Peter Wakeman, Independent

Tauranga Candidates Debate 2022 Questions

Date: Monday May 24, 2022

Section A: COST OF LIVING
Background:
This week at Countdown a kilo of Mainland cheese, a New Zealand dairy product, sits at about $18, which is the same as an hour of minimum wage after tax, petrol topped $3 even after the fuel taxes discount, and households are struggling with the cost of living in New Zealand.

Question: What will you or your party do to address what many are calling a cost of living crisis in NZ?

Answer: My goal is to remove the 15% GST which is equal to $15 on every $100 of expenditure except rent and life insurance. Governments have been increasing our living costs rather than reducing them. The Labour Government by-passed Commerce Commission laws to make it possible for the dairy merger that took place while they were in Government. Has less competition in the New Zealand dairy industry increased prices since this merger? We need to reverse the actions of Labour introducing GST at 10%, and National increasing this GST by 50% taking it up to 15%. It may be possible to reduce costs by eating plants, here is a plant-based BBQ.

Peter Wakeman Mt Albert by-election Independent candidate was at a BBQ Nearly Vegan - YouTube
Eating plants rather than animal products reduces Co2 by approx 50%. Humans need food growing areas. Prof Guy McPherson (Climate Change) says make most of your time. Peter Wakeman sharing a BBQ together with a family in New Zealand
Unless voters vote to reduce their living costs it is not going to happen. Unless I receive your support on this issue the opportunity of sending a message to Parliament to reduce our living costs will not happen.

Section B: INFRASTRUCTURE COST
Background:
The Port of Tauranga manages the largest exports by volume nationally and has applied for the building of a third terminal.
Yet ingress and egress to and from the Port is heavily over taxed with critical roading infrastructure lacking and congestion at a crisis point.
Question 1:
How can Tauranga continue to effectively function when our roading infrastructure is not keeping pace with the demand of the city's growth, what will you do to ensure Tauranga gets a transport infrastructure that is fit for purpose? And who is going to pay for it.

Answer:
The two issues mostly are what infrastructure and what is the best long-term design to have for the longevity of any additional infrastructure. Unfortunately cost cutting can lead to bad long-term decisions in this area.
The cost of infrastructure that was undertaken by the first NZ Labour Government used debt-free money that was created by the Reserve Bank to build rail, roads and the plantation of forests. The Reserve Bank at the time did not support the Government's position of creating debt-free money and was told by the Government that this is the policy and we are the Government, otherwise it would not have happened. Public-private partnerships in my view are increasing the bureaucracy and the costs unlike the Government creating debt-free money. I am of the view that the Government should again use debt-free money to support the expansion of Tauranga and other cities alike that are facing high levels of growth. This is required for Tauranga to effectively function sustainably and practically.

Question 2:
Yesterday the petition against the closure of Links ave was presented to Council where its reported that the Commissioner stormed out of the meeting, some of you were there what's your version of events?

Answer:
My version of events is that politicians and/or appointed members get scared when there is public descent with a large crowd. When this occurs, they like to go into hiding or not make themselves available or wish to discuss it further. With regard to the briefing from the Tauranga Commissioners to the Parliamentary by-election candidates the chair did not approve the meeting to be recorded.

Question 3:
Does anyone have an alternative plan?

Answer:
Having bolder plans for long-term infrastructure making them futureproof with finance from the New Zealand Government in the form of debt-free money.

Section C: HOUSING
Background::
Coupled with the critical issue of roading congestion is a housing crisis. A Smart Growth spatial plan was soundly rejected in a previous consultation process, as it called for more sprawl up the Kaimai Range and along the Papamoa coast, with no citywide rapid transit system planned for the next decade or more.
Question 1: How can we move forward with a plan that matches infrastructural developments and growth together, should growth pay for growth, many are suggesting that the current rate of expansion is undesirable?

