Seriously Concerned About The City I call Home- Auckland !
A walk around Auckland city last night left me in disbelief. The city is falling to rack and ruin. Rates rise and the council have their head in the sand. They have just written of 65 million dollars in scrapping the automation of the container terminal. Some of that is my hard earned money, but whoosh, a flick of a pen and 65 million dollars is down the gurgler. And yet they rely on the likes of me to report dumped rubbish, litter, blocked drains, fallen trees, graffiti etc. because they do not have enough money to be proactive concerning rubbish and so they are only reactive! So they have littered the city central streets with cheap, nasty triangles of leaf littered red carpet (with a trip able edge) with just as cheap, completely out of place, concrete pipe cylinders, AKA planter boxes, full of half dead, half missing, scrappy ? natives sitting on top. Hideous!! Embarrassing! They are used to dispose of rubbish in & cigarette butts and vandalise. There are many shops for lease, (this I can understand post Covid) ram raided broken windows, homeless in many doorways, old phone box debris, bags of rubbish littering the pavements (why they do not have to use bins I do not understand) you have to walk around, graffiti, shop signage dirty and defaced, ugly planters which are unkempt, ugly temporary cheap looking scooter parking, great chunks of the city blocked with construction, speed limits at a snail’s pace, one way or no way on many streets, difficult parking, and no life or vibrancy. This city is really an embarrassment to call my home. Would love to hear from other likeminded Aucklander’s, who care with some real doable ideas that we could do as a group to improve our city as not ready to let go of this city yet!
Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.
This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.
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84.5% Yes
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14.1% No
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Railing planters
To gain extra growing space, make and hang these easy-to-build planters on almost any wooden fence or deck railing. Use Resene FX Blackboard Paint so you can easily identify what plants are in each. Find out how to create your own with these easy step by step instructions.