Author: cairnsnews
A YOUNG New Zealand version of Elon Musk is employing artificial intelligence programs to expose the gross inefficiency and malfeasance of councils and other government agencies that are ripping off the general public.
David Baker’s campaign is gaining traction and is also exposing shocking cases of council extortion of money from struggling businesses across the nation. Baker is a quantity surveyor and has adapted his skills to a commercially available AI system.
Speaking recently to former MP Rodney Hyde on Reality Check Radio, Baker explained how the application of his system was exposing massive financial scamming by councils and other parts of government in NZ.
In one case the large municipality of Tauranga increased its so-called “developer contribution” (the same sort of “fee” is charged by Australian councils) for a small town house development from $58,537.89 (excluding GST) to $118,627.27 (excl. GST) in the space of a year.
The developer was given the first quote about a year ago, but when he enquired again after the time for the first quote had expired, it was nearly double.
Or there’s the case of the bureaucracy called Auckland Transport that pays the Sydney-based, listed company Ventia $225 million over five years to maintain all the region’s transport services, from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport.
Transport Auckland boasts that it can fix any pothole within three days. A local builder provided a video of one of their shoddy jobs.
Speaking of roadworks, Baker discovered that Gisborne City Council can do a speed bump for about $NZD10,000, including delivery, labor and machinery, which sounds reasonable, until “associated costs are included”.
Those costs can be $NZD50,000 for “traffic management” and a handly little $NZD100,000 for consultancy fees, which brings our speed bump up to $NZD165,000. Racketeering is a word they might apply under US law.
Baker has won no friends among the council bureaucracies and has experienced shadow banning on the social media channels he uses. He says his council “hit piece” videos would gain up to 100,000 views. Baker admits that his phone-based hounding of council officers is actually good marketing for his business. He wants to bring his campaign to Australia.
But Baker’s anti-waste campaign has won him thousands of supporters NZ-wide and his AI-based quantity surveying business model is one of the very things that could save multiple millions in waste by local and central governments.
As is the case in Australia, Kiwi builders are finding business tough, despite all the government talk of addressing the housing shortage exacerbated by their immigration policies and greedy bureaucracies at all levels.
“If you’re a homeowner and I come to you saying ‘hey, my your project to do your extension should cost $65,000 but unfortunately the paper work and council fees are 25 grand, and you go ‘well I’ve only got a budget of 65 grand and I can’t stretch to 90 or 85, I’m sorry but I’m going to have to pull the pin’. That hurts,” Baker told RCR’s Hyde.
It’s not just councils. If you want to connect a new house to the grid, you’ll find there’ll be only one outfit allowed to do it. Then prepare to be royally reamed.
Performing a simple subdivision as well – you’d think you were paying to actually alter some physical aspect of the Earth itself.
last year my workmate got quoted 35k to put power to his boundary… the pole and transformer were straight across the road, the bulk of the quote was traffic management ffs.
for another 15k more hes now got a massive off grid setup with more then enough power and no powerbills now.
What did he have to pay council for resource consent to put solar on the house?
The councils are a joke, they waste rate payers money on silly shit then make you jump through all sorts of hoops if you want to do anything to your own place
The councils are a joke
————-
NO
Councils are an evil and malignant force in our lives
and this wont be sorted out by notional
not at all
They already pulled simeon off the fixit job
Remember notional killed off the Auckland Regional council in 1992 and then said in 2008 that Auckland was broken so brought in the SUPER Shitty
Tauranga is the worst
Oh Noes
you cat say that
Saint Mahe Mahe the May-or of
CambridgeTauranga is not like that at all.Just Ask te old coot.
My friend in building a new house in the Tasman District had to have the foundations 5 metres above any possible 75 year flood level that included a cyclone hitting, a mean high tine, a rainfall total over a period to almost match world records, all to happen at the time. It then had to be built so it could be transported away to even higher ground should these events all take place.
His question has to how any vehicle could get to the house in order to transport it away with 5 metres of water surrounding it………has remained unanswered.
He could suggest taking the opposite approach – making it fully submersible.
The people at Tasman and Nelson councils are so thick they failed pre school
Current mayor is Nick Smith who has been a govt trougher since 1990,
32 years as an MP bludger and multiple mental breakdowns still did not deter this prick from sliming it up in local govt .
if luxtard and co were serious about inflation and cost of living they wouldve put into law a limit in rate rises to inflation level only and ban councils from vanity projects and just stick to services and core infrastructure…. limiting staff to x per population of the area would do wonders aswell.
the councils have all worked out theres little accountability on them for wastage and blowouts and theres zero a ratepayer can do to stop rates increases… literally nothing you can do so they treat ratepayers like a printing press.
It sounds good to limit rate rises to the rate of inflation but it doesn’t work out.
When on Council we requested a paper on this very issue.
It main issue is the continual passing of legislation that requires councils to do more and more.
So it is the Government who are the problem.
..if luxtard and co were serious about inflation…
Well Notional increased goo-mint expenditure 17% last year and likely 8% or more this year
TBA
So NO
They don’t care about inflation or fiscal restraint
never will
Two faced.
Either 34 or 38 staff in the Wellington City Council employed re: climate change.
They must rock back-and-forth in their chairs all day muttering, “The sky is falling”, whilst drawing cycleways with crayons.
That will be repeated around the country.
What social media channels does he use, and what are the titles of his uploads so we may access them?
https://www.tiktok.com/@rapidqs
The interview he did on The Platform mentioned TikTok