Latest news with #ACT
Scoop
6 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
REVEALED: IKEA Consent Shows Why We Can't Have Nice Things
'IKEA's consent conditions show the absurd demands that councils are able to make that slow development, drive up cost, and make New Zealand a less attractive place to do business,' says ACT Leader David Seymour. ACT has obtained a copy of the 2023 resource consent for IKEA's Sylvia Park development. IKEA's consent requirements include: Inviting representatives of seven different mana whenua groups 'to undertake cultural monitoring, karakia and other such cultural ceremonies on the site' at the pre-start meeting, commencement of earthworks and immediately prior to completion of bulk earthworks across the site, with 10 days' notice before each of those events. Consulting with mana whenua on design aspects including erosion and sediment control measures, stormwater treatment, planting, the 'Culvert-edge walkway', and fencing. Mana whenua must be afforded the opportunity to provide Cultural Monitoring as deemed required by the respective mana whenua representatives. Mana whenua must be afforded access to the site at their discretion. 'What message do conditions like these send to other businesses looking to invest in New Zealand?" says Seymour. 'This is especially relevant for supermarkets, where we urgently need more competition. Companies like Aldi or Coles will think twice about entering the market if they realise they'll face this cultural rigmarole at hundreds of separate sites, each with potentially different requirements. 'We should be rolling out the welcome mat for anyone wanting to bring much-needed competition to New Zealand. Instead, we're forcing them to navigate demands based on metaphysical concepts not required anywhere else in the world. The result is Kiwis see higher prices at the checkout, less jobs, and lower incomes. 'That's why Cabinet has agreed there will be no general Treaty principles clause in the new resource management system. We will continue to uphold Treaty settlements, but we cannot continue to have planners bogging down everyone's consents by demanding this sort of absurdity."
ABC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
ACT opposition leader's first budget reply speech upstaged by Greens' health levy opposition
Despite her long career in show business, Leanne Castley may never have been upstaged quite like she was in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday. But the last week may have provided material for some new country songs. The Canberra Liberals leader rose to her feet for her first budget reply speech; a major set piece event for someone who admits she's not a "typical politician". At the conclusion, she left the chamber with an easy smile, embraced by supporters congratulating her on a job well done. Yet it was the speech that followed — from ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury — that left the biggest mark on budget week. The Greens' decision to oppose the government's $250 health levy is a sign that, when it comes to passing bills in this assembly, the Animal Farm theory applies; some MLAs are more equal than others. The Liberals can but oppose, while the Greens — flexing their crossbench muscle — are the ones the government must pay attention to. This is arguably the most significant political fight the minor party has picked with its former coalition partner so far. The question now is how the fight ends. Negotiations began yesterday, with no clear resolution. The Greens have indicated they're open to means-testing the levy, if it can't be removed from the budget entirely. But if either side makes the political calculation they should play hard ball, its fate could hang in the balance for months, with the assembly not sitting again until September. Greater costs for ratepayers may have been foreshadowed when Treasurer Chris Steel said there would be "tough decisions" at his mid-year budget update. The levy, however, shocked many — and stands in stark contrast to the pre-election budget we got last year which contained few, if any, surprises. It's not unusual for governments to get the tough budget out of the way in the first year of a term. But this is also not Labor's first term. By bringing down a budget of this nature after 24 years in office, the government is setting a high bar for itself to have made significant improvements by the time voters next go to the polls. Part of why Labor was successful last year even after six terms was the ability to stake a claim as the superior economic managers. The chief minister famously accused the opposition of "magic pudding economics" during the leaders debate. He might have been wishing for his own magic pudding this week. The events of the last few days have taken some of the attention away from an opposition leader, who could have used an unobstructed moment in the spotlight. Ever since Peter Cain's departure from shadow cabinet last week, Leanne Castley has struggled for clear air, with an ongoing dispute about exactly how his resignation came about. Her budget reply was the ideal opportunity, but through no fault of her own, it failed to provide the kind of moment she was after. Attention now turns to the forthcoming announcement of the revised shadow cabinet, which may provide another reset moment. If there is any lesson from a budget week, it is surely that nobody gets everything they want.
