Moving the capital of NZ to Auckland... Good or Bad?

[davereid]

Bob Harvey sounded very one sided in his opinion stating things like "Auckland is the Powerhouse of the Country"...

Hmm... Aucklanders do like to point that out, as a justification for getting extra road tax, schooling, electricity ... the list goes on.

But, who really IS the powerhouse of the country ?

Hmm looks like its Levin.

Or at least rural NZ.

NZ Trade and industry figures ... 2006
Exports, in decending order of value

Dairy = 22%
Meat = 15.27%
Wood = 6.4%
Machinery = 5%
Aluminium = 4.74%
Starch = 3.9%
Fish = 3.47%

Hmm. It would seem that in term of EARNING money, Aucklands not really even on the chart.

It may be a bit like real life.

I wear overalls. I run three firms, and make a healthy profit.

My wife wears a nice frock, and uses the money I make to go shopping.

When I walk in a shop, the retailers look at my overalls, and walk away.

When my wife walks in, they race over.

Hi Maria ! Hope you are well ! how can we help !

[Dafe]

Where in Auckland would they squeeze in a Parliament and the multitude of other government ministries and supporting organisations?

Will never happen because there is no space in Auckland for the infrastructure.
Also, the government couldn't afford to relocate parliament alone. The other ministries would cost 10-20 times that again.

Let's be realistic here. There is more chance of relocating Parliament to the Wairarapa. Perhaps that should really be the topic of discussion since it's more likely.

[Mikkel]

Russell was the first capital I believe

...and it's nicer too. And they also have a ferry

Why isn't Canberra an option?

Or London for that matter! I mean, the capital should be where the head of state resides right.

Geographically, Wellington is not the best place to be our capital city. There are effectively only two roads into it, and the aiport isn't capable of being extended.

It doesn't really matter too much. Take Holland - the capital is The Hauge, however the main cities are Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

Where in Auckland would they squeeze in a Parliament and the multitude of other government ministries and supporting organisations?

Plenty of space out west I've understood

[kevfromcoro]

nah..they would all fall over......because there is no wind up here

[peasea]

Hmm... Aucklanders do like to point that out, as a justification for getting extra road tax, schooling, electricity ... the list goes on.

But, who really IS the powerhouse of the country ?

Hmm looks like its Levin.

Or at least rural NZ.

NZ Trade and industry figures ... 2006
Exports, in decending order of value

Dairy = 22%
Meat = 15.27%
Wood = 6.4%
Machinery = 5%
Aluminium = 4.74%
Starch = 3.9%
Fish = 3.47%

Hmm. It would seem that in term of EARNING money, Aucklands not really even on the chart.

It may be a bit like real life.

I wear overalls. I run three firms, and make a healthy profit.

My wife wears a nice frock, and uses the money I make to go shopping.

When I walk in a shop, the retailers look at my overalls, and walk away.

When my wife walks in, they race over.

Hi Maria ! Hope you are well ! how can we help !

Ain't that the truth?
It wasn't so long ago we rocked up to a show home on our bikes, checked it out and thought "we can do this" but the sales staff were ignoring us. We left and won't be going back.

On the flip side; we went looking for a new freezer today, both of us in work clothes. I'm in steel-capped boots, beanie, scruffy jeans etc and the service was impeccable. They didn't have the drawer-type that we wanted but they are getting one in for us to look at and will call when it arrives. I think they have a sale on their hands!

[NordieBoy]

if my history serves me right Collingwood was never the Capital...
...just a proposal

And I propose it again

[James Deuce]

Russell wasn't the first capital. Kororareka was, in the sense that it was the first "white" settlement in NZ.

And it was a shithole.

It was officially known as the "Hellhole of the South Pacific".

It was a place for dropping off muskets, alcohol and blankets, and picking up slaves and pox ridden whores.

So Hobson bought some land about 12 km away and called it Russell and built a courthouse and went, "Aha! THIS looks like a Capital to me!"

And then went and did the Treaty negotiations waaaay the hell of the other side of the bay at Waitangi.

He wasn't a smart man.

Busby was though, hence why the Capital IS in Wellington. The phrase "pwned" was probably coined to describe Busby's acquisition of New Zealand for a ha'penny farthing and nine pence, whilst the poor bloody indigenous population were still exclaiming over the concept of swapping really valuable stuff for something with no intrinsic value.

Don't move it to Collingwood. I want to retire there. Please don't ruin it for everyone.

[aotearoawise]

Is Auckland not the capital of N.Z??? O.M.G!!

[NordieBoy]

Auckland is in New Zealand?

I thought it was a seperate entity with it's own king.

[Quasievil]

Captial of what, crime ?

[fridayflash]

no way! wellington has that great "civil hub" feel about it
and tv programmes like "gliding on" would never have been
the same if set in auckland

[Flatcap]

Hmm... Aucklanders do like to point that out, as a justification for getting extra road tax, schooling, electricity ... the list goes on.

But, who really IS the powerhouse of the country ?

Hmm looks like its Levin.

Or at least rural NZ.

NZ Trade and industry figures ... 2006
Exports, in decending order of value

Dairy = 22%
Meat = 15.27%
Wood = 6.4%
Machinery = 5%
Aluminium = 4.74%
Starch = 3.9%
Fish = 3.47%

Hmm. It would seem that in term of EARNING money, Aucklands not really even on the chart.

That old chestnut. That argument is better applied to Wellington.

And the simple fact is the tax take from Auckland subsidises services elswhere in the country, so you rural lot should all be thankful

[hazard02]

And where would Parliament Bldgs be?? Otara? One can only hope....

Killer Bees can hang out at the beehive.

Seriously though, this is a terrible idea. There are enough horrible people living in Auckland with politicians to boost their numbers.

[jrandom]

Wellington doesn't really have a point, apart from being Das Kapital.

There may be some efficiencies that could theoretically be gained from removing its reason for existence, but the actual cost of transferring the capital to Auckland would exceed those by orders of magnitude, so the idea is silly.

I gotta say, though. Regarding Wellington, I've always wondered who the hell looked at that bit of land and thought "Ah, let us build a city here"?

I mean, it's basically a bog surrounded by cliffs and ravines, with an opening at the south end to let freezing gales through.

WTF, people? I mean, seriously.

Auckland and Christchurch, f'rinstance - the geography makes them natural places to settle.

Wellington, though?

Go stand on a hill and actually look at the damn place. Every second building is either about to sink into the ocean or fall off a cliff.

Frankly, it's a ridiculous place for a city, and should have been left as unproductive wilderness; it exists solely due to the accident of a location convenient during the era of horses, carts and sailing ships.

[Bren]

Wellington doesn't really have a point, apart from being Das Kapital.

There may be some efficiencies that could theoretically be gained from removing its reason for existence, but the actual cost of transferring the capital to Auckland would exceed those by orders of magnitude, so the idea is silly.

I gotta say, though. Regarding Wellington, I've always wondered who the hell looked at that bit of land and thought "Ah, let us build a city here"?

I mean, it's basically a bog surrounded by cliffs and ravines, with an opening at the south end to let freezing gales through.

WTF, people? I mean, seriously.

Auckland and Christchurch, f'rinstance - the geography makes them natural places to settle.

Wellington, though?

Go stand on a hill and actually look at the damn place. Every second building is either about to sink into the ocean or fall off a cliff.

Frankly, it's a ridiculous place for a city, and should have been left as unproductive wilderness; it exists solely due to the accident of a location convenient during the era of horses, carts and sailing ships.

Hehe....Christchurch, a good place to settle...I dont think so...Back in the day when it was settled it was basically a Flaxen and Raupo bog...