Both Sides Now

Water is the most critical issue we face.

Now that the Treaty Principles Bill has been consigned to the bin some who want to keep up the conversation about sovereignty and rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination), are refocusing on the...

If Andrea Vance in The Sunday Star Times had wanted to bring the media into increased disrepute she could not have done a better job than her contribution in that paper on May 11.

Throwing out the Three Waters reform because it included co-governance was understandable. But having the government take over the delivery of clean water to communities and the removal of...

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Queenstown Lakes has a plan to require developers to contribute to affordable housing. Other councils are interested in this idea.

Māori and members of other priority groups’ entry to Otago Medical School require 65% average grades. Others need to achieve over 90%.

If we really want to take control of horrendous rates increases we need a major change in the way we look at spending by our councils.

For those who think the Treaty of Waitangi does not need further definition to take us into the future, it is worth thinking about how our democracy functions.

With the huge rises being proposed for rates, it is vital we receive value for money.

Driving blind is no way to make decisions about spending, especially spending other people’s money.

Various councillors have justified big rates increases on the basis that either the government has been demanding extra or that we as residents have insisted on increased services.

Who would have thought we could get the people of New Zealand to spend hours talking about constitutional issues in 2024?

We are discovering ever increasing rights which we imagine others must deliver for us.

The real and important question around the Treaty is whether the boring but democratically elected House of Representatives governs New Zealand or whether it is ruled by a much more exciting...

The Dunedin City Council has every right to have "eagle eyes over every cent" (as is suggested in the ODT 20.7.24).

Defining what the Treaty of Waitangi means to all of us collectively seems like the Mt Everest of tasks.

If disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality, we are setting ourselves up for some serious disappointments.