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Otago Daily Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
MP's View: Housing cut as homelessness up
We need more warm dry homes across Dunedin. Owning a home should be an easier option for people, and renting should be secure. Christopher Luxon has put property speculators first, handing them nearly $3billion in tax breaks while families struggle with rising bills. Housing projects under way under Labour to address the social housing waitlist in Dunedin were ruthlessly cut by the current government last month. The National-led government made the decision to cancel the builds of 40 one- to two-bedroom homes on Carroll St in Central Dunedin, along with a further 32 on Stafford St and 11 on Albertson Ave in Port Chalmers — 83 homes this city desperately needs. The Carroll St site already had extensive planning undertaken, including the demolition of 16 state homes — the site was vacant and ready to go. I wrote to Housing Minister Chris Bishop in April asking why the Carroll St development was still on hold at the time. The minister wrote back stating the government was working to deliver social housing where it was needed most. His response goes directly against the decision to cancel these builds. The units planned for Carroll St would have been the most sought-after size and close to the city centre and community services. This government also shows little to no regard for homelessness. It recently cut $1b from the emergency housing budget on the false pretence that demand for housing was reducing. Frontline housing providers know this is not the case and have frequently told politicians, including government ministers, that there are more people on the streets as a direct result of the government's policies. Changes to the criteria by a National minister about who can access emergency housing has directly led to more people sleeping rough. Changes to eligibility criteria mean fewer people are qualifying to get emergency housing. And at least a fifth of those coming off the emergency housing list are not going to warm dry homes of their own but to whanau, friends or other precarious situations. In Dunedin, this is apparent in the number of tents at the Oval increasing in recent months. Taieri MP Ingrid Leary and I are meeting a range of social services about these housing issues and will host Labour's housing spokesman, Kieran McAnulty, in Dunedin next month. Labour will put affordability first, making it easier to buy, better to rent, and building more homes. Dunedin needs not only housing but also social support. Many of the groups that provide this help have had their funding cut. Cutting funding while cancelling housing developments is a recipe for more homelessness.
Otago Daily Times
13-07-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Call to move health staff ‘bizarre'
Ingrid Learyy. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH A call to transfer mental health workers from Dunedin to Central Otago is "bizarre", Taieri MP Ingrid Leary says. The Labour Party MP responded to a provocative stance taken by Waitaki MP Miles Anderson, of the National Party, who suggested Dunedin's mental health staffing should be slashed by 100, and also that too much money was being poured into the $1.88billion regional hospital in Dunedin. Money should instead have been directed to the growing Central Otago and Queenstown Lakes districts, he said. Ms Leary said Mr Anderson had looked to pit Dunedin against Wānaka and his proposed solution to health shortages in Wānaka and surrounding areas was bizarre. "It is no secret that the lower South suffers from a shortage of mental health workers across the board and some of the longest specialist wait times, including in Dunedin," she said. "Moving health workers from one location to another resolves nothing." Ms Leary, Labour's mental health spokesperson, said the government appeared to be taking "a Queenstown-centric approach" to healthcare, including mental health. Mr Anderson had spoken of inequities between Dunedin and the rest of the region. "Those employed in the mental health side of things — Dunedin has 300-plus staff, and only another 100 are spread throughout the entire Otago-Southland area, so Wānaka have very few," he said. "So for it to be equitable, 100 need to be taken out of Dunedin and put into other areas." Ms Leary suggested the government ought to be more constructive. "Cutting pay equity claims for burned-out mental health workers will only exacerbate the mental healthcare shortage, so why doesn't Miles Anderson instead tell his Cabinet colleagues to reverse that short-sighted decision?" Construction of the new hospital in Dunedin started under Labour and the project was reviewed by the National-led government once it gained power in the 2023 general election. After delays, the government ended up approving continuation of the build and the project was not altered substantially. Mr Anderson said the people who planned the hospital "didn't give much thought to the outlying areas of North Otago and Central Otago". "The Dunedin hospital makes sense with the med school and specialists, but if they thought about it, did it really need to be as big?" Ms Leary said Mr Anderson seemed to lack understanding of the project. He appeared to have "no depth of knowledge regarding the Dunedin hospital and its role in the wider region, including the need for tertiary-level care and a medical training facility".
