Are We Really Serious About the Housing Crisis?

This past weekend Labour celebrated 100 years of existence. As part of that centenary they announced a Housing policy they would enact if they became the next government. Despite what the right say, it is clever politicking by Labour for two reasons; 1. it’s an attempt to address a growing issue and 2. it harks back to the 1930s era of Labour governance where state housing originates from. Meanwhile, yesterday National announced that it didn't expect a dividend from Housing New Zealand which will, in theory, allow HNZ to invest in building more state houses.

This crisis has been an ongoing issue for years yet has been ignored by the politicians until now. With both main parties deeply rooted in neoliberal economic policy there has been an unwillingness to interfere with the market, choosing instead to believe the market will right itself. There has also been a push to emphasise one issue or another. We’ve heard that not enough houses are being built, too many foreigners buying up our houses, it’s Kiwi investors, it’s councils not releasing enough land. What we haven’t heard is a concerted combined attempt at solving this growing problem.

I have decided that instead of complaining, I would have a go at offering a combined solution to the problem. Admittedly I am no economist, or finance advisor, nor do I claim expertise in this area. But as a lay person I think some of these ideas, as part of a wider ranging policy, have merit and should be openly discussed.

1. Discourage foreigners purchasing housing stock. 

This is often seen as being “anti-foreign investment”. I believe that’s a false label used to dismiss this idea but this idea needs an alternative offered in conjunction.

2. ENCOURAGE foreign investment into local businesses. 

This is that alternative. The problem isn’t foreign investment. The problem is where that investment is going. Housing stock doesn't generate wealth for our country. Foreign investment in our small and medium sized businesses does. These first two ideas have to go hand in hand.

3. ENCOURAGE local investment into local businesses. 

Likewise, local investment shouldn’t be sunk into multiple homes. Local businesses generate wealth, employ people and return money back into regional economies.

4. Capital Gains / Property Tax. 

People hate this idea but the reality is that currently there is little to no tax on property investment. A graduated tax based on the number of properties one owns seems to be a fair way of taxing. If you want to make your money in property go ahead, but you will be taxed just like any other investment.

5. Education on Investments. 

Too many Kiwis have no idea about how the sharemarket works, what a share is, what a bond is. We fear the sharemarket because we don’t understand it. As a nation we need to financially school ourselves up and get over our fear. 

6. Build More Houses. 

It is a no brainer but the population is growing, particularly in Auckland. Not enough housing is being built to cover the growth. 

7. Build Up, Not Out. 

Building more suburbs in our major cities, particularly Auckland will not solve the issue but will simply create more complex problems. We need to have a long term plan to make compact people-friendly cities. Sprawling metropolises like we have now are car-friendly, use up valuable farmland and don’t work. The desired quarter acre section with a white picket fence is an idea best left in the 1950s where it belongs.

So seven ideas. Not rocket science but at the same time if done properly can help to solve the housing crisis. Some of the ideas won’t see immediate effects but are necessary to stop the speculation and correct the craziness that currently inhabits our property market. I’d love to see all of these ideas implemented. I’d love to see politicians with the guts to actually work together to solve the crisis. But I fear that that won’t happen. I fear personal interests will trump what’s best for the nation and that the housing crisis will only get worse until something snaps, plummeting us into the abyss of fiscal depression.

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This will form the start of a 4-6 part series. I will attempt to expand on some of these ideas over the coming weeks. Next week, redirecting investment away from housing and into Kiwi businesses (this will attempt to expand points 1-3). That will be followed by a look at Capital Gains Tax, Financial Education, Increasing the current housing stock and finally why I believe we should be focusing more on going up rather than out, particularly in Auckland.

The Forgotten Heroes

Yesterday was Anzac Day. A wonderful day where we as a nation remember the soldiers (including sailors and airmen) fallen or who are no longer with us who fought to make our nation safe. Special services allow us to remember them. We hear the Last Post, see the flags at half-mast, recite the Ode of Remembrance. And with it being a hundred years since the folly that was the Gallipoli campaign, we hear a lot about what our men endured during the horrendous campaign. And rightly so. After all, it was a key time in our history as a nation. But, with such an emphasis on those who have passed, we run the danger of neglecting those who are still with us and the suffering they are enduring currently. 

