Mark Baxter

Local government minister Simon Watts can't guarantee rates cap won't increase social housing rents Simon Watts said the final rates cap policy is still being designed, but didn't anticipate it would cause higher costs for those living in roughly 10,000 council-owned rental homes.

The truth about Govt imposed rates-caps on local-bodies. —They will almost certainly guarantee big rent increases for pensioners etc in social housing in many areas. Caps are INTENDED to do exactly this - and force local-bodies to sell off public assets and services.
www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...

Herbs - Nuclear Waste YouTube video by saanzacs

RIP Dilworth Karaka
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOfq...

Jamaica vs Irish accent YouTube video by Garron

Funny — and interesting...
www.youtube.com/shorts/noSNi...

DCC tenants fearful of annual rent rises A rent rise of 8% for Dunedin community housing tenants will put pressure on vulnerable people, residents say. However, the increase is well short...

Shame on DCC 😢 —This 8% increase is on top of 14.5% increase in the past two years, ie it's well above inflation and well above pensioners' income increases. Normally unfair, this is more than mean-spirited during a cost-of-living crisis.
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Inquiry into Col's disappearance lacked urgency - friends Friends of former Dunedin resident Col Heath are feeling both relief and devastation after their remains were discovered in Waikato last week.

Police lack of performance needs questioned: "just because Col... had mental health struggles and was queer and was kind of anti-establishment and loved a good protest... doesn’t mean that they... didn’t deserve to be looked for".
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Setting suffrage story straight The role of leading Dunedin suffrage campaigner Harriet Morison has been cancelled, Jane Tolerton argues. It is past time the fervent unionist and...

Dunedin's unsung hero of the suffrage campaign, "Morison was cancelled so the government could present Kate Sheppard as the leader of the campaign for the suffrage...
www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/ma...

Alarm over mental health field staffing Mental healthcare for older people in the South is ‘‘dangerously under-resourced’’ at a time when demand is at its highest, a senior clinician says...

"Mental healthcare for older people in the South is ‘‘dangerously under-resourced’’...
Paywalled sorry, but to sum up: #Dunedin has inadequate staffing with just 1.1 FTE psychiatrists specialising in old age, and #Invercargill has virtually none.
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

'It’s disgusting': Outrage as state houses land listed for third of value Kāinga Ora is defending its decision to sell off Port Chalmers land once destined for new homes for a third of its original valuation.

"No private developer wants the site; Kāinga Ora should do the right thing and develop the site for state housing...
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Govt embarks on sale of 900 state houses, old and new Kāinga Ora sells rundown one bedroom demo-job for $1.37m in now-affluent seaside suburb of Pt Chev – and there's much more to come, reports Jonathan Milne.

When John Key sold 1000 state homes, it made headlines & sparked debate

Now Chris Bishop has cancelled 3500 builds & selling 900 houses (with land extra) in what's been called a private developers' lolly scramble, it's hardly making a splash

How #NZ has changed #nzpol

Details @ www.facebook.com/events/11578...

Scooter event poster; details in link in comments.

Scooter Division Dunedin - 4th annual MIDDLEMARCH GOLDFIELDS LOOP epic ride, 29 March.
Details in comments.
#scooter #moped #Otago #Dunedin #motorbike

‘Financial burden’ of stadium a ‘hit’ to ratepayers Victor Billot did not offer the phrase ‘‘hate to say I told you so’’, but the stadium critic got near it. Dunedin city councillors are this week...

"Victor Billot said the financial sustainability question was being raised back when he was the Stop the Stadium group vice-president in 2008." --Now the Stadium is asking rate-payers for between $2.25m - $5m a year just to keep its doors open.
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Baxter on a scooter :)

Can a 150kg fat man ride an unwanted 50cc ex-pizza-delivery scooter, 250KM over the SOUTHERN ALPS to raise money for the CANCER?
Hopefully. —And I'd love if you could help by SPONSORING ME. Donations go directly to the NZ Cancer Society Southern, & can be made at > scootersafari.co.nz/mark-baxter

More uni staff cuts possible Further job losses could be on the cards as the University of Otago fights to find $16 million in permanent savings this year. Otago University...

Yet more cuts at #Otago University 😢😡
[Paywalled sorry - very welcome to post a link here if you find a non-paywalled version]
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

HNZ lambasted for not firming up new hospital lab solution The government is researching how to deliver pathology services throughout the country, as Dunedin waits on the future of its pathology department....

"The fact that [Otago's new Hospital] doesn't have a pathology lab included in the new hospital build is an oversight of catastrophic nature and needs to be resolved immediately!" -RK
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Link - www.facebook.com/share/p/1GvU...

When I grew up in the '70s, homeless people on NZ's streets virtually didn't exist, thanks to a cradle-to-grave approach to healthcare, housing, welfare, employment, that made #NZ great in the '50s - '70s. —Alliance Party wants to bring that approach back.
Link in comments...

Band still not paid by council for gig A Dunedin secondary school band due to support the Foo Fighters next year has still not been paid for the city council-backed New Year’s Eve...

"A Dunedin secondary school band due to support the Foo Fighters next year has still not been paid for the city council-backed New Year’s Eve performance." --Hopefully being resolved soon.
www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin...

Artwork of Baxter on a scooter in safari explorer style clothing saying "Fuck Cancer"

Can a 150kg fat man ride an unwanted 50cc ex-pizza-delivery scooter, 250KM over the SOUTHERN ALPS to raise money for the CANCER SOCIETY?
Hopefully. —Donations can be made at >> scootersafari.co.nz/mark-baxter
#Cancer #scooter #moped

The Pogues - Sally MacLennane (The Tube, 11.01.1985) YouTube video by The Pogues

RIP Pogues drummer, Andrew Ranken.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym-O...

100K views · 2.9K reactions | Finland Solved Homelessness With One Simple Idea | The Parallel Truth Finland Solved Homelessness With One Simple Idea

How Finland solved homelessness...
www.facebook.com/reel/9064841...

10 years ago, I set out on a solo exploring mission after summer camp with the good peeps of Lada Niva NZ. It ended in a broken gearbox, but that's another story; here's some pics of the good times...

Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup The former Fifa president backed a Swiss lawyer who called for a boycott of the tournament due to security concerns in the US

When even Sepp Blatter is calling out corruption you know something pretty sinister is happening.
#BoycottWorldCup
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Express yourself like an Irish man YouTube video by Garron

How to write an Irish folk song... 🤣🤣
www.youtube.com/shorts/eclsj...

The Room Next Door - Donald Trump and the New Guy YouTube video by Michael Spicer

This might be as funny as Johnathon Pie 🤣🤣🤣
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDH0...

@jonesycartoons3.bsky.social

Toyah and Robert Sunday Lunch - Loving You YouTube video by Toyah

This will almost certainly be the only time I share a Kiss song... 🤣
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-69U...

Rollins vs. Iggy Pop YouTube video by Sebastian Patiño-Lang

www.youtube.com/watch?v=li1g...

Good choices.

"Bogan on a car", South Dunedin, 1993. --What's the most fun car you've ever owned?