If you’ve read our thoughts about the the government’s recent ‘policy bonfire‘, you’ll see we don’t regard it as very significant to NZ’s climate goals. There are far bigger things to focus on than scrapping a hare-brained scheme to scrap polluting vehicles at a cost of between $81,000 and $126,000 per tonne of CO2 that… Continue reading Container Return Scheme needed more than ever
Category: Opinion
Democracy and Sustainability
Tauranga has moved from a state of democracy + no sustainability, to a state of no democracy + no sustainability. We are looking for something better than either of those options: democracy + sustainability. While many Tauranga residents are looking forward to the opportunity to elect councillors in 2024, the risk is that the return… Continue reading Democracy and Sustainability
Tauranga’s City Centre
Photo: BOP Times We’re a bit worried about who’s left at Disneyland, because Mickey Mouse and Goofy seem to have moved to Tauranga and taken over urban planning! If this paywalled article in the BOP Times is correct, then “Greerton Village could be Tauranga’s future city centre”. Which will be news to the people of… Continue reading Tauranga’s City Centre
Our ‘3 Waters’ Submission
Please click here to read our submission.
Three Waters Reforms
It’s been a while since our last blog, and there’s no lack of topical sustainability-related issues to write about. Ranging from the impacts of climate change to the effects of fuel price inflation, NZ and the wider world are facing some big challenges. However one sustainability issue that has struck a chord with many New… Continue reading Three Waters Reforms
Tauranga Civic Precinct and Sustainability
We’ll start this post by stating we support an appropriate-sized central library and museum or heritage centre in Tauranga… just so we’re all clear. But as we said in our submission to Tauranga City Council, we do not support their favoured option, and based on what we hear around the city, there’s a lot of… Continue reading Tauranga Civic Precinct and Sustainability
Tauranga By-election and Local Democracy
https://www.sunlive.co.nz/election-debate.html The Sunlive byelection debate last night was an interesting discussion about some important topics, so as an independent, non-aligned organisation, we’d encourage Tauranga residents to watch it before you vote. The most striking difference was Labour’s candidate being (unsurprisingly) strongly in favour of the removal of democratic elections for Tauranga City Council, while the… Continue reading Tauranga By-election and Local Democracy
The Journey of the Underpass
by Jo Wills A few years ago, for a period of five years from 2016 to 2020, the community came together to fight for the underpass to be reinstated as part of the Bayfair to Baypark project. On Wednesday 20th April 2022 the new underpass was finally opened to the public. Riding through the underpass… Continue reading The Journey of the Underpass
Tauranga’s Civic Redevelopment – Expensive Concrete Jungle or Affordable Green Paradise?
by Jo Wills and Glen Crowther Tauranga City Council is calling for feedback on the city centre redevelopment, a chance (as Commissioner Tolley put it) for the community to decide ‘’…do they want to be part of creating a vibrant exciting centre city…or do we just want an ordinary civic centre and rebuild the library… Continue reading Tauranga’s Civic Redevelopment – Expensive Concrete Jungle or Affordable Green Paradise?
Cycling is a Mode of Transport
Getting more people cycling instead of driving is a challenge that many cities are facing. Roads are clogged up with passenger vehicles, emissions are soaring, and nothing is changing. Safety is used as an excuse – “the roads aren’t safe for cycling”. The problem is that improving safety is fast becoming the default excuse for… Continue reading Cycling is a Mode of Transport