There have been many conflicts and war zones that our servicemen and women have entered that we know little or nothing about. Examples of those include the Malay Peninsula, Mururoa, East Timor, the first Gulf War, the second Gulf War, Afghanistan. What is life like for those men and women and their families? Are they suffering in silence? How has their service for country affected them and their lives? 

Recently we had two challenging news reports on these oft forgotten veterans. Newshub reported on young veterans and the mental illness they deal with as they return from conflict zones. Stuff reported on the increased number of former military personnel who are now living on the streets. Both were good reminders that we would do well to remember and appreciate our silent veterans - those still with us who are suffering. Not just that, but also offer help where and when appropriate. 

But there is one group that is silently suffering and dying who most of us give no regard to whatsoever. They are the Navy veterans who we as a nation sent to Mururoa in 1973. We sent them there as a visible force officially “protesting” the French testing of nuclear bombs on that remote Pacific atoll. Up until that time, despite small protests from concerned citizens, the world didn’t listen until HMNZS Otago and then her sister ship Canterbury with the support of HMAS Supply went to Mururoa. It went hand in hand with a international court case that the New Zealand government took against France regarding the nuclear tests. The 500 odd men on those frigates did their duty and despite Prime Minister of the time, Norman Kirk swearing to the men that the nation would never forget them, we turned around and did just that. We forgot them. 

Now, 43 years on, many of those sailors have passed, often suffering from rare forms of cancer and leukemia. Their families suffer in silence along with their men. The men are now entitled to their own medal but how many of us know their stories? Sadly all too few. These men, who were involved in the foundation of this country’s nuclear free stance have been forgotten and marginalised for too long. This needs to end. We need to remember them and offer them our heartfelt thanks. We need to support their families who have had to watch those veterans slowly lose their fight with cancer or leukemia and have now passed away leaving a vacuum in their family’s lives. 

Yes we need to remember those who fought and died for us in years gone by but we also need to remember those who served and who are now suffering. After all, Anzac Day is not just about Gallipoli, it is our day to remember all of our military personnel, past and present, who gave their lives that we may live in relative peace and safety. 


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DISCLAIMER: I am part of the Junior Executive for the Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group Inc, a group set up to raise awareness of what the veterans went through, support Mururoa veterans and to call the government to recognise the veterans as nuclear testing victims. My father served on HMNZS Otago when it was sent to Mururoa.

That's a Fine Looking High Horse

Why do Christians feel that they have the right to judge people, including their fellow believers? It is something that has perplexed me for years, but a few things I have observed lately has prompted this post.

A number of years back I read Philip Yancey's book "What's So Amazing About Grace?" Not one to mince words, Yancey opens his book by recounting a story of a prostitute who has hit rock bottom and had started renting out her two year old daughter for sex so she could pay for her own drug habit. It is a short story but those few lines often produces two reactions - one of sadness at the depth of desperation this woman must have felt; or one of judgement, looking down at the woman and dismissing her as a deadbeat who shouldn't have kids in the first place. It was this second reaction that was the crux of the story. Yancey tells how this woman was asked if she had ever thought of going to a church for help. Her response should hit all Christians like the knockout blow of a heavyweight boxing bout. '"Church!" she cried. "Why would I ever go to there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They'd just make me feel worse."' They'd just make me feel worse. Ouch! What an indictment. Yet, nearly twenty years since Yancey penned that book, things are no different. The people of God who should be the very instruments of grace in the world are often the tools of judgement.