Answer:
My first home in Tauranga in 1993 cost $95,000. I also can remember the price of a chocolate ice-block was 4 cents as a child. The price of houses can be determined by the amount of money that banks are able to lend and the buyer can get approved in the form of a loan. Some houses may be rented out for short-term accommodation which takes away rental stock thus reducing the rental availability. Michael Joseph Savage financed and built state housing in New Zealand with RBNZ funding to address the housing shortage and reduce the cost of housing.
No, I think the question is bigger than ‘should growth pay for growth'.
Unfortunately, the bureaucracy of different agencies reminds me of a story where 50 houses were being built without an office with the building company on sites owner saying that ‘Offices are where no building work is done.' The cost of administration is climbing significantly higher while results are not keeping pace with what we require. China has shown that when there is a will there is a way. At the end of the day, unless the finance is there, it won't happen. Due to the high building costs with respect to land and materials it requires deep pockets, hence the need for Government financing to make it happen on an effective scale to meet demand. Currently it is too costly to have the current approach as it is not fulfilling the demands of growth in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Question 2:
What is the answer to the exorbitant cost of building products and their current scarcity?
Answer:
The Government approach for developing new markets was to subsidise investment and manufacturing areas in the past. This needs further investigation to determine whether this approach needs to be reintroduced. As a country we need to become more self-reliant without relying on supply chains that can break down and cause significant delays and business harm.

Question 3:
Background:
Back to Housing locally and we have the glaring examples in the United States and England where low cost high rise apartments turned into slums, drug dens and areas of violence so extreme that even police don't go into them.
Question:
With plan change 26 of high intensification in certain areas and no accompanying plans for parking or amenities, how do you feel about them being built here in our beautiful city?

Answer:
My view on apartments is that they need to be fit for purpose. In order to avoid slums, my view is to have large scale buildings that have restaurants and community facilities that include weekly cleaning services with security and rules regarding behaviour in order to provide low-cost housing for people who are having to sleep in cars because it is financially out of their reach to be able to live outside of their vehicle for many.

Section D: THREE WATERS
Background:
It is on record that Tauranga City has historically invested significantly in water infrastructure including micro-filtration. By the Three Waters Proposal's own analysis it was assessed as being one top cities in terms of being prepared for as yet unknown changes to water regulation. Given our growth most of our water infrastructures are relatively new, meaning a likely hood that this city will be subsidizing smaller, older and poorly managed systems elsewhere.
Question:
Where could there be any advantage to the people of Tauranga to merging more than $1B of well-invested assets into the proposed three waters proposal?

Answer:
I have consistently opposed Three Waters as I believe it is setting out an apartheid system with more bureaucracy and less accountability. We have already seen many millions of dollars spent on consultation that has not improved water infrastructure. I believe Tauranga would be a net loser from a balance sheet perspective as well as a cost perspective from a consumer point of view.  

Section F: DEMOCRACY
Background:
Now this is huge for the people of Tauranga, In 2019 Minister Mahuta installed a commission with the responsibility to prepare the city for a return to democratic elections in 2022, despite the Commissioner's failure to manage that Minister Mahuta, ironically extended their term for another two years.
The Commission with a suggestion of little genuine consultation with Ratepayers are embarking on a number of significant expenses for the City:
·      Today the Commission announced $2000 in new additional costs for every man, woman and child in Tauranga for a Civic Renewal with no measurable outcomes. It is forcing through the construction of a museum that was formally rejected in a democratic referendum.
·      Proposal of a new Stadium in the CBD
·      Significant changes to the Racecourse proposed.
·      Has recently sold off housing assets at well below market value.
·      And in recent consultation; it refused to reject the Three Waters proposal as explicitly advocated in the local consultation process.  
·      The commission is unaccountable to the residents at any level
Question 1:
What is your opinion and what would you do about it?

Answer:
The issues facing Central and Local Government at the end of the day is finance. I believe it is inconceivable and unsustainable long-term that the resident, ratepayer or taxpayer can continue to fund things utilising private banks. As the costs keep rising well beyond the inflation rate, the Government needs to step in to use debt-free money to ensure infrastructure and facilities are fit for purpose for communities. Given that private banks can create approximately 98% of money as debt to fund a new loan, the Government needs to have a financial role in Central and Local Government financial needs long-term in order to meet the current and future requirements of the community.  
 
