Instead if it chooses to ride with the outlaws and insulate itself from reality. China should be mindful its future prosperity rests in trade with the affluent democracies in a world of steadily integrating and modernising free markets.Ĭhina should join with the West and much of the world and oppose Putin for his actions. The key, China, is the only country which has the influence to condemn the unprovoked invasion and convince Putin to end the carnage. The unity of the West to increase armaments to assist Ukraine is welcome but urgency to cease the hostilities is paramount. While many people are calling for an end to the Three Waters reforms, Northland mayors want new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to 'rescue' Three Waters. The failed response by Auckland is a clear indication that more expertise and experience is needed, which can only come from a body that deals specifically with these events. While Three Waters may not be ideal, it is time for a national approach to ensure all New Zealand is prepared for these emergencies. There is hardly a city or town that has not been affected by flooding or wind damage. The general purpose of the strategy is to have reliable, safe drinking water and a better environ-mental performance of wastewater and storm water. For crying out loud, we’re drowning out here.Īlways thought Three Waters was a bit muddied but when one considers recent and past catastrophic weather events, the idea does have some value. Keep the cost of gas at a level that hurts so we begin to walk to the freaking dairy and kids ride their bikes to school. And because it’s the same for everyone, no one will mind. It’s the lowest earners who need most help - reduce the marginal tax rates to zero for the first $20,000. It’s disin-genuous to use the cost of living as a justification for continuing the discount. Road User Charges are to pay for the roads we use. That is what a well- resourced emergency management team is for. I do not believe that gives comfort to those who have lost family members or homes. I have never understood the eagerness of the news media to label as “heroes” city leaders such as Rudi Giuliani during the 9/11 attacks or Bob Parker during the Christchurch earth-quakes, just for appearing in public in fluorescent vests and posing for photo ops. But emergency management is the job of what used to be a comprehensive civil defence network and that is what needs to be reviewed in the wake of the recent weather damage. It is too early to see how effective he is going to be. Mayor Wayne Brown made a lot of extravagant statements about what Auckland needed and has since had to take a more realistic view on some of them. It is time New Zealanders learnt basic economics. History shows education is the key to a prosperous nation. It is clear, from the majority of correspon-dence on social media and opinion letters, that a high proportion of Kiwis have no idea how economics works. However there are no empirical solutions. Nearly every article in the Herald and stories on evening news demand the Government fix society’s problems with solutions. I quite often see piles of “hay” in gutters ready to be washed into drains at the first downpour because someone cannot be bothered sweeping this up or mowing the lawns properly. To help avoid stormwater blockages when one cuts the roadside berms, both contract council workers and home-owners should ensure that they either use a catcher or make sure the clippings don’t end up in the gutter. The highly acclaimed book The Water will Come by Jeff Goodell should be mandatory holiday reading for all. This sobering reality should serve as a massive and urgent wake-up call to all relevant governing bodies responsible for oversight of civil defence processes, urban planning, consenting and a myriad of other shoddy long-neglected flood prevention activities. In other words the “summer “of 2023, could be just a modest preview of what’s to come and will challenge all vulnerable communities, fragile infrastructures and our way of life. This degree of probability is bollocks and dangerously misleading as evidenced by similar destructive and damaging storms and record-breaking rainfall impacting California and Northern Queensland already this year.Ĭlimate scientists the world over are sending a clear message that with global warming these extreme weather events will become even more amplified, destructive and frequent. The recent weather bomb, otherwise termed an “atmospheric river”, that slammed into Auckland and northern NZ has been called a 1-in-100 year weather event. Ross Gosnell's Onehunga home on Alfred St has been flooding for one week after water started flowing from an unknown source beneath his house.
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