NZ Herald
07-07-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Labour's Chris Hipkins says Covid inquiry terms platform conspiracy theorists
The terms of reference in the new Covid-19 inquiry have been constructed to provide a platform for those with conspiracy theorist views, Labour leader Chris Hipkins says. The National-led coalition Government decided in June last year to establish a 'phase 2' of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19 Lessons,
The Spinoff
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Spinoff
Appeasing Trump in the Middle East is not cost-free for New Zealand
The government's responses to recent events in the Middle East indicate that its desire not to offend the Trump administration has compromised New Zealand's commitment to uphold an international rules-based order, argues Robert Patman. While distant in geographic terms, brutal violence in Gaza, the West Bank and Iran marks the latest stage in the unravelling of an international rules-based order on which New Zealand depends for its prosperity and security. It should be emphasised that New Zealand's founding document, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, emphasises partnership and cooperation at home, and, after 1945, helped inspire a New Zealand worldview enshrined in institutions such as the United Nations and norms such as multilateralism. In the wake of Hamas' terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023, the National-led coalition government has in principle emphasised its support for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and the need for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the occupied territories of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. However, in practice, this New Zealand stance has not translated into firm diplomatic opposition to the Netanyahu government's quest to control Gaza and annex the West Bank. Nor has it been a condemnation of the Trump administration for prioritising its support for Israel's security goals over international law. Foreign minister Winston Peters has described the situation in Gaza as 'simply intolerable' but the National-led coalition had little specific to say as the Netanyahu government resumed its cruel blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza in March and restarted military operations there. Even more striking was the government's silence on president Trump's proposal to own Gaza with a view to evicting two million Palestinian residents from the territory and the US-Israeli venture to start the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) in late May in a move which sidelined the UN in aid distribution and has led to the killing of more than 600 Palestinians while seeking food aid. While New Zealand, along with the UK, Australia, Canada and Norway, imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli government ministers, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar ben Gvir, in June for 'inciting extremist violence' against Palestinians – a move that was criticised by the Trump administration – it was arguably a case of very little very late. The Hamas terror attacks on October 7 killed around 1,200 Israelis, but the Netanyahu government's retaliation by the Israel Defence Force (IDF) against Hamas has resulted in the deaths of more than 56,000 Palestinians – nearly 70% of whom were women or children – in Gaza. Over the same period, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank as Israel accelerated its programme of illegal settlements there. In addition, the responses of the New Zealand government to pre-emptive attacks by Israel (13-25 June) and Trump's America (June 22) against Iran to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities were strangely ambivalent. Despite indications from US intelligence and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had not produced nuclear weapons, foreign minister Peters said New Zealand was not prepared to take a position on that issue. Citing provocative behaviour by both Iran and Israel, Peters adopted a neutral stance toward the 12-day war between the two nations. With respect to the attacks by the US on three Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, the current New Zealand government seems to have echoed the view of Mark Rutte, the secretary-general of NATO, that such actions were consistent with international law. Peters and deputy PM David Seymour reiterated Iran could not be allowed to have nuclear weapons and tacitly supported the US decision to bomb nuclear facilities in Iran. Peters noted that the Trump administration's targeted attacks were aimed at 'degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities' and acknowledged the US statement to the UNSC claiming these attacks were taken 'in collective self-defence consistent with the UN charter'. Taken together, the coalition government's responses to recent events in the Middle East indicate that its desire not to offend the Trump administration has compromised New Zealand's commitment to uphold an international rules-based order. To be clear, Israel's conduct in Gaza is clearly at odds with its legal responsibilities as an occupying power, and the pre-emptive attacks by nuclear armed Israel and America on Iran cannot be justified legally when the clerical regime in Teheran does not have nuclear weapons and the diplomatic process had not been exhausted. Of course, some observers maintain that a relatively small state like New Zealand has no choice but to tacitly accept flagrant violations of international law when they are committed by big powerful friends like Trump's America. However, such a perspective understates the capacity of small and middle powers to shape what is an increasingly interconnected world. In 2003, then prime minister Helen Clark bravely refused to support an illegal US invasion of Iraq and the wisdom of that stance was subsequently confirmed in what was a disastrous military adventure for the George W. Bush administration. Moreover, New Zealand's leadership in promoting the 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) – which has been ratified by 73 states – means it should have a strong voice on the military actions by Israel and the Trump team that have effectively incentivised Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Confronted with Trump's 'might is right' approach, the National-led coalition faces stark choices. The government can continue to fudge fundamental moral and legal issues in the Middle East and risk complicity in the further weakening of an international rules-based order it purportedly supports, or it can get off the fence, stand up for the country's values, and insist that respect for international law must be observed in the region and elsewhere without exception.
