Same Old.......Same Old
I firmly believe there is nothing new under the sun. In 2012, following the Christchurch earthquakes, the then National government introduced "zero budgets" with a focus on "getting better value from public spending".
Sound familiar? We heard a lot about curbing public spending in the lead up to the last election. Unfortunately, the austerity measures haven't stopped there. As we come to the end of the government's anti-Labour 100 day rampage (arguably the biggest waste of public money I have seen in a long time), prices in the supermarket continue to rise, week on week, despite claims that inflation is easing.
(Well.... it might be, but greedflation is still rampant). We find we are in for more expense for car registration, road user charges have been introduced for electric vehicles and schools will be eating into their operating budgets (literally) to feed hungry children. A UN expert in the UK recently stated that austerity policies were directly linked to a rise in poverty. No surprises there either.
But isn't it ironic that, as a direct result of cancelling all road maintenance during the last round of RONS, the National government is now introducing a special dedicated "pot hole fund" Monty Python couldn't have done it better. Will we be shortly forced to eat hot gravel?
But all is not lost. Despite my Superannuation being cut by $30 this week, for no apparent reason, there's an outside chance I might get it back in the annual CPI adjustment (something the government is legislatively required to do fortunately) And apparently we are still in line for a tax cut sometime in the near future. When is it Tricola? We wait in hope.......
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️