“Almost 7 in 10 people in New Zealand supported lifting benefits in early 2021; and after the government increased benefits in 2021, 60% thought income support should have been increased further. It’s not the 1980s any more, as much as the Govt wants to drag us back there.” @maxdnharris.bsky.social

Sir Geoffrey Palmer and Chris Finlayson offer praise for the Waitangi Tribunal – and damning criticism of the coalition Government. Sam Sachdeva reports.

Now this is going to come as a shock but it seems that the Cones Hotline is a complete waste of time and money.

NEW STARTER PACK! This time I’m hoping to encourage and support global urbanists from OUTSIDE North America here on Bluesky, so hopefully this will help! Who’ve I missed? Just joined? Let me know! I’ll keep updating, so please keep checking & sharing this pack! And let’s try using #GlobalUrbanists.

Three major crashes today on roads where the current NZ govt *increased* the speed limit (previously lowered for safety reasons) in pursuit of "productivity"? Serious injuries. Lengthy closures. Costly disruptions to lives, whānau, the transport network, our health system. This is not productive. 😞

Thursday! Join Greens MPs Tamatha Paul, @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz, @celiawb.bsky.social and Lan Pham for a kōrero and kai, and to learn how the Green Budget works for you! Come along and help us imagine the future we can create together if we put people at the heart of decision making.

Mate, I don't know if you have ever been to New Zealand, but "pride" isn't a national value even on occasions when the government isn't Pontiusly auto-piloting a denial of genocide. www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

The most obvious explanation is once again proven true: barring enrolments during advance voting was purely a pretext to deny franchise to a group of people who vote mostly against govt parties, so as to avoid the govt losing seats between election-night & final counts www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Tonight I went to the most creative and positive local government election event I have ever experienced. Louise Hutt, standing for re-election in Hamilton, exhibited her democracy knitting, and it is glorious. And she supports removing library overdue fines! @saycheeselouise.bsky.social

Timeless. Simon Bridges: "....businesses are prepared to bet on the future if conditions stabilise. But the message to government is clear: fiscal restraint has its place, but businesses also need growth-oriented policy settings, infrastructure investment and real relief..."

I think it says a lot about NZ's Green Party being environment/ecosystem/science based rather than some of the cultural trends in other countries, that the Green Party had the fewest voters who had never had a covid vaccination 0.34%. 32.5% of NZ First voters say they never had a covid vaccination.

You know it's bad when Auckland businesses are pleading for government intervention. Auckland's unemployment rate is now at a 10 year high and business liquidations are up 1000% from 2020. #backontrack

Repost: @julieannegenter.greens.org.nz via Instagram Donation link here: www.greens.org.nz/donateneelu2...

The argument against regulation is always the same: “It stifles growth and jobs.” But just as tax cuts for corporations have not trickled down, regulatory cuts have not benefited most people. Big companies enjoy bigger profits. Working people bear the costs.

My sustainable transport policy: "Four lanes from here to the trains", is about ensuring Wellington has the mix on transport infrastructure that it needs. Check out the full policy on my Website - alexbakerwellington.nz/priorities/2

NEW: Our mental health is being destroyed by a collapsing economy

Just a couple of train nerds excited about a new train🚆 @julieannegenter.bsky.social

And part of the same government that wrecked the school lunch program, to feed kids pigswill, all to save $170m a year

NZ has now paid 120% of the full cost of 2 next generation, hybrid ferries for *checks notes* nothing at all. Those ferries were on track for 2025 & 2026 delivery. Extra points: our only rail enabled ferry is being retired on Monday & maintenance costs have doubled Should be sackable #nzpol

anyone else remember when a NZ politician sent a text to cancel a major procurement and cost the country $600 million? is there any other time in NZ history when an MP would've *got away with that*?

Sign the petition if you think it should be Rongotai, not Wellington Bays.

I can’t believe Andrew Little (on the Representation Commission) thought it was a good idea to change the name Rongotai to “Wellington Bays” on the suggestion of his former chief of staff, without checking in with local representatives, mana whenua or, apparently, anyone else.

Wellington Bays is a JK Rowling naming things name.

Love this new resource from the Green Party where you can find out about your Green candidates these local government elections. PS I am on there 💚 www.greens.org.nz/local

👋😊 Thanks for coming to say hi yesterday @ChlöeSwarbrick when you saw us outside ANZ in Pōneke. We were there to tell ANZ to drop Bathurst Resources as a customer, to drop support of Bathurst’s proposed Fast Track coal mine.

Absolutely dystopian juxtaposition from the Guardian front page. Difficult to understand how anyone of decency and conscience can defend this government at this point. Just sheer moral degeneracy to arm a state that does this and arrest people for objecting. Wtf are we doing as a country?

