Gwynn Compton

Rare misstep for Christopher Luxon

On the bright side, it forced me to compress my CV down to just two pages

Completely re-writing your CV and covering letter after 20 years of corporate life to apply for your first teaching role is a lot harder than you expect.

Vote before 12 noon, Saturday 11 October! If you haven’t already, please remember to cast your vote in your local government elections.

Love local democracy? 🧡

Show it by making sure to cast your votes in your local government elections by 12 noon, Saturday 11 October. 🗳
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/vote-befor...

It will be very funny if, due to the Coalition’s efforts to dog whistle over Māori wards, they end up scoring an own goal through motivating progressives to get out and vote en masse to not only retain Māori wards but also to elect progressive councils.

Begging media folk to do their job here.

Painting of Tory whanau

Tonight me and my whānau got to see the official mayoral portrait done by Pōneke artist, Clark Roworth. This felt like a lovely end to this chapter with my mana intact and we will leave behind a progressive long term plan for the next council. I’m proud of of us 💚

Just relieved that PC gaming is fine though

It is offensive for the person supposedly in charge of the government and its economic levers to suggest that youths, and their playstationing ways, are responsible for the most rapid surge in unemployment since the Great Financial Crash

Our household has done our democratic duty and voted in our local government elections. 🫡🗳️

Love local democracy! ❤️

Kāpiti News’ editor and our local affordable housing trust absolutely trolling the selfish Waikanae NIMBYs.

New Zealand has 1,095 different zones for a nation of 5m
Auckland has around 35 for a city of 1.7m

Japan has 12, just 12 for a nation of 123 million
And Bishop wants a piece of that Japanese action

Wonder how long until Luxon’s caucus has a “dynamic performance conversation” with him…

Luxon’s office admits leaking Hipkins letter to Herald In the latest instalment of ‘lettergate’, the Prime Minister’s office has confirmed it sent “one media company” the same letter it sent Hipkins requesting a “credible, bipartisan approach” to offshore...

So basically Megan Woods was trying to engage with Simon Watts on establishing some sort of bipartisan agreement, Watts took his sweet time in replying, and then Luxon comes blundering in over the top of his own minister and butchers everything. Omnishambles! 🤦‍♂️

www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

Greater Wellington candidates want to open up workshops and briefings The majority of Greater Wellington Regional Council candidates who responded to a question from Local Aotearoa want the council to open up its closed-door workshops and briefings to the public, bringi...

A big tick for more transparency! ☑️ That's the message from GWRC candidates who responded to a question about whether they supported the council opening up its currently closed-door workshops and briefings in line with most other councils.
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/greater-we...

Three Kāpiti mayoral candidates share views on amalgamation Wellington local government amalgamation has implications for Kāpiti regardless of whether we’re in or out of a hypothetical regional entity.

Local Aotearoa reached out to Kāpiti's six mayoral candidates to give them an opportunity to share their views on Kāpiti's role in any possible amalgamation of councils in the Wellington region.
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/three-kapi...

Councillors and risk committee kept in dark over Ombudsman's warning EXCLUSIVE: Greater Wellington Regional Council’s CEO and its Chair kept both councillors and their Finance, Risk and Assurance Committee completely in the dark about a warning letter from the Ombudsma...

Greater Wellington's CEO and Chair kept a warning letter from the Ombudsman secret from councillors and their risk committee, raising questions about the commitment of GWRC's two most senior figures to basic principles of transparency and accountability.
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/councillor...

Kiwis 'can be proud' NZ isn't recognising Palestine yet - PM Christopher Luxon New Zealand was among only a handful of countries - including the US, Japan and South Korea - which had not formally recognised Palestinian statehood.

Mate, I don't know if you have ever been to New Zealand, but "pride" isn't a national value even on occasions when the government isn't Pontiusly auto-piloting a denial of genocide.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...

Editorial: Councils must show transparency with their workshops OPINION: Scrutiny should be welcomed and is key to holding elected members accountable.

Nice to see the Herald joining the call for the minority of councils which haven't opened up their closed-door workshops and briefings yet to do so.
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/councils-...

Councillor channels Trump: attacks "political enemies", opposes transparency One Kāpiti Coast District Councillor has echoed the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump in railing against her perceived “political enemies”.

Investing in professional development is a positive thing, but with public money it comes with transparency and accountability. So what's with a Kāpiti Coast councillor launching a Trumpian attack on their "political enemies" over a LGOIMA request?
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/councillor...

Can't build more homes in existing urban areas. Can't build more homes outside of existing urban areas. People wonder why central government had to step in after decades of politicians appeasing NIMBYs stuffed Aotearoa's housing supply and affordability. 🤦‍♂️

ACT candidate claims refusal to answer question due to "Aotearoa" was a joke Between you and me, the key thing about a joke - perhaps the single most important defining element, arguably the main aspect which separates it from being confused or misconstrued, the bit that makes...

The key thing about a joke - perhaps its most important defining element - is that it’s funny.

We'll leave it up to you to decide if a candidate joking about te reo Māori is funny and what doing so instead of answering an easy question says about them.
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/act-candid...

ACT council candidate can't answer question due to "Aotearoa" It was a simple question on whether or not candidates thought Greater Wellington Regional Council should open up its workshops and briefings as recommended by the Ombudsman.

I mean, if even King Charles III can use Aotearoa to refer to our country… 🤷‍♂️
localaotearoa.substack.com/p/act-counci...

Nigel Nomates better not go out in the sun this campaign season seeing as he’s turned out to be such a snowflake 🤣

Candidate from the purported party of free speech weirdly triggered by me exercising my free speech to call my blog Local Aotearoa.

Four of the "We love Kapiti" candidates don't actually live in the district/ward they're standing in. Their mayoral candidate doesn't live in Kāpiti and their Ōtaki, Waikanae, and Paraparaumu candidates don't live in those wards. Must be more of a long-distance relationship with Kāpiti. 🤣

The best time to act was yesterday. The next best time to act is now. 🙋‍♂️

If you’re imagining rates capping is part of the solution, Treasury has already issued a major red flag for it. They’ve warned that limiting council revenue on top of already stressed balance sheets is likely to worsen things further for the sector and see core infrastructure degraded even more. 🚩

The only small comfort is that the Chatham Islands Council is a unique entity in terms of its size and funding, which means there’s still time for central government overhaul our local government system to avoid this situation arising in other areas in years to come. ⏱️

'Significant doubt' Chathams council can continue as a going concern – auditor Unable to afford to provide even basic services, there are fears for the remote island community's continued financial viability. Jonathan Milne reports.

Having previously warned that a financial crisis was looming for councils, I’m not the slightest bit surprised that the Chatham Islands Council looks like it is in serious trouble. 📈🚨

newsroom.co.nz/2025/09/17/s...