Articles from ‘elocal magazine’

A Market Gently Waking Up - For the first time in a long while, the signals coming from the economy, the banks and everyday buyers are starting to all line up at the same time. It is not a boom. It is not even a surge. But it is a clear shift away from the uncertainty that has weighed on the property market for the past three years. The latest ASB Housing Confidence Survey sums it up neatly: buyers now see conditions as the most favourable in…

Andrew Coster’s interview on Q+A has blown the police integrity scandal wide open again. It’s now obvious the public has been left with a mess of clashing accounts, shifting explanations, and gaps that the existing investigation was never designed to resolve. If the Government wants any hope of restoring confidence in the Police, it needs to authorise an independent inquiry with proper powers. Coster went on television insisting he’d “acted…

It is too hard and costly to get things built in New Zealand, and the Resource Management Act is a big reason why. So, we are scrapping it and replacing it with a new planning system built on the idea of private property rights. **The new planning system will save ratepayers and taxpayers $13.3b by only regulating what is necessary and reducing the number of consents by up to 46% every year.** The economic benefits of this new system are…

With the release of its new National Security Strategy (NSS), the United States — the world’s most powerful nation — has officially abandoned the global-hegemony doctrine that defined the post-Cold War order. For the first time since 1945, Washington is no longer claiming the mantle of global policeman, architect of the “rules-based international order,” or moral crusader for universal liberal democracy. Instead, the U.S. has accepted —…

Stats NZ has delivered a run of unexpectedly positive data across housing, exports and retail, a sign the economy may finally be stabilising after two years of strain. New home consents rose 6.2 percent in the year to October, driven almost entirely by townhouses, flats and apartments. Higher-density homes accounted for nearly 18,000 consents, with Auckland producing half the national lift. **October alone saw a 23.5 percent jump in consents…

For years, governments insisted they were “following the science.” But science does not stand still, and it certainly does not bow to political pressure. Now, as new studies challenge the assumptions that drove the global COVID-19 response, the world is being forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: many of the policies that reshaped economies, societies, and democracies were based on data that is no longer standing up to scrutiny. What was…

The discovery of multiple Asian yellow-legged hornet queens and nests across Glenfield has triggered warnings that New Zealand is running out of time to stop the pest from becoming permanent. Experts say MPI’s current containment zone is far too small for a species known overseas to spread tens of kilometres a year, and early signs suggest the Auckland incursion is already larger than first thought. **Hornets devastate honey bees, crops, and…

Who said getting older means slowing down? At Acacia Cove Retirement Village, life is about rediscovering freedom, connection, and fun. With nearly everything taken care of for you — from maintenance to gardening — your days are yours to fill with what you truly enjoy. Join a club, take a swim, or simply relax and soak in the peaceful surroundings. Life here is resort-style living at its best. For over 25 years, General Manager Bruce Cullington…

For years, residents living near the Tutaenui Stream have warned the Auckland Council of a growing and entirely preventable problem: a choked, neglected waterway that has become a repeat flooding hazard. The solution is neither complex nor controversial — the stream simply needs proper clearing and ongoing maintenance. Contractors themselves have confirmed it. A similar clearance in 2003 kept the area safe for eight years. Yet today, instead of…

It may not be generally known that, immediately after WWII, as many as 48,000 volunteers, both Jews and non-Jews, from 59 nations arrived in Israel to fight for its independence. About 90% of Israel's fledging Air Force pilots were new arrivals – the often-overlooked heroes of their time. In many Western countries, the present cohort of military-age young people generally seems to display an ignorance of integrity, the indispensable value of…

You will receive numerous compliments on your Christmas Gingerbread truffles to every event you take them to. Every Christmas, family, friends and even co-workers ask me to make these. They are super easy to make but look and taste amazing! Ingredients - 400 grams  white chocolate, chopped - 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger - 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves - 285 grams dark chocolate - 5…

Salad is an obvious thing to eat in the summer, and the humble beetroot is often an overlooked star as the main ingredient. Incorporate nuts and seeds and this is a filling, tasty alternative to the more often used green leafy summer salads. The caraway here gives the dish a Germanic flavour. **Ingredients:** - 165g spelt (get the type of spelt that is unhulled, not the type marked ‘pearled’) - 2½ tbsp olive oil - juice of 1 lemon - 1½ tsp…

At long last, a government has acknowledged what households have been screaming for years: council rates are out of control, and ordinary New Zealanders are paying the price. The National Government’s announcement of a maximum 4% annual rates cap is more than a policy change — it is a badly needed circuit-breaker for a country that has become unaffordable, uncompetitive, and, for many families, simply unlivable. This move, paired with the…

Early on Halloween morning, Kash Patel made a big announcement. “The FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack,” he said. Except there was one problem: criminal charges had not yet been filed and local police were left in the dark. Catching wind of their impending arrests, two alleged co-conspirators in the Islamic State-inspired plot to blow up a Michigan gay bar brought forward their getaway plans. One suspect from New Jersey made it to…

The government has announced a plan to cap annual council rate hikes at four percent by 2029, arguing that households cannot keep absorbing steep increases from local authorities. Labour has come out firmly against the cap, positioning itself on the opposite side of the issue to most ratepayers. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said ratepayers are being forced to tighten their belts while many councils continue to spend on “nice-to-haves…

The Labour Party faithful gathered in Auckland this past weekend for their annual conference, and for any progressives watching from outside the hall, there were two possible reactions. If you’re excited by the prospect of a change of government next year, then you’ll be buoyed by what you saw. If you’re excited by the prospect of progressive change actually occurring under that new government, you might well have your head in your hands. Becaus…

Over the years the sedate 'Tutaenui Stream' (Buckland Stream), once an average 5 feet wide along its entire length through Buckland (PSA) now increases in size after minimal rainfall (24-48hrs)into a raging torrent of horrendous volumes, 25 feet wide in places, speed and eroding the banks and taking everything in its path. Leaving behind debris and chokepoints which only adds to the erosion and blockages further along its course. We ask…

Air taxis might be the next big thing but they can't get very big if there's no place for them to land. AutoFlight Aviation Technology is developing a vertiport that's essentially a solar-powered barge that can go where it's needed – water permitting. VTOL air taxis based on a new generation of multi-rotor craft might fulfill the promise of the old helicopter passenger services that emerged in America and Britain in the 1940s and 50s, only to…

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping but to a financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much of the nation's gold as they could, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September,…

Sonya Oakes’ son, Eru Oakes, 29, died in October after being found with a gunshot wound at his Te Puke home. Three men have been charged with his murder. As she supports her four surviving sons through their trauma, Oakes has turned her grief into a public campaign pushing for stronger consequences for violent offenders. Her petition for “Eru’s Law” calls for three main changes. First, longer sentences for violent crime, especially homicide.…