On the left skyline is Mt Kapakapanui east of Waikanae. The far mountains are the southern Tararua range. By John Rundle (1933 — 2012)

In July last year we reported on the major alteration to the Waikanae River by the GRWC (see this post) — 10 months later it’s visually not quite so bad with green algae over some of the shingle, no doubt from it being underwater at the sea high tides and during abundances of ‘Dougherty’s precious water’ that is, rain,

In addition, beside the the path a line of small flax and a few lines of grasses have been planted. In due course they will grow to a respectable size, and windblown soil and grass seed of other types will cover more of the shingle.

We wondered about this apartment rent price, and it seems you actually get about twice that amount of space for $US 4,500 a month — but sheesh, 403 sq ft is only 37 sq metres! And you thought Sydney is expensive…

Reader Michael says that although this is about Rotorua, it can easily apply here in Kapiti.

by Reynold Macpherson on Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua ratepayers should be cautious when told that 90 days is too short for councils to consult ratepayers and begin reform proposals.

The problem is not the deadline. Successive councils in Rotorua have had years to confront hard facts and failed. They had time to reform a deficit-based financial strategy, restrain debt, restore public confidence, and make policy processes open, disciplined and democratic.  Instead, ratepayers have watched debt rise, rates climb, projects drift and costs shift on to households and businesses facing an affordability crisis. In my view the Government’s deadline is a response to accumulated failure.

Rotorua’s problem is also democratic. After the Attorney-General’s 2022 finding against the proposed Rotorua local electoral arrangements, one might have expected a reset. The proposal was found inconsistent with the right to freedom from discrimination.

Yet the deeper habit did not disappear. Influence moved upstream.

Formal co-governance was stopped in one form. But unelected influence continued through committees, forums, advisory structures, workshops, officials’ papers, partnership processes and pre-decision settings. That is where problems are framed, options narrowed, and preferred solutions shaped before the public sees a final agenda.

This is not an argument against iwi engagement, Treaty relationships, or cultural advice. It is an argument for democratic visibility. If iwi representatives, officials, consultants or advisory groups shape policy, that influence should be visible, authorised, contestable and accountable.  Local democracy is not protected because councillors cast the final vote. If decisive work is done upstream, upstream influence must be open to scrutiny.

That is why the chief executive’s assurance that the council will “take direction” from elected officials to me rings hollow. In my view, it is fatuous to promise to follow elected members when they are often marginalised from upstream policy work.  By the time matters reach them, assumptions may be built in, options filtered, risks framed and conclusions embedded. The public is then offered late consultation on managed options after real choices have been narrowed. This is administrative theatre.

Ratepayers are entitled to know who shaped the proposal, who influenced the advice, what alternatives were rejected and why. They are entitled to know whether elected members led the process or endorsed what had been prepared.

Ratepayers have low expectations that elected members will now campaign for fundamental reform. Some are constrained by the mayoral award structure of roles, appointments and differentiated salaries. Others have weakened their standing through performative politics. The result is a council table poorly placed to challenge the system that feeds it.

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Reynold Macpherson is a retired professor, ex-councillor and commentator on ethics, democracy and educative leadership, based in Rotorua. He may be contacted at reynold@reynoldmacpherson.ac.nz

Revanchism: from French revanche, ‘revenge’ — a policy or political doctrine aimed at a revenge or the reversal of the losses incurred in previous political or military defeats.

This is what is believed to be behind Führer Merz and his 4th Reich leaders’ preparation plans for another war against Russia in 2028. However, in this forthcoming war will he seize the parts of the 3rd Reich that were given to Poland in 1945?

(Reuters) – Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Silina said she would resign on Thursday, triggering the collapse of her coalition government just months before an election is due in October.

“I am resigning, but I am not giving up,” she said in a televised statement.

The decision followed the firing at the weekend of Progressives’ Defence Minister Andris Spruds over the handling of incidents involving stray Ukrainian drones flying into Latvia from Russia.

Although the Leftist Legacy Media — which includes Reuters — report the drones fired from Ukraine as “stray”, there’s no question it was deliberate on the part of Nato to use drones via the Baltic states to attack targets in and around St. Petersburg, Russia, which resulted in a strong warning from Russia to Nato and the Baltic states, as you would expect. (How would the US react to say Colombian drones being fired into America from Mexico?) That wouldn’t by itself have caused any sensation among the rabid warmongers of Latvia, but it was a big embarrassment that two of Nato’s drones hit an oil facility inside Latvia, in other words a Nato own goal. —Eds

In short: ‘Stuff around and find out’.

Get ready for a bovine drama as Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie is in the middle of a full-blown “cow money” sex scandal that’s hitting harder than a stampede right before next week’s GOP Kentucky primary. He was getting the milk for free, but now he’s selling his cow!

