Hard News: Angry and thrilled about Arie
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Gerry Brownlee has told red zone homeowners that they’re not to remove fittings before vacating their homes, as such things are considered part of the spoils of demolition. "It costs a minimum of $15,000 to $20,000 to demolish a house. The demolition contractors will expect to get some salvage out of it."
Do these kind of cost calculations translate as a nod & wink at the coalface to have the fellas get the job done quicker in exchange for perks? During WW2, when Buckminster Fuller designed prefab structures for the US military to be erected in England, he specified that each building would include a full set of the necessary tools. When the Pentagon pointed out that the British tradesmen who’d carry out the work usually supplied their own tools, he replied that they’d get the job done in half the time in order to make off with the spoils of American largesse.
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Now Gerry has over ruled decades of planning by letting Green Field development inside of the Christchurch International Airport noise envelope.
The key issues are noise & international.
Christchurch knows it's at the arse end of the international market place, & we have space a plenty.
As people sleep & vote, over time housing developments inside the noise envelope will rightfully lobby for flight restrictions, much like Wellington.
The problem is that in order to connections with other flts from SIN/SYN/AKL we need to start or finish in the dark hours reserved for sleeping.
This will lead to delays in connections and a further loss to the economy of the South. -
Kumara Republic, in reply to
Now Gerry has over ruled decades of planning by letting Green Field development inside of the Christchurch International Airport noise envelope.
Land banking is rightly frowned upon - but airports are a justified exception. ChCh certainly doesn't need any further Suburbistanisation (sic) as it is.
Who does Gerry think he is? Robert Moses?
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Islander, in reply to
Who does Gerry think he is?
Who knows?
The suspicion is that he is a toy, a puppet, a muppet for bigger guys to play with-
I dont think he will ever come back to live in Chchch (except in a gated razor-wired 'community." And, good luck with that, mate-) -
Islander, it struck me today the what an insult Gerry has made to Ngai Tahuriri and their Maori Reserve of Tuahiwi.
For those who don't know, this is north of Kaiapoi (outside of any noise contour), a reserve set aside for Ngai Tahu with the sale (issues still exist here) of Canterbury .... That is now deemed rural and so exclude Ngai Tahuriri from building homes on their own land, set aside for that purpose.
Rik Tau might just tear Gerry a new one, as he's been riding Ecan & the UDS about this breach of s6 & 8 of the RMA for ages. -
Islander, in reply to
Not wrong, Just Thinking-
Ngati Tuahuriri are strong, and Rik & others *will* do something about it.
Unfortunately, Kai Tahu arnt having a huaitau this year, so wont be able to gauge
just how much strength the tribe will put behind them... -
Trucks of salvage look a bit different to trucks of rubble.
Please remember this area is under martial law, policed by our military to keep the owners out.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5757572/Demolition-company-salvage-comes-under-fire -
Looks as if Christchurch has its very own thieves' market. Somehow I'm not expecting anyone involved to be given the perp walk for the media anytime soon.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Looks as if Christchurch has its very own thieves’ market. Somehow I’m not expecting anyone involved to be given the perp walk for the media anytime soon.
It sounds like the polar opposite of Mugabeism if there's a name for it. A form of eminent domain but without the compensation. Somehow "Manifest Destiny" and "Dooh Nibor" are too weak to describe it, and "Lebensraum" refers to land rather than goods. Any ideas?
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merc,
I would have thought salvaging important public records to be a very high priority, this red zone has a wild west feel to it.
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Sacha, in reply to
If you can't sell it, it's worthless. Just ask Gerry.
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merc,
If those records appear in the wrong hands, there must be a case to answer. Govt. has a responsibility to collect and maintain private data securely, as do we.
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Seems to me that demolishers have interesting clauses in their contracts:
- employee is entitled to steal anything they can carry
- employer is not to remove any loot the employee might have their eye onDo other jobs have such terms and conditions? Apart from being a National Party politician?
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merc,
Seems like there is a total lack of oversight and responsibility.
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Democracy is supposed to provide that. Which is why Key & Brownlee got rid of it.
I don't understand how people are so dumb as to tolerate this until it hits them right in the face. Look at the Taurangans - staunch Tories, against government intervention in their McMansion and 4WD lifestyle - until an unregulated ship manned by unskilled non-union workers slams into a reef and dumps oil all over their beach.
Etc.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
I don’t understand how people are so dumb as to tolerate this until it hits them right in the face.
Big Lie politics, and the narrowing attention spans of society. Living to work to pay for said McMansions and 4WDs is one likely pull factor. And a likely push factor? The middle-class equivalent of ‘whaddarya’ – “Still driving that clapped out Montego? Are you a commie?”
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Sorry Christchurch but it aint over 'til you get rid of Brownlee. He firmly believes in their right to the spoils of the Natural Disaster. Like Vultures, carrion. Carry on Vultures.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
Sorry Christchurch but it aint over 'til you get rid of Brownlee.
