A $10 billion welfare bailout to keep Sir Bob Jones afloat & save NZ's only shrinking City, Wellington, by the rest of us, is unacceptable.
Add up the cost of the two new proposed tunnels in Wellington, fixing its water supplies, fixing Wellington's port and ferry facilities, building endless lightly-used bicycle pathways, reinforcing Wellington's buildings that can never be reinforced sufficiently to deal with the kind of earthquake that can easily be generated by the fault-line they sit right on top of, building an "international convention center" that will never hold much in the way of international conventions since Wellington doesn't have a proper international airport, and you get a figure of way over $10 billion. Is it being funded by Wellington rate payers? You must be kidding - their Council's debt is exploding, and the Transport Minister is already saying his new tunnels will be paid for out of general taxation. Wellington will probably be bailed in a few years, just like defaulting Detroit, another failing city, this time in the US.
Whilst other cities in NZ boom, Wellington City shrinks. To help protect the value of his commercial buildings, more than for any other reason, the guy we all thought was a free market, libertarian right-winger, namely Sir Bob Jones, has now been revealed as embracing Big Government. He's defending Wellington like crazy. Sir Bob wants Wellington to get bigger, filled with even more government workers to lease buildings from him. At least Bob has at last fully revealed his investment strategy - he has relied on socialism for his survival. That is, buy up in Capital Cities, because they "don't die", to quote his newly released words of wisdom. Then negotiate long-term leases with government. Being government, he figures the tenants won't leave, will keep the place tidy & not care what rent they pay, since its tax-payers dollars. The greatest hypocrite of all time, but a genius never-the less. Given how much Bob loves boxing and once famously punched a journalist for interrupting his fly fishing, he should maybe consider giving himself a punch sometime, or at least smack a trout over his face, as punishment for his hypocrisy.
Sir Bob is not telling the whole story. When I lived in Bonn in Germany, it was the capital city of that nation at the time - the center of power in what was then the world's second largest economy (before China surpassed it). During my time there, the capital was shifted to Berlin. Bonn could have been emptied out by the move, although managed to retain a bunch of government ministries. The same should be done in NZ. Wellington can retain its official status as capital, like Berlin is now, but should unequivocally have a bunch of its Ministries moved to Auckland. Social Development, Education & the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment should go. Its inappropriate they continue to be based in Wellington. Most of the country's social & educational problems are located in South Auckland. Those Ministries should be moved to Manukau City, which is next door, and by the International Airport. The fewer people going into work in Wellington City the better - then it wont need $10 billion ploughed into it to support the increasing population that it will never achieve. Of course, Sir Bob will try to stop the shift, since he's just come out as against free markets and creating wealth, apart from wealth that comes from taxpayers paying his rent.
Sources:
Sir Bob is not telling the whole story. When I lived in Bonn in Germany, it was the capital city of that nation at the time - the center of power in what was then the world's second largest economy (before China surpassed it). During my time there, the capital was shifted to Berlin. Bonn could have been emptied out by the move, although managed to retain a bunch of government ministries. The same should be done in NZ. Wellington can retain its official status as capital, like Berlin is now, but should unequivocally have a bunch of its Ministries moved to Auckland. Social Development, Education & the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment should go. Its inappropriate they continue to be based in Wellington. Most of the country's social & educational problems are located in South Auckland. Those Ministries should be moved to Manukau City, which is next door, and by the International Airport. The fewer people going into work in Wellington City the better - then it wont need $10 billion ploughed into it to support the increasing population that it will never achieve. Of course, Sir Bob will try to stop the shift, since he's just come out as against free markets and creating wealth, apart from wealth that comes from taxpayers paying his rent.
Sources:
https://theplatform.kiwi/opinions/the-dying-wellington-myth
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
9 comments:
Coincidentally Bob is opposed to the work from home cult....
It's blatant hypocrisy. Bob Jones couldn't get in fast enough to give Jacinda a nice donation for her 2017 election campaign.
I do have a certain fondness for the city of Wellington, It can be extremely beautiful but also it can be extremely foul.
Having a scaled down version of it and relocating to other cities isn't a bad idea. 🤔
Is Palmerston North a good option?
I love the vitriol-flavoured honesty here. And the punch and the fish hee hee. Bob Jones is a myopic pale, stale male. Gone off his writing. He can dislike me too, I'm ok with that.
MC
Perhaps Hamilton would be the best place to relocate Ministries from Wellington. Not far to Mangere Airport, and the rest of South Auckland where much is needed from the Social Services and MBIE. Hamilton would grow to absorb the workforce needed and save travel to Auckland for all the civil servants. Perhaps Sir Bob could buy up a few buildings now and refurbish them in time for the move ?
Capitalize the gains and socialize the losses, eh Bob.
Yes, shift everything to Auckland - what could possibly go (more) wrong (Clue -housing, infrastructure etc)?
Why not shift it all to Christchurch as it’s taking international flights? Or Queenstown? Or Dunedin? :-)
lets face it, Wellington is and always was a s#!t hole. Either filled with woke-tarts one year, neo-liberal zealots the next based on the government of the day. Hate the place and never want to visit it again.
Recently Bob wrote that if he had his time again he would invest in capital cities that were also the largest city in the country. So not Wellington.
Stop the silly talk and consider the future of NZ Education, Health and Pensioners . Read the Sir Roger Douglas excellent essay right here on Breaking Views and let the public take care of thenmselves through tax free income to $62,800 annually and invest in compound interest. A large chunk of the bureaucracy is gone and Wellington does not need $10 billion spent on it . Simple and effective .
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