For those of you who missed it, Auckland has typically registered in the top 10 of this annual index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, while Wellington has usually listed in the top 20. Last year Auckland made the number one spot while Wellington was number four.
Sadly, as the rest of the world gets back to business and we continue to struggle to do just that, our 2022 rankings have plummeted. The new rankings have Auckland as just the 34th most liveable city in the world. Wellington now sits at number 50.
There’s another global index where we’re usually at the top. Transparency International publishes an annual global Corruption Perceptions Index.
In recent years, New Zealand has sat in first-equal position alongside countries such as Denmark and Finland. Last year we were again first equal, eight positions ahead of the United Kingdom and 15 places ahead of our cousins across the ditch.
So until now, we have been one of the least corrupt countries in the world. I say “until now” because it doesn’t feel like we are as squeaky clean as we once were.
Deep down, I fear that our number one ranking may come under pressure in the next few years.
It used to be that if Jim Bolger, Helen Clark or John Key spoke, we tended to believe what they were saying. Today, Beehive press conferences are laced with spin and half-truths.
We even have a Prime Minister who says things like “we have a mandate to do this” despite never having mentioned what “this” was during the election campaign.
As previously noted in this column, we seem to have empowered a group of politicians, at both national and local government levels, to do things we don’t want them to do. And yet their so-called “mandate” sees them driving major constitutional change irrespective of what the people might think or say.
Because we don’t say much really, do we? Compared to most countries, we have tended to be a society that does not stage massive protests.
This year we saw the occupation of Parliament’s grounds. In the 1970s, Bastion Point was in the headlines. And the Springbok rugby tour in 1981 was probably the most disruptive of all.
So we’ve had the odd revolt, but we’re mostly accepting and apathetic. We tend not to be massive, disruptive, multi-day protesters.
I suspect that part of the reason has been that we are relatively happy with our lot. And until the past few years, we have been broadly trusting of those in positions of power and authority. We have traditionally respected our leaders, and expected them to do the right thing.
However, we’re not like that at the moment. To me, it feels as though we are more divided than we have ever been. Many of us are certainly more openly critical of the government or the direction the country is taking.
In the opinion of the many people I speak to, a Government majority does not authorise that Government to do whatever it wants to do. No, in theory that right should only extend to the policies and initiatives they campaigned on.
Those policies did not include the centralisation of education or healthcare, changes to governmental governance structures, Three Waters or ute taxes.
Similarly, an elected council should not have the right to change the zoning in an area or a street, resulting in dramatic negative impacts on the values of properties in that area, without proactively seeking input from people who own the property in those streets.
So mistrust creeps in. We find it difficult to believe what we are being told. So they tell us again, this time with more selective detail. So the spin increases. We disrespect the source. Trust is lost. It’s a vicious circle.
I’m surprised that this Government hasn’t introduced a Ministry of Consultants and Reviews. We heard last week about another taskforce. We’re told that a group is going to be looking into the so-called Gib board crisis. We’ve also been advised of yet another inquiry, this time into the appointment of family members of a Government Minister to well-paid government contracts.
We’ve also heard this week that we’ve spent over $1 billion on emergency housing in the past five years or so. And yet 27,000 people remain on the waiting list for housing. Last year the number was 22,000. In December 2019, pre-Covid, the number was 14,500.
You only have to drive around the country to see how many houses are being built. So you do the maths. According to government records, we are building between 40,000 and 50,000 houses a year. According to Stats NZ, we have 87,000 more people in our population than we did in December 2019. In theory at least, we’ve built 100,000 houses in that time.
So how can the waiting list go up? And where did the billion dollars go? When we’re not accepting much immigration into the country, those numbers can only occur if people are giving up perfectly good and paid-for accommodation and jumping in line for the government freebies.
In the meantime, our Prime Minister goes to the United States, supposedly to promote New Zealand business. However, on her two major platforms — a prime-time TV audience and a high-profile university lecture — she speaks of gun control and social media.
