Local Government Minister Simon Watts says the days of double-digit rates increases are over, following their latest announcement.

The Government's clarified key aspects of its plan to cap council rate hikes at four percent, which is expected to come into force in 2029. 

Watts says the first reading of the new legislation will take place this week, and then it'll go to a select committee.

"We've done a lot of work around taking that advice from other countries, looking at what they're doing. The bill's on the table, it's happening."

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Local Government Minister Simon Watts says the days of double-digit rates increases are over, following their latest announcement.
The Government's clarified key aspects of its plan to cap council rate hikes at four percent, which is expected to come into force in 2029.&nbsp;
Watts says the first reading of the new legislation will take place this week, and then it'll go to a select committee.
"We've done a lot of work around taking that advice from other countries, looking at what they're doing. The bill's on the table, it's happening."
LISTEN ABOVE

With a straight down the middle approach, Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive on Newstalk ZB delivers the very latest news and views to New Zealanders as they wrap up their day.

Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Simon Watts: Local Government Minister on the Government confirming its plan to cap rates

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/9fb7b7df-5d44-4cde-9d4f-b4b10059e3f6/transcript

I think I'm probably more optimistic about the social media ban than most people. I do accept that the thing is not going to work, according to the accepted definition of what it means to work, but I think it will work for enough people for it to, in my mind, work - if you follow what I'm saying.

Let me explain:

I have a friend who has a 13-year-old at a private girls' school in Auckland and she's desperate to get her daughter off social media. But she can't, because the girl belongs to a house at school and the senior girls, who are 17 and 18 years old, run the house. They organise activities and communicate through Instagram.

So she can't get her daughter off Instagram because her daughter needs to be on Instagram for school. This ban would put a stop to that, because the school would be forced to acknowledge that it's unlawful for younger girls to be on Instagram. The older girls would then be forced to stop using Instagram for school-related organising.

There is a practical way in which it would help parents get their kids off social media.

Australia is being used as an example of the ban not working. That fails to acknowledge that somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent of young people in Australia have come off social media. Sure, 60 percent to 80 percent are still on it, but 20 percent to 40 percent are off and that is a success for those families.

My bet is that those numbers would be concentrated in clusters: clusters within a school, a suburb, or friendship groups where parents are actively engaged and banding together to enforce the ban. That is already happening in certain schools, suburbs and friendship groups in New Zealand, where parents are taking it upon themselves to do this.

The best-case scenario here in New Zealand is that, over time, this may become like the anti-smacking legislation. It gradually became socially unacceptable to do the thing.

Smacking your child? Socially unacceptable.

In the future, perhaps letting your underage child use social media will be socially unacceptable too.

Now, I'm not Pollyannaish about this. I know it's not going to work for all kids, largely because the Facebooks of this world want kids on social media, and they cannot be forced to follow every rule in every country because they're now bigger and more powerful than many Governments.

But it will work for some kids if their schools and parents want to use this as a tool to get them off social media.

And 20 percent to 40 percent of kids is better than 0 percent.

What's the saying? Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

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I think I'm probably more optimistic about the social media ban than most people. I do accept that the thing is not going to work, according to the accepted definition of what it means to work, but I think it will work for enough people for it to, in my mind, work - if you follow what I'm saying.
Let me explain:
I have a friend who has a 13-year-old at a private girls' school in Auckland and she's desperate to get her daughter off social media. But she can't, because the girl belongs to a house at school and the senior girls, who are 17 and 18 years old, run the house. They organise activities and communicate through Instagram.
So she can't get her daughter off Instagram because her daughter needs to be on Instagram for school. This ban would put a stop to that, because the school would be forced to acknowledge that it's unlawful for younger girls to be on Instagram. The older girls would then be forced to stop using Instagram for school-related organising.
There is a practical way in which it would help parents get their kids off social media.
Australia is being used as an example of the ban not working. That fails to acknowledge that somewhere between 20 percent and 40 percent of young people in Australia have come off social media. Sure, 60 percent to 80 percent are still on it, but 20 percent to 40 percent are off and that is a success for those families.
My bet is that those numbers would be concentrated in clusters: clusters within a school, a suburb, or friendship groups where parents are actively engaged and banding together to enforce the ban. That is already happening in certain schools, suburbs and friendship groups in New Zealand, where parents are taking it upon themselves to do this.
The best-case scenario here in New Zealand is that, over time, this may become like the anti-smacking legislation. It gradually became socially unacceptable to do the thing.
Smacking your child? Socially unacceptable.
In the future, perhaps letting your underage child use social media will be socially unacceptable too.
Now, I'm not Pollyannaish about this. I know it's not going to work for all kids, largely because the Facebooks of this world want kids on social media, and they cannot be forced to follow every rule in every country because they're now bigger and more powerful than many Governments.
But it will work for some kids if their schools and parents want to use this as a tool to get them off social media.
And 20 percent to 40 percent of kids is better than 0 percent.
What's the saying?&nbsp;Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
LISTEN ABOVE

Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Here's why I'm more optimistic about the social media ban

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/705e3eda-b694-40ce-a955-b4b100630231/transcript

Aucklanders have a big question to answer, as the council reveals three congestion charging proposals.

They'll apply to different zones, with charges ranging from $2 to $7 dollars, depending on the times.

The public can submit opinions in November. 

Councillor Shane Henderson says it's important to outline all the possible options, and they want feedback before they move forward.

"That's what Aucklanders should be feeding back to us - how far we want to go. I mean, the wider we go, the more benefits we have in terms of congestion. But also, we've got to look at the costs as well." 

LISTEN ABOVE

Aucklanders have a big question to answer, as the council reveals three congestion charging proposals.
They'll apply to different zones, with charges ranging from $2 to $7 dollars, depending on the times.
The public can submit opinions in November.&nbsp;
Councillor Shane Henderson says it's important to outline all the possible options, and they want feedback before they move forward.
"That's what Aucklanders should be feeding back to us - how far we want to go. I mean, the wider we go, the more benefits we have in terms of congestion. But also, we've got to look at the costs as well."&nbsp;
LISTEN ABOVE

Shane Henderson: Auckland Councillor on the council unveiling three congestion charging proposals

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/79bb37eb-0e64-4002-9bb1-b4b1005fb586/transcript

Sacked Minister and outgoing MP Chris Penk was spotted in Parliament, but he skipped National's weekly Caucus meeting. 

The former Defence Minister was removed from Cabinet almost three weeks ago, after Prime Minister Chris Luxon accused him of launching a leadership bid.

Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Penk was stopped by the media - and he claimed he was focused on saying goodbye to his staff.

LISTEN ABOVE

Sacked Minister and outgoing MP Chris Penk was spotted in Parliament, but he skipped National's weekly Caucus meeting.&nbsp;
The former Defence Minister was removed from Cabinet almost three weeks ago, after Prime Minister Chris Luxon accused him of launching a leadership bid.
Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent Barry Soper says Penk was stopped by the media - and he claimed he was focused on saying goodbye to his staff.
LISTEN ABOVE

Barry Soper: Newstalk ZB senior political correspondent on Chris Penk being spotted in Parliament again

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/7784f840-c291-422a-924b-ad9000bbad71/clips/1c957f5e-b952-4b6a-a39b-b4b100567fb2/transcript

Simon Watts: Local Government Minister on the Government confirming its plan to cap rates

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