Monday 25 February 2019
1) The details of the Government's healthy homes standards were released yesterday
The facts:
The government is getting tough on landlords. Housing Minister Phil Twyford has announced that every rental home in New Zealand will by law be required to have a heater in the living room and an extractor fan in the kitchen and bathroom. The rules will come into effect from mid-2021.
According to the Housing Minister, nearly 600,000 households rent in New Zealand. Twyford estimated that about 200,000 families live in rental homes that do not have ceiling or underfloor insulation. He said that The Ministry of Health has reported that 6000 children are hospitalized each year due to unhealthy homes. The Minister said that such children are nearly four times more likely to be re-hospitalised and 10 times more likely to die in the following 10 years.
But is the Government going far enough with its clamp down on unhealthy homes? The Green Building Council has said that the Government’s announcement was not good enough. The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) is a non-profit membership organisation that promotes better buildings. The Council head Andrew Eagles said that four years is too long to wait for these new standards to become law.
And what do landlords have to say about these new rules? A representative for property investors, Andrew King, said the new regulations would lead to rents going up. The head of the New Zealand Property Investors' Federation (NZPI) said that new insulation rules would be the main driver of any increase in rents.
Analysis:
The Government's new healthy homes standards are part of its drive against poverty, and especially against the effects of poverty on children. Housing Minister Phil Twyford has put forward a strong case for more stringent regulation of the rental market. His discussion of the health effects on children living in unhealthy homes points to the need for an immediate upgrade of rental properties.
However, these changes will not be enforced for another four years, leaving renters in sub-standard properties up till that time. Added to this, renters are facing an increase in rents, as property investors are forced to upgrade their properties. Any increase in rents will hurt the poorest who will be forced to juggle their budgets to meet this increase in living costs. Therefore, should the government be looking at tightly regulating the actual cost of rental properties for tenants?
2) Lime scooter ban
The facts:
Lime Scooters have retaliated against a ban imposed on the e-scooters by Auckland and Dunedin city councils. Lime has asked users of its scooters to show their support for the company, by sending emails to local government politicians. So far over 2391 emails had been sent to Dunedin local body politicians via the Lime scooter app.
Both the Auckland and Dunedin city councils have put a ban on Lime on the basis of alleged injuries to riders. Lime has claimed that the problem with its scooters breaks only occurred in very rare circumstances. The company claims the problem has been fixed.
Analysis:
Lime has a responsibility to provide safe scooters to the public. And the number of reported accidents should be of concern. Riders also have a responsibility to use the e-scooters sensibly and with caution.
Were the DCC and AC right in taking Lime scooters of our streets? And was safety really the pressing issue? The vast majority of road accidents are caused by cars. Cars are a killer, yet a ban on cars would be rightly seen as unacceptable and draconian. Have local government bureaucrats and politicians therefore acted in a draconian and undemocratic manner with their war on this highly popular form of alternative transport?
3) And finally, Jordon Peterson came and spoke and conquered
The facts:
The controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson has packed out venues in NZ. And the media has followed the public intellectual with a keenness usually reserved for pop stars. Peterson has been accused by his opponents of being racist, sexist and transphobic. His supporters hail him as a motivational speaker who has saved lives and who has encouraged the transformation of alienated young males in particular.
Analysis:
Peterson’s views are rightly controversial. The Canadian psychologist promotes archaic views on gender relations, and flirts with racialist views on race and IQ. However, Peterson is no Nazi. And he is extremely articulate and knowledgeable.
His ideas are becoming increasingly popular, and Peterson can be seen as part of a wave of rightwing anti-PC popular speakers and writers. Peterson's ideas need to be challenged. But the left in NZ has failed to seriously challenge the Canadian psychologist. Peterson needs to be debated and challenged. But decrying him as beyond the pale, and at the same time failing to come up with well researched counter-arguments, means that the NZ left lost in its battle against Jordon Peterson.
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This political roundup by John Moore is an extension on the five-minute breakfast political roundup that John gives on Radio One Dunedin, Monday to Thursday at 9am.
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