Lotto Powerball: The ‘matrix' change that will make winning millions of times tougher
Lotto bosses are seeking government permission to add extra balls to the Lotto Powerball draw, a move that will decrease the odds of winning. New Zealand Herald composite photo
Winning Lotto Powerball could be about to get several million times harder.
The Herald can reveal Lotto NZ bosses are keen to increase the number of balls in the Powerball draw - and are already seeking permission from the Government for what has been described as a 'matrix' change for
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NZ Herald
19 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Lotto Powerball: The ‘matrix' change that will make winning millions of times tougher
Lotto bosses are seeking government permission to add extra balls to the Lotto Powerball draw, a move that will decrease the odds of winning. New Zealand Herald composite photo Winning Lotto Powerball could be about to get several million times harder. The Herald can reveal Lotto NZ bosses are keen to increase the number of balls in the Powerball draw - and are already seeking permission from the Government for what has been described as a 'matrix' change for
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- The Spinoff
Are regional councils on the chopping block?
With new planning laws set to centralise environmental decision-making, ministers are openly debating whether regional councils still serve a purpose, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Are regional councils' days numbered? The future of New Zealand's 11 regional councils is under intense scrutiny, with senior government figures questioning whether they should exist at all, reports Adam Pearse at the Herald. Leading the charge is regional development minister Shane Jones, who last week asked bluntly: 'What is the point of regional government?' He has accused councils of stifling economic growth and claimed they were being co-opted into co-governance arrangements, describing the Waikato regional council as an 'iwi back office'. Prime minister Christopher Luxon didn't go that far, but said disestablishing regional councils was 'something we can explore' as part of the sweeping Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms, which aim to replace the existing legislation with two new laws intended to standardise planning decisions and reduce reliance on complex, locally issued resource consents. With key powers centralised, regional councils risk being sidelined altogether. Local government minister Simon Watts is keeping his cards close to the chest, only saying the future would 'look differently than what it is'. What regional councils do Regional councils were created in 1989 as part of a sweeping local government overhaul that replaced hundreds of small boards with 86 authorities, including 13 regional councils (now 11). Their purpose was to manage land, water and air resources under the then-new RMA. These days, their responsibilities include environmental monitoring, flood control, biodiversity, biosecurity, public transport and natural hazard planning. They also play a core role in building resilience to climate change, according to Local Government New Zealand. In some parts of the country – including Auckland, Gisborne and Nelson – these duties are handled by unitary authorities, which combine regional and territorial (ie city or district council) responsibilities. The post-RMA reckoning In a column on Scoop, former United Future leader Peter Dunne argues the government's plan to replace the RMA has reignited National's long-held discomfort with regional councils. After National took office in 1990, it 'wound back the powers' the Labour government had assigned to the councils, leaving them 'largely toothless', Dunne says. 'For the last 35 years they have therefore remained an awkward anomaly, with little public understanding of their purpose.' With the RMA now set to be replaced by new laws focused on national standards and streamlined consenting, the government appears to be questioning whether regional governance is still necessary, reports The Post's Anna Whyte (paywalled). Or, as David Seymour put it, 'maybe the next logical question is, do we need that extra layer of government?' If you're thinking about a new career as a regional councillor, maybe think again, advises Dunne. 'With the way things are currently swirling, those considering running for regional councils ought to be watching National's musings about the future of regional government very carefully.' Amalgamation enters the frame While most regional councillors are – unsurprisingly – against the idea of their roles being scrapped outright, many are open to the idea of amalgamation. In a column for The Post (paywalled), Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Daran Ponter suggests regional councils could be 'building blocks' for a streamlined system, but argues that we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. 'Environmental regulation is a part of any modern western democracy and essential to New Zealand trade,' he writes. 'If it's not your regional council doing this work, then it will be a government agency or your local council.' His call for amalgamation has won support in neighbouring Hutt City Council, which will vote today on whether to include a question on the topic in this year's election ballot papers. Further south, Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger is also open to combining functions into a unitary authority. But Environment Canterbury chair Craig Pauling tells David Hill at The Press (paywalled) that rushing into amalgamation isn't the answer. 'We agree the current structure and funding is unsustainable, but it is not simple and … just about scrapping regional councils and creating unitary authorities.'
