4 ms·

I'm a New Zealander and you are sbsolutely correct, unfortunately. By first world standards there is a lot of street violence here and police have zero interest

I'm a New Zealander and you are sbsolutely correct, unfortunately. By first world standards there is a lot of street violence here and police have zero interest it. If you deliver the case to them gift-wrapped - names, witness statements - they still have zero chance of being given so much as a slap on the wrist if it's their first offense. If you ride a bicycle without a helmet though they will throw the book at you. The low corruption rating thing has always puzzled me as well. I suppose it's that behaviour that's usually considered a result of corruption is in-fact documented, transparent, follows the law, or is a matter of policy. Which doesn't change how harmful it is. I often see Americans here with unrealistic views of this place. Median house prices are 6 times the average household income - in Auckland it's 10 times - and things like double-glazing or insulation are considered luxuries. If you have a burning need to ski and visit a beach in the same day and aren't willing to learn a language other than English then I guess NZ is a good destination for a first world immigrant. But if not, it's totally not worth it. Almost every New Zealander with marketable skills gets out so they can earn more and spend less somewhere else.

djsumdog 10y ago
It's sad because NZ was originally on the track to be a socialistic paradise. At one time University was very low cost; almost free. Today student loans never gain interest .. until you leave the country for more than six months (NZ is trying to prevent losing talent with people moving to Australia). AirNZ was once owned by the government. Many of the power companies were as well, until the John Key asset sales. Even before asset sales, NZ paid some of the highest rates in the world for electricity. ($200/month single occupancy power bills were not uncommon). Wellington was the only city I lived in where someone broke into my house. Break-ins around x-mas are pretty common - lot of theft and people buying presents off TradeMe. It's still an amazing country, great affordable health care and wonderful people. Software patents are banned in NZ, which is another huge plus. However a lot of the corruption is getting worse and the GCSB is allowed to spy on all its citizens now.
- wallace_f 10y ago
  >GCSB is allowed to spy on all its citizens now. Here's a story of a bungled spy operation on a pro-democracy activist who is a citizen of NZ that was targeted and betrayed by his own country.(1) It is really a disgusting use of taxpayer dollars and invasion of privacy. Nothing good comes out of that. It makes you wonder how many cases out there that there are which never make it to the media. Or what happens which can never be proven. https://theintercept.com/2016/08/14/nsa-gcsb-prism-surveillance-fullman-fiji/ https://theintercept.com/2016/08/14/nsa-gcsb-prism-surveilla...
- lacampbell 10y ago
  > It's sad because NZ was originally on the track to be a socialistic paradise. I have the complete opposite opinion. Part of NZs problem is it has too much socialism. Income taxes and sales taxes are sky high. Which is part of the reason why property is so overpriced - why start a business, generate wealth and get taxed to death when you can just get on the "Property Ladder" and make it worse for people who aren't on it yet?

djsumdog 10y ago

It's sad because NZ was originally on the track to be a socialistic paradise. At one time University was very low cost; almost free. Today student loans never gain interest .. until you leave the country for more than six months (NZ is trying to prevent losing talent with people moving to Australia). AirNZ was once owned by the government. Many of the power companies were as well, until the John Key asset sales. Even before asset sales, NZ paid some of the highest rates in the world for electricity. ($200/month single occupancy power bills were not uncommon). Wellington was the only city I lived in where someone broke into my house. Break-ins around x-mas are pretty common - lot of theft and people buying presents off TradeMe. It's still an amazing country, great affordable health care and wonderful people. Software patents are banned in NZ, which is another huge plus. However a lot of the corruption is getting worse and the GCSB is allowed to spy on all its citizens now.

wallace_f 10y ago
>GCSB is allowed to spy on all its citizens now. Here's a story of a bungled spy operation on a pro-democracy activist who is a citizen of NZ that was targeted and betrayed by his own country.(1) It is really a disgusting use of taxpayer dollars and invasion of privacy. Nothing good comes out of that. It makes you wonder how many cases out there that there are which never make it to the media. Or what happens which can never be proven. https://theintercept.com/2016/08/14/nsa-gcsb-prism-surveillance-fullman-fiji/ https://theintercept.com/2016/08/14/nsa-gcsb-prism-surveilla...
lacampbell 10y ago
> It's sad because NZ was originally on the track to be a socialistic paradise. I have the complete opposite opinion. Part of NZs problem is it has too much socialism. Income taxes and sales taxes are sky high. Which is part of the reason why property is so overpriced - why start a business, generate wealth and get taxed to death when you can just get on the "Property Ladder" and make it worse for people who aren't on it yet?