Page 14 - Dave Macpherson News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas, Lydia Anderson, Andrew McRae The perfect storm of problems has Massey University senior lecturer Andy Asquith echoing a call late last year to hold a Royal Commission of Inquiry into local government. Dr Asquith wants an overhaul of the sector which he says has become a "joke" to the public who have had enough of council squabbling. Infighting, internal investigations and code of conduct complaints have plagued councils up and down the country in recent years, coming to a head at Tauranga City Council in November when an independent review identified significant gover...

DOMINICO ZAPATA/STUFF This 756sqm section on Hamilton's River Road is on the market for $1,050,000. In the distance is the Pukete Bridge. Hamilton's housing crunch is worsening, as the number of sections for sale across the city slips into single figures. Only eight bare residential sections are for sale in a city made up of 60,000 lots or sections. The figure excludes house and land packages. The stark number, collated by Hamilton City Council staff, has prompted renewed debate among city politicians about how best to open up more land for housing without accruing crippling city debt.�...

The Government funds have allowed the council to open up Peacocke in Hamilton’s south and has seen it start delivering a big chunk of infrastructure all at once – including work on a new river bridge. Peacocke is earmarked to soak up a lot of the city’s growth with an estimated 20,000-plus residents expected to call the area home by 2048. More than 9000 people are expected to be living in Peacocke within the next decade. However, like many high-growth cities, Hamilton has seen its debt levels increase in recent years as it funds new infrastructure. In March, the council will open up ...

Waterworld Te Rapa/Supplied Waterworld Te Rapa was one of three council businesses caught discharging contaminants into the sewers in breach of their trade waste consents. This story was originally published on and is republished with permission. A public pool, a water treatment plant and a landfill owned by Hamilton City Council are among the 99 organisations caught dumping contaminants down the drain. The three council-owned facilities were revealed after the council released the names of all 99 companies that had breached their trade waste consents in the city during the past year. The...

Contaminated waste dumping: Ardern weighs options against companies in breach © RNZ / Sam Rillstone The prime minister has put companies dumping contaminated waste into sewers on notice, saying she's seeking advice about the available options. © Provided by Radio New Zealand No caption Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says it is unacceptable for companies to intentionally dump contaminated waste into sewers. Photo: RNZ / Sam Rillstone No companies have been prosecuted or fined and local councils say their pleas for the government to fix the law have been ignored for 18 years. Jacinda Ard...