2201 days ago

$16K increase takes Hamilton City Council boss' pay to $469K

Rudi from Hamilton Lake

(Hamilton Residents and Ratepayers Association Media Release)

September 30, 2019: Council undertook a review of the Chief Executive. This review concluded that NO pay increase should be awarded to the Chief Executive. (​Source​: HCC Governance)
February 12, 2020: Council approved a $16,000 salary increase for the Chief Executive quoting - "Richard is a highly competent chief executive and is performing at a very high-level on behalf of the city". The increase is Backdated to 1 July 2019. (Source​: Stuff Feb 12 2020)
This $16,000 increase takes the Hamilton City Council Council Chief Executive salary to $469,000 compared with the New Zealand Prime minister's salary of $471,000. Hamilton City has a population of around 170,000 compared while the NZ population is almost 5 million. At current exchange rates the Hamilton CEO salary is more than that of the Prime minister of Canada , who is in charge of over 37m people .
Have Council Elected members considered the impact of this decision have on single pensioners with an annual income of $24,722 (Source: Work and income)​. THEY PAY THE RATES.
In light of the rates rise last year of almost 10%, planned ongoing rates rises almost double that of inflation, and projected debt in the ten year plan of almost three quarters of a Billion dollars, the Residents and Ratepayers Association is seeking community opinion on this decision? ​

Email: hamiltonratepayers@gmail.com

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1 hour 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, we’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 — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?

We hope this brings a smile!

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5 days ago

Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑

Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.

We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?

Want to read more? The Press has you covered!

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🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
  • 52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
    52.7% Complete
  • 14.7% Critical thinking
    14.7% Complete
  • 29.8% Resilience and adaptability
    29.8% Complete
  • 2.7% Other - I will share below!
    2.7% Complete
550 votes
16 hours ago

Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!

William Hansby Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.

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