I realised this in a personal way over the course of the past eighteen months as my marriage broke up. People who said they were friends and would stick by me no matter what stopped communicating with me. Some even refused to have me in their homes because they had heard stories about me which they said concerned them. And people who I would call acquaintances felt they could confront me about my marriage break-up, one via text and the other via Facebook messenger. I only just found this last confrontation a year later and it shocked me. Shocked that a fellow believer felt they had the right to do this. Not to come alongside and support or pray or offer help or assistance in any way, but to judge. Without going into too much detail, they suggested I reconsider the next steps due to the heritage they believed I was leaving for my children. They also brought up my deceased father as part of their argument - "What would your father want you to do? If he were here what would his challenge to you be? Would he want to see you tear their (my children) lives apart?" Now I hardly know this person. They don't really know me either. What had happened in my marriage was private and not known to many people. This person was going on rumour and hearsay but still felt they were within their right to send me this message.

And that is the problem. When did some Christians feel it was their duty to judge? After all, Jesus told His followers not to judge (see Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, Luke 6:41 to name a few), as did Paul, one of the fathers of the early Christian faith (see Romans 2:1, Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 4:5). It's as if those of us who profess Christian faith have put ourselves up on a high horse and in the process, elevated ourselves into the place that should only be the domain of God.

Christians are to be the salt and light in the world, and as Eugene Petersen puts so beautifully, bring out the God flavours and God colours. Not to be judges of it. Judging creates an "us and them" mentality. It is divisive. It is hurtful and it is unnecessary. When the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery before of Jesus (and seeing as the law stated anyone caught in adultery, where was the guy?) did He condemn her? No. He instead looked at the Pharisees and said "he who is sinless can cast the first stone". Not one stone was thrown. The Pharisees were after judgement, justice and punishment. Jesus was all about restoration. As people who claim to follow Jesus, those of us who call ourselves Christians should be all about restoration too.

"But what about the laws of God?" I hear you ask. "What about what is right and just?" "Surely purity and faithfulness are important to God and we should defend that?" Good questions. But in an attempt to answer them let me take a leaf out of Christ's book and ask some questions of my own: "Is God all-powerful, all-knowing and everywhere? Is God just? Can God, through the work of restoration in someone, bring them to a level of faithfulness and purity that He is happy with?" If God is all about restoring people to Himself, it isn't up to us to decide whether people should be judged or not. That is God's prerogative. Not ours. After all, everyone has fallen short of the glory of God. No-one is exempt. We all stuff up and make mistakes. Some of those mistakes can be bigger than others. We are all fallen. It is only through God that we can be restored to God.

It is also important not to judge for the sake of others. Nineteenth century Christian evangelist Dwight L. Moody once said, “Of one hundred men, one will read the Bible; the ninety-nine will read the Christian.” Too often our judgemental attitudes turn people off. The word hypocrisy often is spoken when describing Christians. How can people know God's love if you don't first show love for them? If we who are Christians are called to be salt and light, and being God's instruments of grace in the process, we should be embarrassed that the world around us doesn't see grace as being present in the church. I like the words of the singer Hozier: "... That's a fine looking high horse, What you got in the stable?, We've a lot of starving faithful ..." Perhaps I'm taking it a bit out of context, but for me it describes how the church is seen from the outside all too well. A fine looking high horse. Time to get off it and down with others, walking alongside them and helping them in their struggles. What's in the stable? we've got faithful who are hungry. It's almost like we have kept Jesus in the stable and people hungry for love and grace are being denied. That is what judging does - it hides away grace and denies it to a world in desperate need of it.

Judging has no place in our churches. It gets in the way of God and His grace flowing into people's lives. For too long we as Christians have turned people off church and off God with our judgemental attitudes (despite sometimes having well meaning intentions of preserving the idea of holiness for God). It's time we dropped our judging and picked up grace, not just for ourselves but for all around us. As Yancey says, “Jesus declared that we should have one distinguishing mark: not political correctness or moral superiority, but love.”

Don't Deny Our History

Blood was shed on New Zealand soil. People were killed in battle on these shores. The foundation of our nation was laid with the blood and sacrifice of thousands of people. Yet, it is largely unknown by those of us who call this place home. Many of us would be able to talk about World War One or World War Two. After all we had family members fight in those global conflicts and some died for the cause they fought for. It is taught in our schools and we commemorate the soldiers who fought and died in those two wars (as well as those from the Boer War, the Korean and Vietnam Wars and on into modern day conflicts) on ANZAC Day. But few would be able to give anything but the most basic of details (if that) on the Land Wars that occupied the early days of our nation’s history.