When your opponent presents insurmountable mass but little manoeuvrability, perhaps the best strategy is to go around rather than over.
While this might be better posted in Dr Haywood's marathon ongoing insurance woes thread, an excerpt from Mike Coleman's speech at Sunday's Bexley red zone rally:
We've really moved up a level from Gerry Brownlee. Gerry Brownlee is happy to take the hits. He doesn't care if we moan and moan for the next decade, he is there to take the hits. Roger Sutton is the form, Gerry Brownlee takes the hits, and it comes from Bill English. I'm sure of this. We need to challenge John Key to start hearing. It's not enough to smile on billboards at us. We need them to start hearing what is happening to specific individual lives of people in the red zones.
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Salvage rights were extinguished by Prince Gerry.
I am adverse to revolution but ....
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
We need to challenge John Key to start hearing.
Well all I can say to Mike Coleman there is "Good luck on that front " cos
Key hears exactly what he wants to and it generally is just his ego.
Even Simon Power used an interesting choice of words with this statement when reflecting on being with National.
"Some people go after the media, want to be in it all the time. That hasn't been my approach. -
Joe Wylie, in reply to
Well all I can say to Mike Coleman there is “Good luck on that front ” cos
Key hears exactly what he wants to and it generally is just his ego.While the good wishes are appreciated, luck, in the form of an impending change of government, doesn't appear to be riding to the rescue. Even though the red zones run across one of the most solid Labour-voting heartlands outside of South Auckland, most quake-affected locals realise that they'll be dealing with Key into 2012, even if local MPs must pay lip service to the possibility of a Labour victory.
It's pragmatism, not defeatism. If Key really listened only to his own ego he'd have pursued a more Brash-like agenda from the outset, rather than the slow windup we've seen. His minders are expensive, and he treats them accordingly. The advice not to frighten the chooks by tampering too much with Helen's legacy is something he's taken pretty seriously until he's become sufficiently emboldened to show his hand.
I'm betting on some form of game-changer in November to put the brakes on the Nats' hubris, and to empower Labour's genuine progressives to seriously revitalise the Party. The groundswell of post-quake discontent will be a player in that, you betcha.
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Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
My sadness and frustration stems from the damage done , physical and psychological and impending doom that will come with the new year. I can't see waiting for JK to listen being on his mind right now and now is imperative. I think Christchurch is a case study in how much can go so wrong in such a short time in history and how, when a Government has a vested interest in supporting the few over the many, the many will suffer. I see this Government yet again treating Christchurch as a company rather than a people of place.
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Joe Wylie, in reply to
I can’t see waiting for JK to listen being on his mind right now and now is imperative.
Understood, which is why we can't simply wait. Key's only a politician, and there are more ways to bring influence to bear than the ballot box. Brownlee's been deliberately presented as an obstacle because of his philistine insensitivity, so best to concentrate efforts where they'll likely be felt.
Although the sheer political cynicism that's flourished in the wake of the quakes is sometimes hard to comprehend, there's no choice but to resist and defeat it.
Right now I'd rather not mention the name of the victim of injustice who this thread's really about, as he's hopefully making the best of his well-earned privacy. What's being done to those worst affected by the quakes is his story writ large. While he still hasn't received the overdue fulsome apology, if you'd gauged the public mood from online comments the day before charges were dropped you'd have assumed things were hopeless.
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CBD building owner Ben Kepes tells of what seems like demolition rorting.
Subsequent to the September earthquake, but prior to the February event, we had made the difficult decision to demolish our building. We actually obtained a quote from a demolition company for effecting the works for the sum of $54000 and these works had been started the week before the February quake. The demolition company spent a week or so on site, before being forced to move off by the February 22 quake.
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After February 22nd, Civil Defence decided that our building was a signifciant risk (a fact that could readily be disputed) and ordered an emergency demolition. Once the emergency demolition had happened we understood that there was the possibility that we may be charged for this work. And we even expected that, given the changing situation, the price might rise a little. What we were wholly unprepared for was receiving the invoice shown below;
[scanned invoice]
Yes, we were being charged 400% more than the price quoted by the original demolition company. 400%! Highway robbery anyone?
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Purely conspiracy theory developed in the smoke and mirrors of CERA with the assistance of booze and half truths passed on from mates.
CERA who represent the Govt. interests in Christchurch, that being 60% of the below ground infrastructure, are aware that CCC 40% owner have put off a decade of works on the sewage and water systems in Christchurch.
This is why once a month Victoria St sewer gets vacumed, because our City is no longer sanitary.
Demolition of the buildings in the City has a double benefit of reducing this shitty situation getting worse, and the kicker, all new buildings will pay developer contributions to pay for the work to be done.
If you're in Christchurch City, drink bottled or boiled water. This summer could get yucky.
Then there was the story of, ahem, CCCs insurance.
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