American Press
11 hours ago
- General
- American Press
Foreign exchange student reflects on year in the US
This year's DeRidder Rotary Club scholarship recipients are Helena Thompson, Grace Lovitt, Gabriel McKee, Victor Storer, Hunter Gill, Mikayla Bonds and Collin Nortman. Five of the recipients are pictured with Club President Erin Chesnutt. (Special to the American Press) The Rotary Club of DeRidder has given out more than $500,000 in scholarships for over 60 years — and they awarded $20,000 more this month. Scholarships were presented to seven students who were required to write an essay, achieve an ACT composite score of 19 or higher, maintain a 3.0 grade-point average and create a short video introducing themselves and stating where they plan to attend school in the fall. Club President Erin Chesnutt said this is the second year the program has been offered to students attending traditional colleges and universities and those entering vocational or trade schools. This year's recipients are Helena Thompson, Grace Lovitt and Gabriel McKee of Rosepine High School; Victor Storer of Merryville High School; Hunter Gill and Mikayla Bonds of DeRidder High School; and Collin Nortman of East Beauregard High School. The guest speaker for this month's Rotary Club meeting was Dou Sugisawa, an exchange student from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, who has been studying at Comeaux High School in Lafayette. She was hosted by Paula Mendoza, who is the Rotarian Club of Lafayette treasurer and Rotarian District Youth Exchange Officer. She has hosted Sugisawa — whose father is a rotarian in Japan — for 11 months. 'I got to see the world through Dou's eyes and experience things that we normally take for granted. She is the most courageous person I've ever met; she's jumped into everything I would put in front of her,' Mendoza said. Sugisawa finished her sophomore school year in Lafayette with a 3.9 GPA and took the ACT test for fun and made a 23. Mendoza said Sugisawa can accomplish anything she sets her mind to and considers herself lucky to have witnessed her extraordinary growth. Sugisawa was Mendoza's first rotarian foreign exchange student. Mendoza said a month before Sugisawa's stay with her, they started emailing back and forth. They met for the first time in Baton Rouge the day Sugisawa arrived in America. Mendoza said she has learned a lot from Sugisawa — such as the different customs between the two countries and how Americans can be louder and more boisterous while the Japanese are traditionally very quiet. Mendoza said the first few weeks Sugisawa was with her, she'd ask her how her day had gone in school. She said Sugisawa initially told her she doesn't like to talk about 'personal things.' Within three weeks, however, Sugisawa said she would look forward to telling Mendoza about her day at school. Sugisawa also started calling Mendoza 'Mom.' 'Before she got here, she had written in one of her letters, 'I don't like to be touched, if you want to hug me, please ask first,' and I wrote back, 'This might be trouble because you're coming to the south, the land of huggers,' and now months later, she hugs everybody,' Mendoza said. 'In Japan nobody hugs, I don't even hug with my own father, mother or siblings. People are so friendly here, even in the grocery stores. In Japan you don't talk to strangers in the grocery store, but I like this style,' Sugisawa said. Sugisawa said in Japan people show love and care in other forms. 'People show affection more privately and will take care of you, cook for you, it's more of an act of service,' she said. Sugisawa said she has experienced a lot while in the States — including seeing an alligator and learning to make a roux. Crawfish etouffee is her favorite Louisiana cuisine, and she said she will be taking Mendoza's crawfish etouffee recipe back to Japan with her. Bread pudding is her favorite dessert, Mendoza said. 'Everywhere we went she'd try the bread pudding if it was on the menu.' Sugisawa's experience in an American school is very different from that in Japan. She said the biggest difference is how here students switch classrooms each hour, whereas in Japan the teacher switches classes and the students stay in the same classroom, with the same students all day. 'It's not just switching classrooms, either, the relationships are also different because I'd spend all day with the same classmates in Japan,' she said. Field days and pep rallies are also not held in Japan. 'I think students at Comeaux High School have more freedom than at my school at home because my school in Japan has a very strict uniform, you are not allowed to dye your hair, wear any kind of jewelry or wear makeup in school,' she explained. Mendoza and Sugisawa traveled a lot while she was in the states. Both said a trip to Colorado was their favorite. 'Even though where she lives, in Sappara, they get the snow, they don't go skiing or play in it, it's all about education,' Mendoza said. Sugisawa will be taking a two-week East Coast trip with other foreign exchange students before flying home to Japan this summer. She will get to experience Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., South Carolina and Disney World in Florida. Sugisawa is most excited to see the Statue of Liberty. Sugisawa said she looks forward to returning home and seeing her parents and three siblings again. Mendoza plans to visit Sugisawa next year in Japan.