Why were the land wars fought? Who fought in them? Where did the battles take place? How long did they last? The most basic of answers were that the land wars were fought between Maori and the Crown (often thought of as the British Army) because Maori were not happy with the confiscation of land by the Crown, with many of the battles being fought in the Waikato and Taranaki. But how long the conflict lasted many of us couldn’t say.

And that is a huge problem. Whilst it may not be a part of our history we like (after all we love to present ourselves as a peaceful nation), it is part of our identity and we should know it. For example, taking my own family as an example. My Great-great-great Grandfather came out with his young family from Scotland as part of what was called the “Waikato Immigration Scheme”. This was a scheme devised by the government to bring in large numbers of settlers from the British Isles for the establishment of  European settlements in Waikato. It was the government’s hope to place military settlers onto newly confiscated land, consolidating territorial gains and increase security. The scheme offered free passage and a land grant. Upon arrival in Auckland, the settlers were housed in the Onehunga barracks. The scheme was a disaster. However, the point is that without the Land Wars, my ancestors may not have moved to New Zealand. Whether I like it or not, it is a part of my personal history and the history of this wonderful nation of ours.

So to hear, like we have over the last couple of days, that the Ministry of Education has stated that it will not make teaching the Land Wars compulsory is very disappointing. Radio New Zealand reported yesterday that the Ministry Associate Deputy Secretary said it wouldn’t prescribe to schools they must teach certain subjects, but will maintain a broad approach to education, while the Ministry Te Reo Maori group manager said that helping schools develop their own content around the land wars was the focus. Both comments were made to the Maori Affairs Select Committee which was looking at a petition asking for a commemoration day and for the history of the Land Wars to be taught at schools.

It was disappointing to hear because the New Zealand Land Wars are part of our history. 3,000 people, mainly Maori died during the wars. Land was confiscated and new settlements built. A large swathe of immigrants came to this country in the hopes of starting a new life. And that is why it is important. Not only are the Land Wars part of our past, they are part of our present and our future. Treaty of Waitangi claims were made and settled as a result of the poor actions of the Crown during the Land Wars. We as a nation need to know about the Land Wars and understand them better (it was great to see that historians are aware of the significance in more teaching on the wars).  A better understanding of the Land Wars will get rid of the ranting by mainly Pakeha about the Treaty negotiations and settlements that are on going. Education plays a key role in this so come on Ministry of Education. Make our nation’s history important and a necessary subject to teach. We will be a better nation for it.

Successful Beach Bid a Slap in the Face for Government?

We did it! We came together and we bought a beach! From the random musings of two mates over Christmas to nearly 40,000 of us donating what we could or wanted, we as a nation now have a new addition to our DOC estate. A beach that was in private hands is now to become part of the Abel Tasman National Park, which surrounds it. This is great news and the perfect, and right, result to this story. It will be a fantastic addition to an already stunningly beautiful National Park.

However, while we all celebrate the purchase of this amazing part of our nation, and rightly so, I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness over this whole process. Sadness because it shouldn't have needed to require two mates kicking off a crowd-funding appeal to have this beach added to the DOC estate. The government should've stepped in and just purchased the land and added it to the surrounding National Park. But, unfortunately, for too long the government stayed quiet and non-commital. They are the "Johnny come lately's" in this process. The spin doctors in Wellington will be working hard to sell this as a great win for New Zealand and that the government is rapt to see the passion of thousands of Kiwis, as well as being proud to partner with all of those Kiwis in purchasing this land.

But the reality is a lot different. I'm sure that DOC would've liked to have just purchased it when the land was about to go up for sale but the reality is that their budget has been consistently slashed in budgets and their funding wouldn't allow it. It is hard enough for them to have enough money to continue their conservation work without partnering with businesses and community groups - something that the current government is keen to encourage and promote. The minister could have chosen to get involved. So could the PM, who after all is the Minister of Tourism. Cabinet could've come together and decided to purchase the beach for all New Zealanders. But they didn't. And despite this beach being in former Conservation Minister Nick Smith's backyard, it was up to the public to ensure this beautiful beach is added to the Crown's responsibility. Instead the government and the minister stayed silent and in the shadows until it looked like the thing might actually work! It was spineless, sad and very disappointing.

