Proposed Auckland Council Rates Increase
Auckland Council Mayor Phil Goff is proposing rates increase (2.5% - 3.5%). It is unbelievable for a mayor who can propose such a ridiculous idea amidst a pandemic which will most likely cause a global economic slowdown. New Zealand will not escape from the hit as part of the international economy. Auckland, the largest city of NZ, will be adversely impacted by the slowdown as well. Even the central government has provided financial assistance to those suffering from the hardship in the lockdown period, I wonder why the Auckland Council could proceed the rate rise in this unprecedented difficult time. Not even considering to help out local residents to go through this difficult time, our Council is trying to add financial burden to the local residents.
In the 4 weeks lockdown, all infrastructure construction activities have ceased. Mr Goff also said that Auckland Council was already shedding contracts and temporary staff. It is reasonably estimated that Auckland Council would spend much less in the current financial year. Based on this estimate, it has absolutely no reason to raise the rates. On the opposite, Auckland Council should decrease the rates in this financial year to help the property owners to weather through the anticipated economic slowdown.
I have emailed my request to the Councillors of Howick Ward, Sharon Stewart and Paul Young, but got no response (so disappointed without even receiving an acknowledgement as a matter of courtesy).
As the rate increase will affect all residents in Auckland, no matter you are property owners or tenants, I hope you could voice out your views on this issue by emailing to the elected representatives of your ward who have promised to act on our interest in the last election.
Poll: Is it rude to take a full trolley to self-checkout?
Luckily self-checkout is being pretty common in supermarkets these days and we generally use it to quickly buy a few things without the long lines. But perhaps it's appropriate to head there with your full trolley to skip the lines?
What are your thoughts? Is that rude?
Share in the comments below if this has ever happened to you.
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50% Yes!
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45.9% Nah, it's okay
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4.1% Other - I'll share below!
Q&A: Ask a question about...Online Safety
Continuing with Neighbourly's online Q&A with experts in their field, this week we are tackling online safety with Jandy Fiske from Netsafe.
Jandy Fiske has been with Netsafe for nearly 8 years. Starting on their helpline, she's now Netsafe's Community Engagement Advisor. Jandy says: 'I'm passionate about online safety because I strongly oppose bullying and want to support those affected by it.'
Jandy is passionate about protecting vulnerable communities and is promoting online safety to ensure no one falls prey to online scams. She can answer your questions about any type of online scams, and also about online harm such as online bullying.
↓ Ask your question below now and she'll be online on Wednesday, 11th September to reply to you ↓
Happy Monday, neighbours, can you solve this riddle🤔
What has a neck but no head, two arms but no hands?
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