11/03/2010 Rodney included in super city
The Local Government Commission has released final super city boundaries, Rodney District will be included
The northern boundary of Auckland's super city will include the Rodney District.
The Local Government Commission has just released its final decisions for boundaries and representation for the council.
The people of Auckland will be represented by 13 wards. Seven will have two members on the council, the other six will have just one. In addition, 21 local boards will share in decision making.
The northern boundary will include Rodney, but to the south a significant part of Franklin will become part of the Waikato District.
The Karioitahi Beach and Paparimu areas will stay with Auckland.
It comes as Rodney residents upset at their district being merged into the Auckland super city are taking their fight to Parliament. More than 1,000 locals have signed a petition organised by the Wellsford Community Group demanding a law be drafted that excludes North Rodney from the super city boundaries. Their petition has been presented to Parliament.
It coincides with the Rodney District Council's own attempt to draft a local bill to keep it out of the planned local government merger.
11/03/2010 Woman admits abandoning baby's body
A 27-year-old woman has admitted abandoning the body of her baby at a Christchurch boarding house, body was found last month
A Christchurch woman has admitted to abandoning the body of her baby.
The 27-year-old has appeared in the Christchurch District Court where she has pleaded guilty to one charge of disposing of the body of a baby with the intent of concealing its birth.
The boy was found on February 17, when the owner of a Waltham boarding house was cleaning out a back shed.
The accused has been given continued name suppression and will be sentenced in June.
11/03/2010 Status quo with interest rates until mid-year
Official Cash Rate stays unchanged at 2.5%; as analysts expected, Reserve Bank says interest rates unlikely to change until mid-2010
The Reserve Bank has made no change to its forecast that interest rates are unlikely to rise until the middle of this year.
In line with the expectations of most analysts, Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has left the OCR unchanged at 2.5 percent. He says the New Zealand economy is recovering broadly as expected and growth is predicted to pick-up further through 2010.
The following is his statement:
?Trading partner activity has recovered a little faster than expected. Currently, growth is strongest in China, Australia, and emerging Asia, but is much more muted in other trading partners. At the same time, risks around the global outlook have increased, although not to the extreme levels seen at the height of the crisis.
?We estimate the New Zealand economy grew at a stronger pace in the December and March quarters than in the prior two quarters. Looking forward, while growth is expected to increase to about 4 percent next year, this is subdued relative to previous recoveries.
?Policy stimulus and improved consumer confidence have seen a pick-up in household spending. That said, households are still cautious with house sales and credit growth remaining subdued. Business spending is weak despite much improved confidence.
?Annual CPI inflation is currently at 2 percent, and is expected to track within the target range over the medium term. In the short term, implementation of the amended Emissions Trading Scheme and increases in ACC charges will push CPI inflation toward the top of the target range.
?Higher bank funding costs have reduced the level of stimulus that would normally be associated with any given level of the OCR. We expect these costs to persist over the projection reducing the extent of future increases in the OCR. Fiscal consolidation would also help reduce the work that monetary policy might otherwise need to do.
?We continue to expect to begin removing policy stimulus around the middle of 2010.?
