HOW WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL VOTED ON SETTING THE RATES FOR 2008/2009

Voting at a meeting of full Council on 27/6/2008 to continue to shift the commercial rates onto the residential rates bill were the following councillors:
Cr Ahipene-Mercer
Cr Best
Cr Coughlan
Cr Goulden
Cr McKinnon
Cr Morrison
Cr Pannett
Cr Wade-Brown
Cr Wain

Voting against shifting the commercial rates onto the residents were:

Cr Cook
Cr Gill
Cr Pepperell

Absent were:

Cr Ritchie

Cr Foster

Only Councillor Pepperell voted against shifting the commercial rates onto the residents at the earlier Strategy and Policy committee meeting .

THE END OF CHEAP ENERGY ? - YOU BETTER BELIEVE!

This week in the Capital / Council's Annual Plan

Community meeting in Wellington to discuss the Annual Plan

From: Bryan Pepperell
Sent: Saturday, 21 June 2008 1:52 p.m.
To: Kerry Prendergast; Councillors (Councillors); Garry Poole; Greg Campbell; 'Neil.cherry@wcc.govt.nz'
Cc: 'dave.burgess@dompost.co.nz'
Subject: FW: and so it begins: U.S. cities cut services, raid reserves on fuel cost

Matt Simmons said recently that oil is still VERY cheap. He said we'll know its price has reached a more realistic level when it is used as a feedstock for manufacturing and not burned . I recall he mentioned something over $500 per bbl.....

Looking at the fundamentals I have to say that we still don’t have it right and there is no way that the Indoor Sports Centre at Kilbirnie should go ahead without the rethink that was proposed at S&P this week. Not to do this is a very serious breach of our fiduciary obligations. We are looking at a very serious crisis that is still not being attended to. The fact that the funding for the Indoor Sports Centre was made with a casting vote at S&P this week shows the ambivalence that already exists. Such a large commitment of ratepayer’s funds should never be made on a casting vote. This is a breach of the democratic process and should not be allowed to progress any further.

Cr Pepperell

Good morning Bryan,

Well said......at Seatoun yesterday to a funeral and traffic as always dense and noted another big new construction next to Placemakers.....and could have wept on return at the devastation where the Boys Institute, etc used to be.....

Pauline

To: wellington-residents-coalition@googlegroups.com

Sent: Monday, June 23, 2008 5:54 PM

Subject: FW: and so it begins: U.S. cities cut services, raid reserves on fuel cost

Council is this week on Friday 27^th of June 9.15 am.

---

FROM THE G8 / LET'S HAVE THE TRUTH IN A PETROL PRICING COMMISSION-YEAH RIGHT!

Now there is nothing like hiding from the real issue in Kiwi Land and a Petrol Pricing Commission investigation would do exactly that. Similar calls have been heard in Europe but the following response came from the G8....

Oil prices have surged five-fold since 2003 due to a variety of factors, including turbulence in the Middle East and rising demand in emerging economies such as China and India.

Several of the G8 ministers warned against heaping all of the blame for the latest oil shock on speculators, saying that it would deflect attention from the real problem -- a shortage of energy supply.

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said "all the evidence pointed to supply and demand" as the main cause for the surge in oil prices.

"I think there's a danger that if people say 'all this is speculators' then we won't do what we need to do. We don't want to misdiagnose the problem," he told a press conference, echoing views from other ministers.

PEAK OIL NOW

Rising Prices Poverty Peak Oil / Click on picture to enlarge

Rising Prices Poverty Peak Oil

Rising Prices Poverty Peak Oil

After a successful launch of the campaign against rising prices, a second meeting is to be held.

Peak Oil

The age of human energy has begun and we face the biggest challenge the planet has known in the last 100 years - Bryan Pepperell

Come and hear about

- Bus fare increases

- GST

- Child poverty

- Peak Oil

- Rent / Rates

and say what you think we should do about these problems.

Newtown Hall (Cnr Constable and Daniell Streets, Newtown)

2pm Sunday 22 June

Light refreshments will be served afterwards

Issued by Campaign Against Rising Prices

www.pepptalk.net

PEAK OIL NOW

note:
Someone asked [url]oil-price.net[/url] about the size of a barrel of oil. The answer is tricky:
Oil coming out of a well is measured in 42 gallon barrels. That is the old US barrel volumetric unit. However when oil leaves the oil fields in trucks, it is packaged in 55 gallon drums (English imperial barrel volumetric unit).

Suppose your well outputs 1,000 barrels of oil per day. That's 42,000 gallons of oil. The truck (or train rather) leaving the gate has 764 barrels of oil in it. Still you just sold 1,000 barrels.

This is because the barrel used to measure oil production (42 gal) and the barrel used to transport oil (55 gal) are different.

Campaign Against Rising Prices Forum

The "guest" speakers Bryan Pepperell ( Peak Oil ), Nick Kelly (bus fares), Don Franks (GST), and Anne Else (child poverty).

John Robinson and Paul Bruce also acted as speakers.




photo
Anne Else addresses the Forum

At the forum today we came up with the following resolutions:

1. That we condemn successive governments for neglecting the poorest section of the community and wish the Child Poverty Action
Group well in their case to the Human Rights Tribunal - carried unanimously

2. That this meeting recommends to Government that:
a. subsidies on basic food items be restored;
b. GST be abolished; and
c. a universal Family Benefit be restored - carried unanimously.

3. That the Government adopt an official poverty line of 60% of the average wage after housing costs, and a programme of
specific targets to end child poverty - carried.

4. That there be a basic quota of electricity and public transport be provided at a minimum price to everybody - carried.

I shall give a fuller report late.

Yours in struggle,
Warwick

John Pilger Critical of Obama / Newstatesman

Recently I saw the film IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON. One of the astronauts reflected on how the Earth looked so fragile from the moon with its hostile landscape. The earth was a special and precious place. He drew the contrast between how the Earth appeared from the moon and how it was, with all its problems that needed to be solved.

There was a lesson to be learned from what the astronauts said about how they had been really lifted out of the Earth and the paradigms that dominate it's economic , social, and enviromental reality. In that sense both Obama and Pilger are doing pretty much as one would expect them to as men of Earth with feet of clay. Neither having much working insight into the realities of each others paradigms as practioners, but both men showing skill in their chosen professions. Would Pilger ever know how heavy lies the crown and the path that leads to it. Would Obama really see himself as others (Pilger) see him . It is a hard call for both men.

If Obama can make a new dominating myth, and a new paradigm to live by then we might get some valuable time on the long and tortuious march to our destiny. If this is not the answer you seek then perhaps this is the best there is to offer. Yes I forgot the astronaut who gave his life to the lord which may fit your bill also...Too simple? Then be satisfied with the never ending story of the sorrows of humanity.

Bryan Pepperell

Wellington

New Zealand