Question 2:
What will you do to help bring democratic elections back to Tauranga?
Answer:
At the end of the day, it's the numbers (election results and total number of votes supporting or opposing) with respect to decisions whether it be Parliament or Councils that the votes determine the outcomes along with current and proposed legislation. Regardless of who is in charge it is the financial situation that determines the outcome, hence my policy to reduce the burden on residents and ratepayers with the Government creating debt-free money as they did to fund some of the costs associated with the covid pandemic. Australia has compulsory voting and political parties receive their income based on the number of votes they receive. Part of the argument was that insufficient people were partaking in Tauranga Council elections. Democracy can be described as a 99% waste of time with 1% of democracy. No system is perfect and the people who are most alienated by the system are less likely to vote while those who benefit from the system are more than likely to vote to look after their own interests. I would like to bring back democracy but it needs to have a sustainable funding plan.

Section G: CRIME:
Background:
Commentators report that this Government is soft on crime, that they are giving Gangs millions of Dollars to repair the very damage they created. The BOP district has the highest concentration of Gang members nationally; Gang intimidation and youth crime is rife in Tauranga at present, many locals are scared to use the buses, and some drivers won't stop when they see groups of youths hanging round bus stops. There has even been the suggestion of cages around drivers, and recently we've had 2 reported smash and grab raids at the Bayfair shopping centre.
Question:
What do we do to curb this new, seemingly ‘fearless' behaviour in some people and are police and authorities capable of providing the solutions we need?

Answer:
I am of the view that our education system is failing in the sense that people who could leave school as a qualified chef and/or other professions would have more of an incentive to turn up to school. For example, in Italy, people can leave school as a qualified chef. Everyone knows what a qualified student is but the difficulty is on the parent's skills and their financial capacity with their expertise to help their child get ahead. I have heard some teachers talk about how some of their students want to have a child supported by the government yet when they're asked how much money they would get from the government and how much it would cost to raise a child they suddenly realise that it is no easy task. With no skills to get a well-paid job, crime seems to be the only option. Police and authorities will never be capable of providing the solutions we need but things do need to improve from the trajectory of worsening every year as they are with increased levels of poverty.

Section H: SUSTAINABILITY:
Background:
Tauranga with its port is a major economic hub of agriculture, horticulture and forestry for New Zealand. At the same many voters, especially younger voters are concerned about sustainability.
Question:
What does Tauranga need to do to build on its current economic base AND build for a more sustainable future at the same time? How do we ensure this includes small and medium businesses?  
Answer:
The concept that we live in a free market is turned on its head with the decision by the Governor of the Reserve Bank to set interest rates. This action therefore confirms that there is no such thing as a free market as private banks can be licenced to create money, yet in the event people print fraudulent money they can go to jail. Privately registered banks are licenced to create money from nothing. We therefore have financial apartheid for those who do not have sufficient funds compared to those who have assets and can borrow money. It is the financial systems that rules the economic outcomes. It is nature and ecosystems that provide life here on Planet Earth. It is very challenging for small and medium businesses when the government is supporting essential businesses and Australian banks that have approximately 90% of the market in New Zealand along with New Zealand's dairy industry. For example, one litre of milk can take approximately 5000 litres of water to create. Small business is the most important part of job creation yet it is currently facing some of the most challenging times ever. It is challenging to run a business when people do not have disposable income therefore my reason for removing GST is to allow more disposable income allowing money to circulate more in the community rather than 15% of it going off to the Inland Revenue Department for each transaction along with bank fees and sometimes emissions trading scheme fees.

SECTION I: EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITY
Background
A major concern for parents, not just in Tauranga but across NZ, Our children are saddled with student debt some over 100, 000 dollars of it making it virtually impossible to borrow to buy a house. The government love affair with Australian owned banks continues and house ownership becomes further and further out of reach for our highly educated young people.
Question:
What's your answer to that?

Answer:
The education system along with many other things has been financialised. Thereby getting students to take on large sums of debt for their education. There was no such thing as student debt when the first Labour Government created debt-free money by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to successfully build state houses in New Zealand. Some of the arguments suggested that instead of people paying large sums of money for rent and/or borrowing money, this enabled them to use this surplus of money to get ahead themselves rather than go financially backwards. Some time ago is was alleged that 35% of the profits came from New Zealand banks that were owned by Australian parents.
It is alleged that Australian owned banks received approximately 35% of their profits from their New Zealand owned banking subsidiaries. Government policies are designed to support the private banking system ahead of the interests of their local residents with the objective of causing inflation and continued immigration to support house price rises.  

