Parliament Today:

• Last Week's Audio - Budget, Bills And Blue - MPs Briefed On United Nations

Wellington Local Government Survey Results: "Support For Change"

Almost 2000 submissions have been received by the four Wellington councils consulting on possible change to the region’s local government, demonstrating support for change. More>>

ALSO:

• Wellington City Council - Wellington Residents Support Big Single-tier Council with Mayor and 29 Councillors

Salvation Army Report: Pacific Peoples Making Progress Despite Increasing Adversity

Co-author Ronji Tanielu says the report shows that while Pacific communities continue to face social, health, education, and economic problems that became pronounced in the 1970s, and in many cases have worsened, the Pacific community is tenaciously making progress in some areas, but struggling in others. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - No Funding Cuts For the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs
• Labour - Pacific Ministry Set Up to Fail
• Greens - National Government’s Inaction On Poverty Fails Pacific Kids
• Service And Food Workers Union - More Evidence of Growing Need for Living Wage

Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement: NZ-Born Fair Deal Coalition Gets Global Makeover

The Fair Deal Coalition announces that it is ramping up its presence with a global publicity and education campaign that will raise awareness of intellectual property rights proposals in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Groser to attend Partnership Forum in Washington
• First Union - Will working families be hurt by a TPPA agreement?
• Out-Link - Home | Our Fair Deal

Gordon Campbell: On The 2013 Budget

We are apparently on track for a margin-of-error $75 million surplus, now in sight for 2014/15. But this sickly creature is hobbling out of the lab on the basis of all kinds of facilitative conjuring... With this strictly nominal surplus in sight, the 1984-ish justification for eternal austerity will have a news talisman: namely, getting Crown debt down to 20% of GDP by 2020. More>>

ALSO:

• The Scoop Team - Scoop Coverage of Budget Day 2013
• Scoop Business - BUDGET 2013 COMMENT Plain sailing, but it’s no America’s Cup
• Scoop Full Coverage - New Zealand Goverment Budget 2013 Full Coverage

Auckland Discord: Govt’s Power Hungry Housing Approach A Threat - Labour

Last week the Government said this, ‘The Government commits not to use any proposed or existing powers ... to override the council's planning and consenting processes’. But its housing Bill says this; ‘If an accord cannot be reached in an area of severe housing unaffordability, the Government can intervene by establishing special housing areas and issuing consents for developers’. More>>

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Housing accords legislation passes first reading - Legislation For Housing Accords, Land Supply - Housing package improves affordability, access - Government acts on housing affordability in Auckland
• Greens - Budget numbers show National’s failure on home affordability
• Auckland Council - More work needed on housing accord bill
• Auckland Chamber of Commerce - Budget 2013: Housing intervention needed
• Out-Link - Gareth Morgan: Response to housing problem limp-wristed
• Earlier, Pre-Budget - Auckland Accord announced
• Scoop Full Coverage - New Zealand Goverment Budget 2013 Full Coverage

Unitary Plan:

• Auckland Council - Unitary Plan: myths busted
• No More Rates - List of ‘myth-busters’ will not fool ratepayers
• Cameron Brewer - Three stories for ‘mixed housing’ changes everything
• Dick Quax - Kiwi Lifestyle under Attack
• Auckland 2040 - Heritage Heavyweight Partners Auckland 2040
• Dale Smith - Auckland Unitary Plan to make housing less affordable