There is no doubt in my mind that she is travelling the globe promoting herself, not New Zealand.
As an aside, you have to laugh at the PM telling the Yanks how successful our post-massacre gun control initiatives have been while we’re in the middle of our worst spate of gun violence that I can recall.
The Health Minister has been out and about this week saying that our overloaded hospitals are a function of the flu season. Later in the week we learn that government agencies were warned at least a year ago that the system was on the verge of collapse.
The warning came from those who know the problem well. Until Thursday, they were known as district health boards. At least Andrew Little won’t have to worry about them anymore.
Then we have a new director of the Reserve Bank — which should be one of our most sacrosanct organisations — appointed by our Finance Minister, with potential conflict of interest issues surrounding his board and consulting roles. You have to wonder.
I believe the outcomes of the task forces, the working groups, the government reviews and the inquiries will see the Government and their co-conspirators cleared of any blame or wrong-doing.
But the behaviours are more common. And those behaviours should make us ask questions. We ask questions because we don’t believe what we’re hearing any more. As a result, trust is lost. The lack of trust turns into scepticism. And if they can get away with it, maybe we can, too. It’s a slippery slope.
We can accuse our leaders of misrepresenting the truth, deliberately misleading us or even telling porkies. The language doesn’t matter. What does matter is where such behaviours lead.
And of course we start guessing. Is the PM really campaigning for a job at the UN? Is Three Waters really a grab for council-owned land assets? Did the Speaker really get a cushy overseas gig in a trade-off for his behaviour-induced resignation?
Why hasn’t the Christchurch stadium been built? Are we really that incompetent or is there something else going on? Why are we importing and trucking coal when we could dig it out of the ground in Huntly? Who benefits when we spend $327 million — a ridiculous amount — merging the two government-controlled media organisations?
And $53m in consulting fees on a cycleway that never happened? And why are those things priorities when we have a cost of living crisis to deal with? Why do we need to give billions of dollars to Indonesia to have them take the hit for our carbon indiscretions?
We were told we would have the most transparent Government ever. It turned out to be the opposite. So, we have to start calling this stuff out now. The trouble with corruption is that it creeps up on you over time. You don’t want to start getting used to it.
You have to stop it before it becomes commonplace or acceptable and we become desensitised to it. If we don’t, it becomes very difficult to turn around.
Bruce Cotterill, a five time CEO and current Company Chairman and Director with extensive experience across a range of industries including real estate, media, financial services, technology and retail. This article was published HERE
In recent years, New Zealand has sat in first-equal position alongside countries such as Denmark and Finland. Last year we were again first equal, eight positions ahead of the United Kingdom and 15 places ahead of our cousins across the ditch.
So until now, we have been one of the least corrupt countries in the world. I say “until now” because it doesn’t feel like we are as squeaky clean as we once were.
Deep down, I fear that our number one ranking may come under pressure in the next few years.
It used to be that if Jim Bolger, Helen Clark or John Key spoke, we tended to believe what they were saying. Today, Beehive press conferences are laced with spin and half-truths.
We even have a Prime Minister who says things like “we have a mandate to do this” despite never having mentioned what “this” was during the election campaign.
As previously noted in this column, we seem to have empowered a group of politicians, at both national and local government levels, to do things we don’t want them to do. And yet their so-called “mandate” sees them driving major constitutional change irrespective of what the people might think or say.
Because we don’t say much really, do we? Compared to most countries, we have tended to be a society that does not stage massive protests.
This year we saw the occupation of Parliament’s grounds. In the 1970s, Bastion Point was in the headlines. And the Springbok rugby tour in 1981 was probably the most disruptive of all.
So we’ve had the odd revolt, but we’re mostly accepting and apathetic. We tend not to be massive, disruptive, multi-day protesters.
