Both Sides Now

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.

Consultation by local councils and government is now an expensive waste of time and money.

It is no surprise that charter schools are on the agenda again.

As the government moves on from Three Waters it is time for a review of the nitty gritty of what actually happened in Otago under the proposal.

Suggestions for reducing rates so far have just been tinkering.