 50% rates increases over the next decade.
Mike Yardley: Fuel tax 'mauling' looms for Christchurch motorists
If you have a fleet of small buses for off peak times and a fleet of big buses for peak times then it is very expensive to have two fleets of buses that only get used for part of a day. Public transport works in Auckland and Wellington and it can be made to work in Christchurch by having a network that is more focused towards the needs of passengers instead of the nonsense cuts that National has forced primary through a cost cutting approach.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
There was an evacuation for tsunami risk after the Waiau quake and in fact this is not the first time.
Groundworks to start for Christchurch's Metro Sports Facility
7500 is a ridiculous number of these columns. Someone has got their numbers crossed I think. However it is likely to be a highly suitable treatment but it highlights that a great deal of development across Christchurch was done on unsuitable land for too long.
Council assets might not have been sold – but they have been mortgaged
Do you know that the people calling for asset sales are the ones who have benefited the most from these rates increases. Because so much ratepayer money is going into redeveloping the CBD, where land prices are too high, because it helps prop up those land prices. Thats why we need a huge expensive stadium in the CBD, and why suggestions the stadium and arena in Addington should be extended are not being considered.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
What is the frequency of buses on these routes. Increase them to 10 minutes or 5 minutes.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
There is no need for double deckers, it is a cynical cost cutting move to reduce the number of buses on the routes. Increase the frequency with existing buses.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
LIM amendments didnt come into force until 2016, which would appear to be some months after they had purchased there land
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
By their dates they made their land purchase in early 2016. By which stage, the furore over the flood management zoning was already well underway. CCRU were already raising it. Wisdom at the time wouldhave been to have waited until the issue was conclusively resolved.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
The red zone payouts intention was to give the council a get out of jail free card to avoid being sued by insurance companies for allowing land subject to natural hazards to been built on. If the CCC had done its job properly in the previous decades those areas would never had been had houses put on them without massive land stabilisation works. Look at the Bexley Wetlands housing development, no special land works needed, houses that effectively broke in half because the land was so unstable. The outcome now is that CCC staff have told the elected reps to pull their heads in and that they have to follow the law instead of rubberstamping approvals for these housing developments.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
Just get a bit of a grip on reallty. THe regional council role in public transport is regulated and dictated by central government. These bureacrats actually have to work within the funding limits set by Steven Joyce as the Minister of Transport. They have to make the services fit the amount of available funding.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
It is a new requirement that will last for 50 years. Eventually Sumner and the rest will get it.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Chlorination is mandated by the DHBs medical officer. The Council cannot actually stop it, which is just as well considering the idiocy that characterises many public health related decisions made by elected councils.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Sure. All domestic pets, ducks and wildfowl can be exterminated to stop them fouling footpaths that can wash off into the stormwater system and all car washing etc banned. The pollution of our city rivers and streams through waterfowl and stormwater runoff is a known fact of life. That is where the primary risk comes from in the city.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
It doesnt actually. The regional Council has no control over the amount of funding available for these servcies. The Minister of Transport makes those decisions. They Government has passed the buck when they are not prepared to properly fund the services which all depend on government subsidies to cover 50% of their costs.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
If you mean hubs only 2 or 3 km apart it is a flawed concept that has already been forced in Christchurch due to the cost cutting mentality of previous government.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
This is all a whitewash. The Mayor believes she can push chlorination safely out of the way of the local government elections next year by demanding it be fixed within 12 months. Of course, ratepayers may have to fork out big just to guarantee her re election chances. The CCC does not have a free vote on chlorination despite what is claimed, the councillors cannot actually stop the chlorination as they are required to have it by the DHB. So even if it takes longer than 12 months which is quite likely the chlorination will continue regardless.
A desktop computer can be a better option than a laptop
Windows sucks, but Mac OS sucks even more. I used to maintain both in a school, while my desktop computers ran Linux, which wins hands down. Both MS and Apple have the same mentality of wanting to control your computer.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
You cannot simply build the ground up as it will be washed away. Seawalls will not hold the sea back long term. The ground will be eaten away by the sea.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
So vlad are you omitting to mention E Coli has been found in the Christchurch water supply at least 125 times since 2012?
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Read https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/100938149/did-missed-defects-lead-to-need-for-chlorination-of-christchurchs-drinking-water where this is very clearly stated.
Families upset at exclusion from Christchurch school's new zone boundary
Logic is for Akaroa Area School to also enrol students from BP.
Council assets might not have been sold – but they have been mortgaged
why the stadium is still not started after 7 years - because the main beneficiaries of stadium development are wealthy CBD landowners who happen to sit at the council table. They are actually commiting ratepayers to 60% increase in rates over the next decade even after taking this huge amount of money out of CCHL.