The Spinoff
4 days ago
- The Spinoff
‘Short-term pain' and long-term fallout as Kāinga Ora scraps thousands of state homes
Nearly 3500 planned homes have been cut from the pipeline in a sweeping overhaul aimed at restoring the agency's finances, writes Catherine McGregor in today's extract from The Bulletin. Thousands of state homes scrapped If you missed the news of massive cuts to the state house building programme, that's understandable – it came on Thursday, just as the country was powering down for the Matariki weekend. As the Herald's Lane Nichols reports, Kāinga Ora is cancelling 212 planned housing projects which would have delivered almost 3500 state homes, with 20% of the agency's vacant land holdings to be put up for sale. The rest will be land banked for 'possible future development', Kāinga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett said. The decision means the agency will need to write down between $190 and $220 million in sunk costs for scoping and planning work. Both Crockett and housing minister Chris Bishop said the cancellations were a tough call, but necessary to restore fiscal discipline to the troubled agency. 'We need to bite the bullet on this' said Crockett. 'There is often some short-term pain that comes with the resetting of past decisions, but it needs to be done.' Impact across the regions The cancellations are widespread but will hit hardest in Auckland, Palmerston North, Christchurch and Whangārei. In Auckland, Onehunga lost 259 new homes across multiple developments, while a $100 million, 16-storey tower in central Manukau has been shelved. Over in Mt Wellington, the Rowlands Ave redevelopment – planned to replace 60 demolished units with 180 new homes – has also been abandoned. In Palmerston North, 245 homes across nine projects have been cut, and in Whangārei, 322 new builds have been cancelled. A planned 108-home village in the Christchurch suburb of Sockburn has also been scrapped. Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley, who worked with residents in Jordan Ave and Rowlands Ave before they were relocated, tells Newsroom's Jonathan Milne many families were promised the right to return. 'I just don't understand it,' she said. 'We have so many people still on the Public Housing Register who need homes. Kāinga Ora's role should be about building homes – what else are they here for?' The big reset The cancellations form part of a wider turnaround plan for Kāinga Ora, which followed a review by former prime minister Sir Bill English amid cost blowouts and spiralling debt. In February, Bishop unveiled details of a 'reset' to refocus the agency on its core role as a landlord, not a developer. The plan also includes shedding hundreds of jobs and offloading high-value properties in affluent suburbs like Remuera. Bishop said the project cancellations and land sales are designed to free up funds to build homes in places where they are most needed. 'Meanwhile, over the next two years, Kāinga Ora is delivering over 2000 additional social homes as well as a big refit programme to bring older social homes up to scratch.' The government has also funded 2,000 homes through strategic partnerships with Community Housing Providers, 400 affordable rentals, and has established a 'housing flexible fund' which will enable 'up to 650-900 more social homes and affordable rentals', he added. The cost to communities As Milne writes in his excellent piece in Newsroom, the topline figures tell only a fraction of the story. Over the past seven years, around 5000 Kāinga Ora homes have been demolished – often with ambitious rebuild plans that never materialised. 'Amid the politics and policy and media discussions of where Kāinga Ora's money has all gone, few are asking where the people have gone,' Milne writes. In Onehunga, for example, where 62 state homes were flattened, the promised high-rise replacements were designed – twice – before being scrapped altogether. 'All these thousands of people moved out to make way for the promise of the new – but it's proved to be a hollow promise.' Those left behind are often confronted by daily reminders of what could have been. 'The last thing you want to see in your communities is big, massive, empty housing lots,' councillor Josephine Bartley said. 'It does something to the people that still live round there, the people that see that emptiness every day.'
