Growth Does Not Pay For Growth

Photo: NZME BOP Times Tauranga City Council told us all for years that “growth pays for growth”. It eventually admitted that wasn’t true, and today’s paywalled BOP Times article shows how growth can go ‘off the rails’ and leave ratepayers with $735 million debt. Key points: – Te Tumu development (between Papamoa East and Maketu)… Continue reading Growth Does Not Pay For Growth

The Future Shape of Tauranga

We’re all aware there is an important general election on 14th October. What is sometimes overlooked is that the result may lock in, or reject, the increasing centralisation of decision-making that has happened over the past few years. This could impact our region for years to come. During this electoral term, central government agencies have… Continue reading The Future Shape of Tauranga

Managed Degrowth

Guest Post by Dr Mike Joy Economic growth driven by fossil fuels (black growth) has resulted in massive ecological devastation. ‘Green growth’ just replaces fossil fuels with renewable energy and traps us in this spiral of environmental damage. All growth requires more consumption, which requires mining more non-renewable materials and more energy, which is unsustainable.… Continue reading Managed Degrowth

Losing Our Democracy

“SmartGrowth” is a collaboration between Tauranga City Council, Western BOP District Council, BOP Regional Council, Tangata Whenua and central government that was established in 2004 to “manage” growth in this part of the country. On 17 August 2022, in a SmartGrowth Leadership Group meeting that wasn’t even livestreamed or uploaded onto YouTube, representatives of the… Continue reading Losing Our Democracy