674 days ago

Poll: What could the Christchurch City Council fund if it didn't have to pay GST on rates?

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says GST on rates, currently taken by central government, would be better spent locally.

The comments follow an Infometrics analysis that found over $1.1 billion of rates revenue nationwide was collected by the Government in 2022 as GST.

According to Infometrics, $88.5m of that came from Christchurch city ratepayers. It would be enough to save the Christ Church Cathedral from ruin; restore the Dux de Lux seven times over; cover both the Art Centre and Orana Wildlife Parkโ€™s request for regular public funding for over 26 years; contribute to light rail in Greater Christchurch; or get the South Library rebuild completed.

Read the full story by reporter Sinead Gill here and share your thoughts in the comments below. (Note: Subscription required. You can still read two free stories a month if you're not a ThePress.co.nz subscriber).

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What could the Christchurch City Council fund if it didn't have to pay GST on rates?
  • 23.4% Light rail
    23.4% Complete
  • 4.5% South Library
    4.5% Complete
  • 38.7% Orana Wildlife Park
    38.7% Complete
  • 11.9% The Arts Centre
    11.9% Complete
  • 3% Dux de Lux
    3% Complete
  • 13% Christ Church Cathedral
    13% Complete
  • 5.6% Something else (share your thoughts in the comments)
    5.6% Complete
269 votes
More messages from your neighbours
3 days ago

Poll: If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

In the Post's article on speeding penalties, the question is asked whether speeding fines are truly about road safety, or are they just a way to boost revenue for the Crown?

What do you think? Should speeding motorists receive speeding fines or demerit points?

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If we want to reduce speeding, what do you think actually changes driver behaviour? ๐Ÿ›ป๐Ÿšจ๐Ÿš“
  • 37.8% The sting of a fine (Money talks!)
    37.8% Complete
  • 62.2% The threat of demerit points (Nobody wants to lose their license!)
    62.2% Complete
738 votes
10 days ago

Some Choice News!

Kia pai from Sharing the Good Stuff

DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.

Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, weโ€™re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.

For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.

Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature โ€” and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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1 day ago

๐ŸŽ‰ Riddle me this, legends! ๐ŸŽ‰

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

He/She who makes it, sells it.
He/She who buys it, doesn't use it.
The user doesn't know they are using it.
What is it?

(Shezz from Ngฤruawฤhia kindly provided this head-scratcher ... thanks, Shezz!)

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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