But there is another part to this which is encouraging. We, the people stood up. We made ourselves heard and it is a message that has rung loud and clear from Cape Reinga to Bluff but most clearly heard across the Cook Strait in the halls of Parliament. It is a message that unequivocally says that we Kiwis care about our land and our country and we want our government, who we elect to run the nation in our stead, to listen to us. It states that losing land, whether pristine beach or big farms to wealthy interests is not necessarily in the best interests of our nation. We stood up to the powers that be and said that we want to see the right thing done by the country. We declared that not everything is about money. Some things are more important than a healthy balance sheet or economic prosperity.

It was right that Awaroa Beach was bought and added to the Abel Tasman National Park. It was and is the only sensible decision and the only one in the best interest of our nation. It also says that we aren't as happy with the job the government is doing, despite what there advisors like to tell them and the media. It reminds them that we, the voting public, should never be taken for granted.

So, I say a huge thank you and congrats to Duane and Adam and their team. I say a huge thank you and congrats to the nearly forty thousand who gave. And I say to the politicians, pay attention. We won't go quietly into the night. We want what's best for our entire country, not just for a select few. Don't ever take us for granted.

NZ Awards - Predictable and disappointing

I know that I may get a bit of flak for what I say here so let me start by saying that this is not a criticism of the people involved but rather an observation of how shallow and narrow focused we are as a country.

So last night the New Zealander of the Year was named. And whilst there has been an overwhelming positivity over Richie McCaw winning, when I heard the news I felt a tinge of disappointment, even saying to myself "shame". I felt that tinge of disappointment even more when I heard that Lydia Ko won the Young New Zealander of the Year. Now, I'm not anti-sport. In fact, far from it. I love sport. I love how it can bring people together. I love how exciting and enjoyable it is. To be fair I am quite the sports fan. I celebrated the All Blacks winning the Rugby World Cup. I happily enter into office banter about how a team is going, who should be in or not and all that can be talked about in sport. I have also loved watching the rise and rise of Lydia Ko, marvelling at how composed she is and how easy she makes the game of golf look.

But, and here is where my disappointment lies, picking a sports person as New Zealander of the Year is too easy. It is too predictable and to be honest it is disappointing. What it does do is show how sports orientated this country is. I know there are people who feel that Richie particularly deserves his award but what exactly has he done? Sure, he lead a team of well paid professional athletes to victory in a competition we as a nation feel is ours by right. But that's about it. In the scheme of things it enabled us to forget about the challenges of life for a short while, but apart from the lasting effect this achievement will have in the statistics books, what else has it achieved?

It makes it particularly hard to swallow when the other two finalists have done some very important, significant things that are having, and going to have an ongoing and lasting effect on our society.

Rob Fenwick is a ground breaker, showing that business and environmentalism can go hand in hand. Not only has he looked to grow his commercial interests, but he has done it without compromising on his belief in conservation and sustainable development. He has served on a number of boards with a focus on conservation and sustainability. The company he co-founded, Living Earth, has converted millions of tons of waste into compost.

Then there is Louise Nicholls. If there is ever a person who embodies courage, strength and determination, Louise is it. Not only did she have the courage to speak out over being sexually assaulted by policemen when she was a teenager, she never gave up and had to endure and battle through five court cases. She wanted to hold the men responsible to account and her determination has seen the courts and police look at how they treat sexual violence victims. Now she is working with the police to improve their understanding of what a victim goes through. Her tireless efforts will see generations of police show my concern, compassion and care for sexual violence victims. Our society will benefit from her work for years to come.


