Posts by Matthew Poole
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Legal Beagle: Q&A: John Banks' judicial review, in reply to Paul Campbell,
what happens if way he’s convicted but sentenced to less that 2 years
The sentence is irrelevant. The law says merely that one must be convicted of a crime carrying a maximum sentence of two years or more imprisonment, not that such sentence must be passed.
-
Legal Beagle: Q&A: John Banks' judicial review, in reply to Dean Knight,
instinctively there is something different in character about ousting someone from democratic office
This is the key point in how I've looked at the possible outcome through my limited legal knowledge. Entering the conviction appears, based on Graeme's quite persuasive reasoning, to be the end of the matter for Banks getting the flick. And given the very dramatic consequences of that flick - I would not be surprised if the Maori Party reconsidered their C&S agreement with National in the wake of becoming the sole votes that hold this Parliament together - I foresee the courts being particularly judicious in their conduct in the wake of any guilty verdict.
-
Speaker: TPP: Nearing Endgame, in reply to George Darroch,
long patents on chemicals would prevent New Zealand's farmers from being able to use the best and most productive products for the care and improvement of their plants and livestock
Not prevent so much as alter the benefit:cost equation such that they might not be financially viable. Which is unlikely given NZ's reliance on agriculture, unless either the world price for milk bottomed (which is very unlikely) or the licensee was seeking particularly exorbitant rents for their monopoly.
-
Graeme, I think you've touched on it, but if a guilty verdict came down could the defence lodge an immediate notice of intent to appeal based on, say, misdirection by the judge, and have the trial court hold entering the conviction until the CA decided whether or not to hear the appeal?
My understanding is that a guilty verdict results in a conviction which must be entered and, having been entered, must be notified to the Speaker. Or does conviction not get entered until sentencing has been completed?
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to Swan,
Watercare in AKL for example is not allowed, legally, to make a profit.
Watercare is not allowed to return a dividend. That is a vastly different situation to not being allowed to earn more money in a year than is required to cover operating and depreciation expenses. It is absolutely legal for Watercare to retain earnings between years in order to provide for future costs.
ETA: Watercare is somewhat hamstrung in setting pricing because its board is ultimately answerable to elected politicians whose constituents have these utterly bizarre ideas about affordable access to clean water being a fundamental human right.
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to James Bremner,
more green field
As has been observed, that's all that Auckland has been doing for quite a few decades. We don't need more green field outside the current boundaries, we need more intensification within. We need to tell the selfish gits in the leafy suburbs that, no, sorry, you don't get to tell people trying to get onto the property ladder that they're only allowed to buy on the urban fringe because you don't want your neighbourhood sullied by the presence of medium-density housing.
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to Paul Campbell,
it’s built on an impossible isthmus, of course there are transportation problems
Of course there are transportation problems when the "solution" has been to build more and more lanes of motorway and starve public transport infrastructure to the point of near-death. Aucklanders are trying to say enough!, but the government isn't interested.
And Auckland has, historically, had a very limited "suck at the sav" in terms of spending. Very, very limited, relative to population. For the regions to get all bitchy because Auckland is now getting infrastructure spending that's been stifled for decades is, unsurprisingly, ignorant and selfish. No wonder they vote National.
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to Lucy Telfar Barnard,
a seasonal high in rental availability doesn’t necessarily translate to there not being an availability problem.
This time of year is a really bad one for looking at rental availability in Auckland, because student flats are breaking up. In three months' time, availability declines back to nearly zero, before getting back to its some-but-not-much availability around May.
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to Sacha,
Perhaps a culture change campaign could remind them all to think of what our city will be like for their grandchildren.
There won't be any grandchildren in Auckland at the current rate of progress. Their parents will have left for cities that take health and well-being seriously.
-
Hard News: Housing: the Feudal Model, in reply to James Bremner,
“Sprawl is hugely expensive”
As expensive as median houses at 7 or 8 times the median salary? How much is too much? Median houses at 10 times the median salary?Sprawl won’t fix that. It doesn’t fix it anywhere in the world. Sydney and Melbourne sprawl, and sprawl, and sprawl, and still have high median prices.
What fixes it is houses being built for the entry-level part of the market rather than all new construction having five bedrooms, four bathrooms, three-car garaging, and a partridge in a pear tree. Which is Auckland’s current situation; big houses, on big lots, at big prices.