Council leaves anti-three waters reform group over its 'emotional' reactions
In February, almost all of Queenstown's district councillors were keen to join anti-Three Waters reform group. Two months later, almost all are keen to leave.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council is the latest to leave the group, with councillors citing concerns for their ongoing relationship with iwi and the group’s strategy as reasons for changing their minds.
Deputy mayor Calum MacLeod voted in favour of joining Communities 4 Local Democracy (C4LD) in February, but at Thursday’s full council meeting and to Stuff on Friday, he said he had since seen “multiple red flags”.
He did not agree with the group’s reaction to the Three Waters working party's mahi, and felt their negativity was for negativity's sake.
The Three Waters working party involves local government leaders and Local Government New Zealand working with the Government to come up with compromises within the proposed Three Waters reform.
C4LD was founded in December by local government leaders who did not believe comprises were possible, and wanted to come up with alternative reforms for the Government to consider.
MacLeod felt C4LD's press releases and attitude towards the working party had been “emotional”, and instead of doing the “hard yards” of investigating what was wrong with its work, they were against it because “they didn't like it”. Continue reading here.
What's your favourite tomato recipe?
Kia ora neighbours. We know your tomato plants are still growing, but we're looking ahead to the harvest already! If you've got a family recipe for tomatoes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine to share with our readers. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our February 2025 issue.
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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83.3% Yes
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14.3% No
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2.4% Other - I'll share below
Poll: When should the tree go up? 🎄
From what we've heard, some Christmas trees are already being assembled and decorated.
What are your thoughts on the best time to get your Christmas tree up?
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4.7% Second half of November
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43.4% 1st December
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17.4% A week before Christmas
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33.3% Whenever you wish
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1.1% Other - I'll share below