SECTION J: MEDIA
Background:
There are suggestions that NZ media does not always address the big issues or possibly takes a restrained view on some topics, possibly as a consequence of significant government funding.
Question:
Do you think that New Zealand media is generally fair and balanced?

Answer:
I have made formal complaints concerning these issues to the Broadcasting and Broadcasting Standards Authority. This by-election has shown that Radio New Zealand has not stated all of the names of the candidates running in this by-election (this is a taxpayer funded organisation that I believe is failing its duty in covering New Zealand democracy.) This is my fourth by-election and the only time I was interviewed as a candidate standing in a by-election was for the Te Tai Hauauru by-election with only one short radio interview for the Tauranga 1993 by-election. The current media strikes me as having a wall to prevent different opinions from entering the news cycles. Given the taxpayers support for New Zealand media this raises serious questions. I do not believe the merger of Radio New Zealand and Television New Zealand is viable in excess of $300 million. I successfully opposed the Stuff and NZME's merger through the Commerce Commission and part of my submission was the effect which the Commerce Commission noted in their decision concerning reducing democracy and political opinion. I'm very concerned that intelligence agencies and/or owners of social media platforms can restrict use on alternative media and thereby effect the narrative. New Zealand media in my opinion needs to increase the diversity of opinions and challenge them rather than spin the Government line in order to hold Government power to account. Examples are widely illustrated this year with respect to Western and New Zealand media coverage on the sanctioning of Russia's special operation in Ukraine that was formally part of the Soviet Union. The Russian goal of de-Nazifying and de-militarising Ukraine and preventing Western missiles being placed on their border is not much different to President Kennedy with the Cuban Missile Crisis. We see the Ukrainian propaganda machine justifying the insanity of trying to block all Russian oil which will affect our pockets at the fuel pump drastically. The idea of painting Russians bad and the Ukrainians as good is in my view a sign of failed objective investigative journalism. Therefore, our so-called democracy is under extreme threat or is already lost.

SECTION K: YOUR POSITION:
Having covered topics that we know are on residents' minds let me turn to each of you.
Question:
What do you think is the biggest issue facing Tauranga in 2022 and the coming years… and how you would plan to address it?

Answer:
As income levels and buying power has been consistently reducing and investment returns along with interest rates have also been reducing it is very challenging for people to join the monopoly board when the game is already past the half way point. This means that people are struggling to be part of the ‘haves' and are falling into the ‘have nots'. My idea of reducing the current GST of 15% and replacing it with a Financial Transactions Tax would mean that the people who move the most money would pay the most tax. Currently for every $100,000 you pay for a new house it is taxed $15,000. If you are not in business claiming the 15% GST back (which includes people that own exporting businesses,) you cannot get out of the 15% GST tax. It is of no surprise that New Zealand products can be cheaper outside of New Zealand as opposed to inside New Zealand.
We need a school system that can short-cut or give qualifications and/or skills for people who want to work. Free education for upskilling New Zealanders is a way to fill New Zealand jobs without getting into debt and requires less immigration to fulfill these jobs with a proficient New Zealand workforce.
The financialisation of everything in New Zealand has taken away our caring community and is serving the interests of the financiers ahead of our local communities. I seek to reverse this by getting the government to change policy by using debt-free money to start addressing climate change issues rather than increasing our living costs thereby adding to inflation.
Here is an interview linked concerning the seriousness of climate change. Interview Guy Mcpherson - YouTube  Peter Wakeman, Prof Guy McPherson Living now, understanding Runaway Climate Change filmed Christchurch NZ 2016.

Click on the SunLive links below to read Tauranga by-election candidate comments:

May 12, 2022 - Tauranga By-election: Candidates weigh-in on SH2

May 15, 2022 - Out and about with the candidates this weekend

May 19, 2022 – Candidates respond to ACT's “off with her head” comment

May 25, 2022 - Tauranga candidates discuss cost of living

Key dates for the Tauranga by-election:

Tuesday 17 May candidate nominations close at noon, by-election candidates announced 4pm

Wednesday 1 June overseas voting starts

Saturday 4 June advance voting starts

Saturday 18 June election day, voting closes at 7pm. Preliminary results will be announced later that night.