Posts by uroskin
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If there were 10,000 Waiheke Islanders independence would be a third (and my preferred) option.
Some points against:
- loss of ARC transport subsidy for Waiheke Bus Co
- probable loss of SuperGold card subsidy on ferry (only city areas get this, not rural areas)
- loss of tourism promotion now via Auckland Tourism
- unknown rates increases due to a different policy at TCDCThere is an extensive outline of possible pitfalls here: http://bonfireoftheinsanities.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-are-arguments-against.html
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Graeme Edgeler: "10% is a lot to have sign a petition. And I'm not amazed, because the law requires that once 10% of people sign that petition that the LGC looks at it.
That only 10% signed it does not imply that 90% are opposed. You have a reasonably hard time getting 10% of a population to sign a petition for something supported by 90% of the population."Getting 10% of Waihekeans to sign is precisely a great indicator that the 90% other islanders are opposed. Remember that this is a very politicised island, 1 in 6 submissions to the Royal Commission came from Waiheke despite being on 0.5% of the Auckland population!
The LGC would do democracy a great disservice by indulging this minority and, frankly, barmy proposal. A petition against the move has been submitted to the LGC too. -
The use of the LGC law to change local boundaries is apt as one of our community board members has exactly such a proposal before the LGC to move Waiheke Island to Thames-Coromandel.
What is amazing that the LGC is actually consisdering this, given it was only requested by 10% of islanders who bothered to sign the petition. I'd have thought that 90% opposition would have been enough to laugh this out of court.
Apparently not. Leninist avantgarde political strategies are alive and well in NZ.
Locals should vote on which community board they want to belong to, want to be ruled by, be represented on and pay taxes to. -
Here on waiheke Island we have inorganic rubbish every week assembled at the Ostend market and sell it for cash.
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As a Waiheke Islander I'm quite pleased we are to keep our community board (with enhanced powers, it is rumoured!). Given the fact that over a quarter of all the submissions to the Commission came from Waiheke, we would have erected the guillotines if there were not an acknowledgment that we're not quite Auckland City, or Tamaki Makau Rau.
The devil will be in the detail and the mood of the Government of the day to translate the recommendations into legislation.
I'm less pleased we are going to get our local version of London's BoJo. JoBo anyone? -
On a side note, we have to pull the plug on Wellington Triangle TV from 31 March due to insufficient demand from Wellingtonians for programme airtime.
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Here on Waiheke Island we have regular Earth Hour blackouts (about one a month over winter) due to the poor lines infrastructure (one car crashing into a power pole in Clevedon puts us all in the dark) so we don't have to switch off on Saturday.
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My cats are jealous of the "best cat bed evah"
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From the Island of Wine, Waiheke, last year our local Woolworths had a bottle of indeterminate Spanish wine for sale for $3.50. I just had to try it. I mean, how can you sell it for that price after carting it halfway round the world, bottle it, label it, distribute it, pay alcohol excise and GST on it, and mark it up for Woolworths' profit?
Can't say it was a top wine, taste-wise, of course, but one got used to it after half a bottle.
Wasn't half as bad as some NZ Sav blancs - I detest that variety and I can't think why NZ would want to be known around the world for tnat pissy sweet taste.
Call me chardonnay socialist, but call me. -
My personal highlight of the year so far is getting a written apology from the Minto crew for berating the one-sided or dim-witted NZ media coverage of the Gaza War, because they failed to mention that our coverage by Aljazeera TV was superb and superior to anything else available in NZ.