Category: Uncategorized
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Waitakere Film Studios ride again!
I am pleased to see that Waitakere Film Studios is now again under full Council ownership. I was one of the Waitakere City Councillors who in 2002 decided to buy the original studio. It had been the site of a nascent film industry in West Auckland. The owner went broke and the possibility was that…
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Fining beggars
By Greg Presland Palmerston North City Council is contemplating enacting a by law that would allow it to fine people begging on its streets. The proposal reminds me of the the famous saying by Anatole France that “[t]he law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich and the poor alike to sleep under bridges, to…
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Streetwalking
Before the last local body election the Manukau City Council promoted a local bill that would have made prostitution on its streets in nominated areas illegal. The bill reflected the frustration felt by Papatoetoe residents. Hunter’s Corner in particular was known as an area frequented by streetwalkers. The bill attempts to reverse the reforms contained…
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Who could not want Auckland to be a city of peace?
By Greg Presland The Herald reported recently about a rather violent argument within a recent Regional Development and Operational Committee meeting. Well known peace activist Laurie Ross and a couple of young children came to the meeting urging the Council to become a city of peace. Their request was met with bickering and petty point…
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The CBD Rail Tunnel Business plan and review forgot about Peak Oil
By Greg Presland The Government has now released its analysis of Auckland Council’s business plan for the Queen Street Rail Loop. The response is somewhat pessimistic and the headline is that the anticipated economic benefits are not there. The Government’s estimate of the transport benefits of the project are put at $387 million rather than…