And for me this is where the rubber hits the road. We as a society would rather celebrate the momentary joy of a sporting win and immortalise it than celebrate the tireless efforts of others. We would rather find our societal validation in our sporting achievements than take pride in the efforts of our fellow Kiwis to make not just this country, but the world a better place for us and our children. WE elevate sports to a place it does not deserve. And that is sad. Yes it is good to honour our sportspeople, but hey we already do that with their own awards night (the Halbergs). The NZ Awards should be an opportunity to celebrate the amazing achievements of our fellow Kiwis in other areas. 

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 It was great to read this morning to see someone else writing about the disappointing result of the NZ Awards. Alex Braae explains why Louise Nicholls would be a better winner, and I agree - Louise would have been my first choice too.
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/opinion/alex-braae-louise-nicholas-should-have-won/

Time to Kill that Attitude!

This week has been interesting. Two incidents have caught people's attention and left me pondering. The first was the entirely inappropriate and utterly disgusting language and behaviour of the two young men who injected themselves into Kim Vinnell's live cross into "Story" on TV3 on Monday night and then the subsequent comments they made the following night when challenged by Kim. The second was the story of the Return of Kings planning mass meetings globally, including in New Zealand. Both incidents were disgusting and sickening, and unfortunately, both showed young men in a very bad light and highlighted an underlying sexism in our culture that needs to be buried and never resurrected again.

Much has been written about the disgusting behaviour of the two young men who injected themselves into a live broadcast and used the phrase "f*** her right in the p***y". When did this ever become a thing to say? It is gross, foul and abhorrent. Just as abhorrent has been the number of people who have jumped in and attacked Kim, and trying to blame her and her camera operator for being disorganised and allowing this to happen. Some of the same people, as well as others, have also defended the two young men with pathetic throw away lines like "it's just boys being boys". The sad fact is this is exactly the same as saying a woman deserved to be raped because of the clothes she was wearing, claiming "she was asking for it because of what she was wearing". It shows an attitude that permeates male culture and needs to end.

And before men jump up and down and claim they have never condoned rape, ask yourself these questions: have you ever joked with male friends about a woman's sexuality or what she would be like in bed?; have you ever looked at pornography?; have you ever oogled at scantily clad woman in photo shoots?; have you ever compared women with friends and rated them in a top 10?; have you ever caught yourself looking at a woman and thought instantly about aspects of her body (for example, "nice arse", "check out those breasts!")? Let's not kid ourselves men, we are all guilty of allowing this attitude to grow and fester to the point that we claim it is all just a bit of harmless fun, or boys simply being boys.

And that brings me to the "Return of Kings" group - an online group who believe women should be controlled by men and whose founder reportedly believes rape on private property should be legalised. I am relieved that the planned meetings have been cancelled due to the justified outrage over this group. However, I am also saddened and sickened to think that fellow men in New Zealand would be interested in being part of this group. But I also realise that in male culture there is a very fine, blurred line between what is seen as acceptable and what is seen as disgusting and inappropriate. In fact, that line has become so blurred for many men it is easy for them to express their disgust at a group like Return of Kings and then joke with their mates about some attractive woman they've just seen walking down the road.

Both stem from a wrong attitude about women. It is an attitude that says that women are less than men. It is an attitude that says it is okay to talk about a woman as if she was some object or thing to possess. It is an attitude that says that men are the ultimate authority and women must be submissive. It is an attitude that says a woman's place is in the home, cooking for their man and looking after the babies. It is sexism pure and simple. As hard and challenging as that may be to read, that is the sad reality. Sexism still exists in this country. It isn't just in the extremities of society or found in deep dark alleys of our culture. It is widespread. We just don't talk about it. We pretend it isn't there or that it is just a bit of fun. And it is time it was dead and buried.

I challenge all men to speak out. To tell their friends that those comments or attitudes aren't appreciated. You may face a bit of ridicule or ribbing. You may be challenged by the perpetrators (who'll be your mates, colleagues, or family) with comments like, "come on, it was just a bit of fun"; "oh, don't be so sensitive" or worse "oh stop being so self-righteous!" You may even be reminded of time when you said similar things, or participated in the same unhealthy conversations. But hold firm. Admit your failings in the past. But don't compromise. If enough of us speak up and challenge us we can kill this attitude off.