Here’s the udderly ridiculous rundown: Massie’s ex-girlfriend, Cynthia West, just dropped a bombshell video interview accusing the libertarian-leaning lawmaker of some seriously steamy (and allegedly unwanted) drama during their short-lived romance. She claims after things went south — and she got fired from a job Massie helped her land with his close pal, Rep. Victoria Spartz — she filed a wrongful termination complaint. That’s when Massie allegedly pulled out the big guns… or should we say, the big bills.

Massie is firing back hard, calling the allegations “false,” “unsubstantiated,” and the work of dirty tricksters. He says he reports all his farm income and has consulted lawyers. But the timing? Moo-vingly perfect for his opponents.

One thing’s for sure — Kentucky Republicans are paying attention, and the barnyard is getting real messy. We will have to wait til the cows come to find out!

— The GrrrTeam

by Kathryn Ennis

This week, many Kapiti ratepayers have received their latest rates statement, together with a PR-focused communication from Kapiti Coast District Council about rates and the Council’s 2026/27 Annual Plan. This communication blurb notifies a 6.5% rates increase as a done deal for the 2026/27 financial year – before the Council has even adopted the 2026/27 Annual Plan and set the rate, which it will do on 11^th June. 

KCDC chose not to consult with the public on the Annual Plan this year – for the third year in a row! But the blurb that accompanies the rates statement seeks to convince the public that all the expenditures identified in the Annual Plan are essential and that the Council is working hard to reduce KCDC costs – which of course the public doesn’t have the means to assess because the Annual Plan has yet again been developed behind closed doors.

As part of its rates notification, the Council has put out a summary identifying major categories of expenditure – without any explanation of the specific core services provided to the public for this expenditure, nor revealing what components are purely discretionary spending. 

Let’s take as an example the $3 million cost for ‘tangata whenua’. No breakdown is provided but from our most recent investigation, this $3 million per year is the basic running costs for maintaining the Council’s ‘partnership’ with the three manawhenua iwi of the ART Confederation (Te Ata Awa, Ngati Toa and Ngati Raukawa).  These iwi function separately as their own iwi corporates and collectively as the Art Confederation, which has a combined wealth base estimated at over $1 billion. KCDC’s partnership with the Art Confederation is operationalized in the form of the Whakaminenga o Kapiti committee, which meets monthly, and the arrangement whereby iwi representatives appointed to that committee also sit on other Council standing committees with voting rights.

From Council reports and our previous investigation, the cost of KCDC’s Iwi Partnerships group management team represents around $2 million of that $3 million. This is the cost of staff facilitating the Whakaminenga o Kapiti committee and iwi liaison, and training Council staff in Te Ao Maori values and how to sing waiata – to ensure that these values are embedded in Council activities across the organisation.

The remainder of the $3 million is the ‘Pass go and collect $$’ payments to iwi for being in the ‘partnership agreement’ with KCDC, plus approximately $53,000 for each iwi representative, which Council recently voted to pay them in lieu of meeting fees for sitting on Council committees (because they were missing out on the full value of meeting fees because some of them don’t attend many of the meetings). 

Essentially, this $3 million per year is the cost of KCDC paying these three iwi to consult with them. The Whakaminenga o Kapiti committee also oversees distribution of a KCDC-provided fund for ‘Maori development’ activities. 

But it doesn’t end there.  The $3 m doesn’t include all the other ‘financial contributions’ (grants) that are allocated through other Council activity areas, which pop up from time to time for various ‘iwi projects’. These have included funds for marae upgrades, and grants for various projects such as feasibility studies for papakainga housing, etc.  

The $3 million also doesn’t include funding provided to iwi representatives as e.g. Directors’ fees for being on such KCDC-funded entities as the Economic Development Kotahitanga Board, the Kapiti Affordable Housing Solutions Trust, the newly established Kapiti NZ Trust (the latest configuration of the economic development Board) and whatever other Trusts or advisory groups the same people appear on.

This week’s Otaki Today newspaper features a story about Raukawa marae at Otaki and Whakarongatai marae in Waikanae being upgraded with solar panels and battery storage — funded through a ‘partnership’ arrangement between the EECA, WREMO and KCDC.  EECA and WREMO are funding ‘up to 75%’ of the cost, while KCDC (ratepayers) are funding ‘the rest’, whatever that amount is.

This is justified (according to Deputy Mayor Halliday) because marae have an ‘important community role’ in ‘times of emergencies’ and this is part of KCDC’s ‘resilience’ programme.

Yet another financial contribution from KCDC for yet another marae upgrade.

So while marae get fully funded for this, other communities in the area have had to raise their own funds to keep community halls open – for example Te Horo residents had to raise funds for earthquake strengthening for the Te Horo hall. Presumably this is another community facility that would also be important in emergencies.

And this is at a time when many Kapiti ratepayers and residents are struggling to pay their power bills.

It’s important to note that these three iwi only represent between 15% and 30% of Maori on the Kapiti Coast as a member of one of them, Karl Webber, has pointed out before. Ngati Toa is wealthy with assets reported at $790 million and the others aren’t exactly poor either. Yet KCDC gives them more. —Eds