I suspect that part of the reason has been that we are relatively happy with our lot. And until the past few years, we have been broadly trusting of those in positions of power and authority. We have traditionally respected our leaders, and expected them to do the right thing.
However, we’re not like that at the moment. To me, it feels as though we are more divided than we have ever been. Many of us are certainly more openly critical of the government or the direction the country is taking.
In the opinion of the many people I speak to, a Government majority does not authorise that Government to do whatever it wants to do. No, in theory that right should only extend to the policies and initiatives they campaigned on.
Those policies did not include the centralisation of education or healthcare, changes to governmental governance structures, Three Waters or ute taxes.
Similarly, an elected council should not have the right to change the zoning in an area or a street, resulting in dramatic negative impacts on the values of properties in that area, without proactively seeking input from people who own the property in those streets.
So mistrust creeps in. We find it difficult to believe what we are being told. So they tell us again, this time with more selective detail. So the spin increases. We disrespect the source. Trust is lost. It’s a vicious circle.
I’m surprised that this Government hasn’t introduced a Ministry of Consultants and Reviews. We heard last week about another taskforce. We’re told that a group is going to be looking into the so-called Gib board crisis. We’ve also been advised of yet another inquiry, this time into the appointment of family members of a Government Minister to well-paid government contracts.
We’ve also heard this week that we’ve spent over $1 billion on emergency housing in the past five years or so. And yet 27,000 people remain on the waiting list for housing. Last year the number was 22,000. In December 2019, pre-Covid, the number was 14,500.
You only have to drive around the country to see how many houses are being built. So you do the maths. According to government records, we are building between 40,000 and 50,000 houses a year. According to Stats NZ, we have 87,000 more people in our population than we did in December 2019. In theory at least, we’ve built 100,000 houses in that time.
So how can the waiting list go up? And where did the billion dollars go? When we’re not accepting much immigration into the country, those numbers can only occur if people are giving up perfectly good and paid-for accommodation and jumping in line for the government freebies.
In the meantime, our Prime Minister goes to the United States, supposedly to promote New Zealand business. However, on her two major platforms — a prime-time TV audience and a high-profile university lecture — she speaks of gun control and social media.
There is no doubt in my mind that she is travelling the globe promoting herself, not New Zealand.
As an aside, you have to laugh at the PM telling the Yanks how successful our post-massacre gun control initiatives have been while we’re in the middle of our worst spate of gun violence that I can recall.
The Health Minister has been out and about this week saying that our overloaded hospitals are a function of the flu season. Later in the week we learn that government agencies were warned at least a year ago that the system was on the verge of collapse.
The warning came from those who know the problem well. Until Thursday, they were known as district health boards. At least Andrew Little won’t have to worry about them anymore.
Then we have a new director of the Reserve Bank — which should be one of our most sacrosanct organisations — appointed by our Finance Minister, with potential conflict of interest issues surrounding his board and consulting roles. You have to wonder.
I believe the outcomes of the task forces, the working groups, the government reviews and the inquiries will see the Government and their co-conspirators cleared of any blame or wrong-doing.
But the behaviours are more common. And those behaviours should make us ask questions. We ask questions because we don’t believe what we’re hearing any more. As a result, trust is lost. The lack of trust turns into scepticism. And if they can get away with it, maybe we can, too. It’s a slippery slope.
We can accuse our leaders of misrepresenting the truth, deliberately misleading us or even telling porkies. The language doesn’t matter. What does matter is where such behaviours lead.
And of course we start guessing. Is the PM really campaigning for a job at the UN? Is Three Waters really a grab for council-owned land assets? Did the Speaker really get a cushy overseas gig in a trade-off for his behaviour-induced resignation?
Why hasn’t the Christchurch stadium been built? Are we really that incompetent or is there something else going on? Why are we importing and trucking coal when we could dig it out of the ground in Huntly? Who benefits when we spend $327 million — a ridiculous amount — merging the two government-controlled media organisations?
