A Budget Day like no other
Report and photos by Roy Murphy
While Members of Parliament squabbled inside the Beehive in Wellington on Budget Day, more than a thousand angry people gathered on the lawn outside. It was a powerful outpouring of dissent against amendments to the Equal Pay Act rushed through Parliament at short notice and without consultation. Read more »
Making democracy work. Part 5: Decisions
Part One covered the formation and structure of the Porirua Citizens Assembly. Part Two examined how the Assembly went about its work. Part Three looked at the contribution from the rangatahi. Part Four described the contribution of the Mana Whenua.
The Porirua Citizens Assembly finished its work last Saturday. It had no authority to add anything extra to the draft of Day Four. It was refining the expression of the final draft to delete some contested sentences and clarify the wording. It was aiming at 100 percent acceptance, but it agreed to accept an 80 percent favourable vote. In the end the final version was approved by unanimous vote. Read more »
Vibes, debt, and affordable housing
May 21, 2025 19 comments
by Felicity Wong
Few affordable houses in Wellington have resulted from de-regulating zoning in the District Plan. So far, the Wellington evidence supports the Independent Hearing Panel's (IHP) view that 'zoning by itself, does not lead to affordable housing'. Read more »
Making democracy work. Part 4. Mana whenua kōrero
by Roy Murphy
Part One covered the formation and structure of the Porirua Citizens Assembly. Part Two examined how the Assembly went about its work. Part Three looked at the contribution from the rangatahi..
One big difference between the wider Porirua community and the Mana Whenua, the indigenous people of Aotearoa, became obvious right from the start. The wider community spent nearly the whole of the first day getting to know each other, developing acceptable ways of dealing with each other, going on a bus tour to get familiar with the land, and agreeing on how to arrive at conclusions. Whereas the Mana Whenua already knew each other, knew the land, knew the families, and used the traditional Māori ways of kōrero (discussion) and of making decisions. Read more »
Making democracy work. Part 3: the youth speak up
May 19, 2025 9 comments
by Roy Murphy
Part One covered the formation and structure of the Porirua Citizens Assembly. Part Two examined how the Assembly went about its work.
Day Two was centred around the rangatahi, the young people. Read more »
Making democracy work. Part 2: getting to know you
May 18, 2025 4 comments
by Roy Murphy
Part One covered the formation and structure of the Porirua Citizens Assembly on climate change.
For the wider Porirua community, Day One of the Assembly was devoted to setting the ground rules, finding out about each other so they could talk, going on a bus tour of the Porirua area to develop their knowledge of the local environment, and listening to experts. Read more »
Making democracy work. Part 1: building the framework
May 17, 2025 24 comments
by Roy Murphy
In a world first, the Porirua community has improved the experience of people involvement in society three-fold. It has transformed the already successful process of citizens' assemblies. Read more »
$800,000 to re-plan Dixon Street
by Karl Tiefenbacher
The Wellington City Council last week once again showed how desperately out of touch it is with what we need as a city, and how much we need a change at the local elections. Read more »
Running out of runway
May 14, 2025 50 comments
by Councillor Diane Calvert
Wellington is running out of runway — financially and politically. City councillors are about to make decisions on a revised 10-year budget that will shape Wellington's direction for years to come. This is the last chance for councillors to face facts: the city we've been planning and spending for isn't a city people can afford to live in. Read more »
Eight months of roadworks
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