Mike Yardley: Fuel tax 'mauling' looms for Christchurch motorists
Tell you what mate. The rates subsidy to public transport is no different than the rates subsidy to build roads for all those lovely people to drive their cars on (which cars just happen to clog up with monotonous regularity). Lets see if we charged all the car drivers for the full cost of the roads they want to drive on that public transport wouldnt suddenly become cost effective again.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
I think mr irreversible that when these places are like Hector and Granity being washed away by the sea there will then be calls for the council to compensate landowners which there are no grounds for. People who choose to buy land close to the sea are responsible for any issue caused by flooding from the sea, it is just one of the risks to be considered.
Editorial: New Zealand's Antarctic efforts need to be refocused
Just another jobs for the boys board stacked with National Party appointees like all these government boards are
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Its aquifer water subject to the same issues.
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
The LIM additions were consulted on. The real issue is why elected reps believe they can just hide behind the council staff and duck the issue of compensation.
Wellington officials plan to bust 'ghost buses' and improve timetables
Central Government funds 25% of the cost of these servies. The Minister of Transport under the last government mandated a cut in the subsidies. That is one of the major reasons for these changes taking place.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Funy I know people have these leaks in Chch where there has never been chlorination
Complex repairs to Christchurch's Sumner Rd to be complete in March
Because in those days if a rock came down and killed someone no one cared. And because the roads were very rough and unsealed. In fact the original road was much rougher than the present route with a zigzag at the quarry. You canot compared the road of today with the original.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
So wrong. Ecoli has been found at least 125 times in the Christchurch water supply since 2012.
Families upset at exclusion from Christchurch school's new zone boundary
Lincoln High School is probably closer.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Chlorine evaporates in the air, perhaps try putting them in the dryer or airing them or hang out in the sun.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Surface water (stormwater). Not ulike the Hastings situation. City streams and rivers are already polluted this way.
A desktop computer can be a better option than a laptop
Never mentioned Linux as an option. I have five Linux desktops I use almost daily. I can do as much if not more as anything running Windows on them.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Surface water contamination within city limits has nothing to do with dairy farming as there are no farms within most of the city limits. It is related to the risk of stormwater pollution which has always been an issue in the whole time the city has existed.
Mike Yardley: Fuel tax 'mauling' looms for Christchurch motorists
Cycle lanes are very successful elsewhere in the world, it it no reason to think they will not work here.
Council can 'have its cake and eat it' by getting cash from asset sales
The mayor wants her name on a plaque, just like Brownlees name on all those buildings in the CBD
Couple spend thousands on building consent, but can't build
Residents groups like CCRU need to take some responsibility for this situation as they have given 0 hope to residents by promising to fight the flood management plans, Cr East being implicated in this as well. If the council had done nothing, then insurance companies would refuse to insure these properties. Effectively self interest from the existing residents has smokescreened the issue.
Spring's colour struggling to drown drumbeats of discontent
The timing might have been unfair, but barely 48 hours after Jacinda Arderns reset speechyeah sure, like that poll was taken the same day it was published was it? Rubbish, it was probably taken before she made her speech. It;s not very honest of Yardley and Duncan Garner to parrot this line that this survey result was a vote on her speech.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Councillors do not have the power to decide whether or not to chlorinate, this argument is facile. The council has been ordered to chlorinate by the DHB as it is a public health matter.
A desktop computer can be a better option than a laptop
I got a NUC last year. Took it on holiday with me - hardly any more space than a laptop and I could take it with me when I went for a walk away from the camping ground and not have to worry about it being stolen.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
The Councillors cannot stop the chlorination of the water supply. The District Health Board has the power to require the chlorination and has used it to require the chlorination of the Christchurch water supply.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
What the elected councillors want or ratepayers is irrelevant. The city is required to implement chlorination by order of the Canterbury District Health Board.
Three lines left out of Christchurch's district plan has left a community in despair
Nope. The council should not be obligated to pay a cent towards a property because CCRU and others have fought tooth and nail to avoid the risks being put into their LIMs.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Chlorination is mandated by the DHBs medical officer. The Council cannot actually stop it, which is just as well considering the idiocy that characterises many public health related decisions made by elected councils.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
There will be an election next year for all council memebrs. Are you really one of those people who is jumping up and down because it took two years to organise for an election.
North Canterbury red zone land transferred from Crown to Waimakariri District Council
Watch as very soon ways will be found to sell and redevelop it for more housing as politicians created the whole red zone mess in the first place by allowing unsuitable land to be residentially subdivided without adequate remediation.
A desktop computer can be a better option than a laptop
Shame about all those downvotes. I have five desktops here all running Debian.
Cost to keep Christchurch's drinking water safe spirals to nearly $40 million
Water NZ had nothing to do with this decision. The requirement to chlorinate the Christchurch water supply came from the Medical Officer of Health at Canterbury District Health Board.