Channel Magazine Columns
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Time to take on our cities hidden challenges
Simon Watts
February 24, 2023 Share
Unless you’re a geotechnical engineer or one of the other professionals that focuses on a city’s hidden challenges there’s a good chance that February’s floods looked like a news story from another country.
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Are you ready for change?
Simon Watts
December 30, 2022 Share
As National’s Associate Spokesperson for Local Government, I’ve had the good fortune to meet people throughout New Zealand. I have discovered that communities generally have an excellent grasp of the challenges they face and the opportunities they want to take advantage of.
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Crime and the growing social crisis
Simon Watts
November 11, 2022 Share
Everyone should feel safe in our communities, but due to a huge increase in crime and no clear plan to address it, people on the North Shore are rightly concerned about their safety.
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An economy out of balance
Simon Watts
October 14, 2022 Share
Reserve Bank Governor, Adrian Orr, has said: “Inflation is the thief in the pocket.” He’s not wrong; the crippling cost-of-living crisis is robbing cash from practically every household in the country. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
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New Zealand is in danger of missing out
Simon Watts
September 09, 2022 Share
The weather has been nasty lately, but there’s no mistaking a change of seasons is imminent: the daffodils are coming up and Auckland has welcomed its first cruise ship in two and a half years!
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Much of the economic pain you are suffering is home-grown
Simon Watts
August 12, 2022 Share
Every New Zealander who is struggling through the cost of living crisis needs to understand one vital truth: overseas events cannot be blamed for all of the pain you are suffering.
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New Zealanders need confidence and hope
Simon Watts
July 29, 2022 Share
Whether I’m out and about visiting councils around the country or talking to people in my local community, I’m hearing that the impacts of inflation and increasing living costs are squeezing middle New Zealand. The economic pain people are feeling as prices keep rising is real and it’s compounded by a sense that there’s no clear pathway beyond here.
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My experience as the North Shore Youth MP
Ivy Mitchell
June 22, 2022 Share
By Ivy Mitchell of Westlake Girls (17), the local Youth MP for the North Shore
Having the opportunity to be the North Shore’s Youth MP for Simon Watts is an incredible honour and opportunity that doesn’t walk past every day. Being the local Youth MP, there has been an exciting plethora of doors that have opened to further immerse myself in politics, the community and more.
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Labour’s Budget shows it’s not up to the challenges we face
Simon Watts
June 05, 2022 Share
An economist from the ANZ Bank has reinforced what we all know: “Inflation isn’t just a global problem that New Zealand is importing, it’s a domestic issue too.” This is a fact that’s also shared by Treasury. So, with Labour’s budget just released I want to highlight how the government is intending to address those domestic inflationary pressures.
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A vision for Auckland - some obvious quick wins
Simon Watts
May 09, 2022 Share
A winning strategy for Auckland recognises that much can be achieved through purely local initiatives even if government needs to take the lead for some aspects.