Scoop
06-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Fresh Push For Four-Lane Highway From Rolleston To Ashburton
Article – Jonathan Leask – Local Democracy Reporter A local woman is renewing the campaign for State Highway 1 between Rolleston and Ashburton to be increased to four lanes. A woman fed up with seeing near-misses is campaigning for State Highway 1 between Rolleston and Ashburton to be increased to four lanes. Rachel Gillard-Tew launched a petition this week calling on the government to reconsider four-laning the 63km stretch of road. 'State Highway 1 is the lifeline connecting communities across New Zealand, and the section between Rolleston and Ashburton is crying out for attention. 'Despite its importance, it remains a single-lane hazard.' Her motivation stems from a personal connection to 'a catastrophic accident on SH1' and, as a regular traveller along SH1, witnessing plenty of close calls. With Rolleston and surrounding towns continuing to develop, traffic would only increase, she said. 'The potential for devastating accidents increases by the day. 'It's time SH1 is also prioritised.' With the range of vehicle sizes and speeds, it creates a stressful environment where people lose patience and take risks, she said. 'There is no room for error at all with no protection from oncoming traffic. 'The lack of safe intersections and an adequate median barrier makes this highway section particularly perilous. 'The need for immediate action is clear and compelling.' Creating four lanes between Rolleston and Ashburton would save lives and reduce the unnecessary risks faced by commuters and holiday travellers, she said. The major hurdle is, and has always been, the cost. Adding two lanes from Rolleston to Ashburton will require the extension or construction of new two-lane bridges at the Selwyn and Rakaia rivers. Four-lanes 'unaffordable' Former Selwyn District councillor Mark Alexander said that four-laning between Rolleston and Ashburton is 'unaffordable for our region and country'. He said a second bridge at Rakaia is needed for resilience and 'more maintenance of the existing roadway is needed'. 'We need more schools and better healthcare, more than a motorway between Ashburton and Rolleston.' Alexander sat on the Greater Christchurch Partnership and Regional Transport Committee during his time on the council, between 2010 and 2022, and said the 'cost-benefit ratio was not favourable' for four lanes. He was referencing a business case looking at traffic solutions on SH1 between Christchurch and Dunedin, which was ready for the NZTA Board in 2017. Instead, the National-led government announced its roads of national significance policy that included four lanes from Christchurch to Ashburton. National lost the election later that year, and the roads of national significance were scrapped by the incoming Labour-led coalition Government. The business case, released under the Official Information Act, shows the preferred option was not four lanes. It included a second bridge in Ashburton and a series of '2+1' lanes, essentially alternating passing lanes between Christchurch and Ashburton. What's NZTA planning? NZTA hasn't ruled out four-laning in future, but it is not part of the National Land Transport Plan 2024-27. Regional manager for system design Rich Osborne said NZTA is investing in safety measures on SH1 between Lyttelton and Timaru ports. He said NZTA is aware of safety concerns about the busy State Highway 1 corridor, as raised in the petition. Safety improvement works are being planned and undertaken, he said. 'Providing for wide centrelines has been a recent focus of safety improvements. 'This creates more space between lanes and keeps vehicles further apart, which can reduce serious crashes resulting in death and serious injuries. 'Recent work has included widening of the southbound shoulder of SH1 south of Rolleston, between Dunns Crossing Road and Burnham Road, to install a wide centreline.' Further improvements over the next few years include building a second Ashburton bridge, the Rolleston access improvements project, and a new roundabout at the Burnham Road/Aylesbury Road intersection. A stretch south of Hinds and 2km at Rolleston have had centre line widening and more is being planned, but not until the next three-year land transport plan. 'Pre-implementation work, including detailed design and some property acquisition work, is underway for wide centrelines and some widening works for sections of State Highway 1 from Burnham Road to Selwyn River, south of Selwyn River to north of Rakaia, and south of Rakaia to north of Ashburton. 'As part of its long-term forward planning, NZTA is exploring future options for improving the SH1 corridor between Lyttelton and Timaru ports, and this includes looking at replacement of SH1 bridges, the role of rail and the potential introduction of four-laning.' National's vision on hold National first proposed four-laning the highway ahead of the 2017 election, and the policy was resurrected at the 2020 election. The party had promised to investigate its viability in the lead-up to the 2023 election. When it released its National Land Transport Plan in 2024, National's Roads of National Significance were back, with 15 new four-lane roading projects across the country – including the Woodend Bypass, but not between Ashburton and Rolleston. Rangitata MP, and South Island Minister, James Meager said the idea needed to be reevaluated. 'We need to do the work to see how it stacks up – the last time anyone looked at it seriously was in 2017, before Labour came into government. 'My main focus is getting construction started on the second Ashburton bridge and making progress on our other major South Island roading projects.'