BBC News
13 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'The only team that can beat us is us'
In looking forward to his first start for the British and Irish Lions, against Western Force on Saturday, Mack Hansen couldn't stop himself from looking back to last Friday night's defeat by Argentina and the lessons learned."The only team that can beat us is us," he says, an arresting line from a compelling character. "If we're not on it and we're not doing things to the best of our ability, then that's what's going to let us down."Hansen came off the bench against Argentina and made a fine impact, not that you could tell that from his demeanour when talking about it. The Ireland wing is laid-back, for sure, but the quirkiness and the chilled persona is only part of who he a deadly seriousness about him, too. "I've officially become a Lion, which is incredible and everything, but we lost, so it was a real weird vibe. We're four of the best teams in the world, so the expectation is to win regardless of who you're playing."There were a few excuses that we could have had [for the loss to the Pumas] but we've thrown them out the door. We have some of the best players in the world and you should be winning every time. We'll get our heads absolutely chewed off if it happens again. So the plan is to win from here on out." The Australia-born winger is in from the start on Saturday against the Force, a team containing three of his old mates from the ACT Brumbies, including his old house-mate Bayley Kuenzle, who starts on the bench for the hosts in is made of Hansen's relaxed attitude but he reveals another side of himself. Does he get nervous? Will he be fretful before running out at Optus Stadium on Saturday?"Definitely, yeah, yeah," he says. "You know, come pre-game, I can barely eat anything. You've got the butterflies, you feel sick, you definitely have all that stuff, but you know, it's the best job in the world. I'd rather have those feelings than sitting around not having them."Anyone that says they don't get nervous is lying, to be honest. That's just what comes with playing at those levels because there's a lot at stake. It means something."Hansen, 27, is a curious sort. For a wing, he's not a prolific try-scorer. He's only once registered double-figures for a season as an elite player. He's not tall, he's not all that quick by modern standards, he's not as powerful as many as you see these days. He's far from a physical the sum of his parts is an outstanding package. His intelligence is the key. That's one of the things that his Ireland and Lions coach, Andy Farrell, loves about it. His game awareness, his decision-making, his work-rate, his appreciation of space, his habit of doing the right thing at the right time."I guess the other guys [Duhan van der Merwe, Tommy Freeman and James Lowe] would be a bit quicker and more physical than me. That's just not my game. I try to help out where I can, whether that's getting my hands on the ball, being a player at the back, those sort of things."My main strength is my work off the ball, so that's my focus a lot of the time. Keep working and try to get into the game wherever I can." That's a modest appraisal. Hansen's ability to read a game is interesting on the likely mindset of the Force's players on Saturday. "When you're coming up against a big team such as us, those guys will definitely be able to get up for that," he says."They've only got one game and then they're on holidays. You can rev yourself up. No, we're not expecting anything easy. We're not playing the Force this week with them thinking, 'All right, boys, let's go out here and lose by 40'"They're coming out thinking we can cause an upset."Just as the Brumbies did in June 2013. Tevita Kuridrani scored the only try and the Canberra boys won 14-12. "I was at the Brumbies game and the Brumbies beat the Lions," recalls Hansen, who was born and raised in Canberra and qualifies for Ireland and the Lions through his Irish mother."Things do happen. I remember that tour vividly - I remember the buzz around Australia, seeing these players that you never really get to see. It was just amazing, it was just cool to me. Now it's here and I'm doing it and it feels like I'm properly living a dream."The memory of that Brumbies victory was a glorious one once upon a time but now he's using it as a salutary tale, an experience to keep him on his toes. Fear of failure can be a suffocating thing, but used wisely, it can be a powerful force for good."I was with my dad and my brother [at the Brumbies match]. We were sitting behind the goalposts," he says. "It was a mad thing, because you don't expect anyone to actually do it. I've talked to guys about that afterwards, and they were juiced. They'd been pumped up for that game for weeks."Hansen believes the Force will be no different. They've had a lousy season but this is a chance to redeem themselves, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn over the fire the underdogs will bring must be doused by captain Dan Sheehan's impressive-looking team - or else that Hansen line about heads being chewed off will resurface.
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
ACT Announces Dr Nima Maleiki As ACT Local Candidate For Kaipara
ACT Local has selected — a long-time Mangawhai resident, GP specialist, and community leader — as its candidate for the Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Ward of the Kaipara District Council in this year's local election. Dr. Maleiki, 58, was recruited from Norway in 2016 to serve as a rural GP and now lives in Mangawhai with his wife and three young boys. A proud Persian Kiwi who speaks four languages and enjoys sharing Persian cuisine, he brings a wealth of global experience and a deep commitment to local solutions. He has led grassroots efforts to improve Kaipara's neglected infrastructure, including a 2022 petition with 702 signatures calling for better planning and investment in the region's 1,140 km of unsealed roads — a long-standing safety, health, and productivity issue. 'After 10 years here, I've seen our community grow while council services stand still. I'm running to fix our broken roads, stop wasteful spending, and deliver the infrastructure our families, farmers, and businesses need. As a GP and founder of several medical clinics, I bring real-world problem-solving to council. ACT's vision of freedom and responsibility inspires me to champion health, infrastructure, and economic growth — while keeping rates low and consents simple. Together, we'll build a thriving ward for the next generation.' – Dr. Nima Maleiki Earlier this year, ACT New Zealand announced it would be standing Common Sense Candidates for local government for the first time — after hearing from New Zealanders across the country who are sick of rising rates, ballooning budgets, and councils that ignore the basics while chasing ideological vanity projects. When you vote ACT Local, you know what you're getting: Fixing the basics Cutting the waste Ending race-based politics Restoring accountability ACT Local Government spokesperson Cameron Luxton says: ' ACT Local candidates are community-minded Kiwis who've had enough of wasteful councils treating ratepayers like ATMs. It's time to take control on behalf of ratepayers — to restore accountability and deliver real value for money. ACT Local is about getting the basics right: maintaining roads, keeping streets clean, and respecting the people who pay the bills. Our candidates won't divide people by race or get distracted by climate vanity projects. They're here to serve, not lecture."