And $53m in consulting fees on a cycleway that never happened? And why are those things priorities when we have a cost of living crisis to deal with? Why do we need to give billions of dollars to Indonesia to have them take the hit for our carbon indiscretions?
We were told we would have the most transparent Government ever. It turned out to be the opposite. So, we have to start calling this stuff out now. The trouble with corruption is that it creeps up on you over time. You don’t want to start getting used to it.
You have to stop it before it becomes commonplace or acceptable and we become desensitised to it. If we don’t, it becomes very difficult to turn around.
Bruce Cotterill, a five time CEO and current Company Chairman and Director with extensive experience across a range of industries including real estate, media, financial services, technology and retail. This article was published HERE
5 comments:
Government inquiries, task-forces, new Commissioners for this and that...they mean nothing when you have a government that lies, misrepresents, is unable to practically achieve anything, is racist and obsessed with promoting Maori over everyone else, and is led by someone who thinks talking a lot solves problems...oh yeah, and appoints their own lackeys to all the positions mentioned above.
NZ has tanked in the past couple of years in every respect, just like Labour are tanking in the polls. I wonder...could there be a connection!
Sadly though, about 1 in 3 people still say they'll vote for Jacinda - there's just no explaining some things.
I'm surprised Auckland is 34th even! I live in auckland and the visible change to society is evident everywhere. Nothing works and the gangsters have taken over. All these hoods in cars with sirens keeping neigbourhoods awake, no visible police, street people all through the cbd and the so-called normal people all in masks! It has been normalised for people to ramraid your shop. That is just one of those things these days right? But if a normal person comes into your shop to buy something unmasked, shock horror, then best to make a massive big deal about it and make them feel like the crim. It's all back to front. Buses and trains are often cancelled, litter is everywhere and I could go on. I have travelled and have lived in other cities, none as bad as auckland is now.
Why are we so apathetic? There are many reasons and each individual has their own reason to not challenge edicts from the fountain of truth.
Die hard left wing socialists will believe anything they consider will further the ideology. Die hard right wing supporters will consider anything from the left as utter nonsense, (they are correct most of the time)
Those in the middle are floaters and grab anything of value to them that the right or left dish out.
Why do we not speak out or openly protest?, is it fear of retribution from authorities? is it fear of falling out with friends and family? or is it just plain old couldn't care less. I suspect the latter.
The couldn't care less are the ones who probably dont vote and if they do, will decide their choice depending on the weather on the day.
Should we trust what comes out of the mouths of the current crop of politicians? given what we have had dished up over the past months and the direction we are heading, never!
There are so many things wrong with the country at present it is quite depressing, many of us wonder what we can do without incurring the wrath of the government and its agencies.
Trust in this labour cult has been lost because they introduced corruption. How can a government expect trust when they use the msm as their propaganda machine, launder money from the proceeds of crime and give it back to the mongrel mob, steal assets from councils for the benefit of iwi, lie about the efficacy and safety of vaccinations, suppress information about the availability of cheap drugs which have proven success in treating covid. The list is endless but a lot of voters are not aware because they believe the propaganda produced by the government via TV news, Stuff and the Herald.
The dutch seem to be getting the message out there to their government. Maybe a bit more "groundswell" with a few trailer loads of male bovine excrement dumped outside parliament would give a subtle message.
A two faced PM ranting about the UN being "morally bankrupt" when she is one of its most sycophantic acolytes is a bit rich. A definite hypocrit ranting about mis-information and democracy while insidiously introducing apartheid and calling it co-governance.
Well said Bruce. Our country is indeed in a parlous state and I fear the likely forthcoming white-washing of the blatant Mahuta (aka Ormsby) nepotism will only cement the corruption as you suggest. It is depressing, but I remain ever hopeful that a flash-point will be reached and the apathetic will get motivated and call this crooked, inept and divisive Government out. Open and transparent governance creating greater social cohesion - pigs fly!
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