Rongotai means sound of the sea or tidesound. The name change of the electorate to ‘Wellington Bays’ was not consulted on, and does not make any sense. The new boundary brings in no additional bays to the electorate. Why change?

There are no words to describe the feeling I had as I met with Mayor Issa Kassis to sign a Friendly City Agreement. A moment I’ll never forget 🇵🇸 www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3607...

Value Creation over Value Extraction By @julieannegenter.bsky.social www.nzherald.co.nz/business/bus...

If we want to know why four lane motorways are somehow always justified regardless of cost in NZ you just have to see their proponents reaction to being questioned... Here's some clips of Chris Bishop on Q&A recently and @julieannegenter.bsky.social 's Select Committee questioning from June -Part 1

We’re opening! And celebrating with an open day on 6th September 10am-6pm. No gender restrictions on that day, so everyone is welcome to come along and check out our lovely new space! #announcement #wedidit #cahootsworkshop #queer #feminism #pōneke

Something we can all get behind Aotearoa. Thanks to @julieannegenter.bsky.social #kikorangi

In my latest drone video from the Netherlands I film the start of the school day with hundreds of children parking their bikes at school before lessons start. This is repeated thousands of times across the country! youtu.be/j1ZDUiQ9ugM

Oh hey there, so, we had a fatality on our stretch of State Highway 1 today after Simeon put the speed limit back up to 100. After all the years it was at 80 with no fatalities. A life ended. SH1 closed for 4+ hours. We told them it would happen.

It’s not just the sheer vileness—it’s the compound long-term harm. Dehumanising your colleagues, thereby discouraging future participants, *while also* squatting in powerful roles, robs us all of a pipeline of greater potential. Kudos to Mayor Whanau for going through ‘em like a dose of the salts.

Central Govt paying for the catch up on decades of infrastructure neglect + raising taxes to offset spending = zero impact on CPI Local Govt raising money through rates to pay for infrastructure = increased CPI Just saying.

Oh my god, if you make cycling safe and easy, people will do it. Who. Would. Ever. Have. Thought.

A new reliable, dependable bicycle costs about USD $500-1,500. Multiply that by 40 for a car. Bicycle maintenance for 3 years is about equal to purchase price, same for your car. A bicycle can easily be stored in your home, regardless of how small your apartment is. Cars just clog the streets.

As steward of the .nz domain, InternetNZ's governance directly affects the resilience & accessibility of our Internet. As a charity, its good works promote a fair, inclusive, and accessible Internet. This year’s board election is one of the most important in the org's history, and we need your help.

“One mile on a bike is a $.42 economic gain to society, one mile driving is a $.20 loss.” “Which means that Copenhagen, a city of 1.2 million people, saves $357 million a year on health costs because something like 80% of its population commutes by bike.” grist.org/biking/one-m...

IMPORTANT: If you can watch only ONE video about why more & wider roads won’t solve traffic congestion no matter how many billions you spend, watch THIS one. Then share it with EVERYONE. Jevons Paradox isn’t a rock band. Via Australia’s great show “Utopia” on ABC TV. youtube.com/watch?v=xtO_...

This is really important. The main thing that makes it hard to achieve integrated nature and green in cities isn’t density of buildings or density of people — it's density of cars. And the more well-designed and integrated density of people & buildings you achieve, the fewer cars you need or want.

She’s running! I’m excited to confirm my re-election campaign for Auckland Council to rep the mighty ward of Albert-Eden-Puketāpapa. In my first term I’ve focused on storm recovery & resilience, climate action, housing & transport. I’m keen to keep going, with @cityvision.bsky.social &…

Your suspicions are correct. This is graph of EV registrations in Christchurch since 2017. Government actions have deliberately tanked EV sales:

Just heard a sound bite of Nicky No-boats saying council's don't spend money the way I would spend my money. Well Nicky, I wouldn't order a new SUV and new garage, then cancel the order costing me $80,000 in cancel fees, then buy a Nissan Micra and house it in a tent from Bunnings #nzpol

The bank of the Seine in Paris used to be space for cars. Now for several years it’s been a special place for people in a city making more & more of them. All it took was leadership. Oh, and fighting and winning a court battle when that leadership was challenged. HT @emmanuelspv.bsky.social for pic.

So I had a wee accident this morning and am now down with a broken leg for a while. I was waiting at an intersection to turn and a driver cut the corner and went straight into the bike which wrenched my leg and threw me off. If he had been driving faster I wouldn’t be writing this skeet.

Make no mistake, there is a very clear double standard between men and women in politics and the way they’re treated by some media. We have deputy prime ministers and ministers getting off with little scrutiny for abhorrent behaviour. #nzpol www.thepost.co.nz/nz-news/3607... (paywall)

Street trees are one of the best long-term investments a city can make. (TheFigen_)