MELISSA LEE: NATIONAL LIST MP

LOCAL NEWS MELISSA LEE: A POSITIVE FUTURE FOR OUR COUNTRY

As we head into the final quarter of the year with flash flooding, storms and wild weather hitting Auckland, we can also take stock on the issues affecting our city and New Zealand.

In earlier columns I’ve talked about the cost of living crisis, the serious crime hurting our communities and the harm New Zealand is experiencing because of a lack of investment into a positive future for our country.

This month, I want to talk about aspiration, and how New Zealand and our city can move forward.

We have so much creativity and imagination across New Zealand. Grey Lynn is a hotbed of media, broadcasting, gastronome, and entertainment talent. Sandringham is a culinary delight and a cultural experience every New Zealander and visitor to our great country must try at least once (a week)!

Our central city, despite all the road closures and the impact of the last two years, shows a beautiful resiliency in business prowess that will weather the impacts of five years of underinvestment under Labour. Western Springs, Meola Creek and Ōwairaka, Mount Albert remain shining jewels in our central city’s environmental landscape thanks to the many volunteers who help with the cleaning planting and beautification of our city.

I’m writing this column having returned from a visit to South Korea. I’ve been humming through an energised week of meetings, workshops, forums and engagements, big and small across Seoul. From meeting with cabinet ministers and senior parliamentarians, locally and internationally, to visiting global business and talking constantly about New Zealand, the entire time I have been looking at the big picture of the future of our economic and societal outlook in the aftermath of one of the hardest experiences the current global community has faced.

I’ve been to Samsung Town seeing the latest in digital innovation and thinking how we can bring these new technologies on shore to benefit New Zealand. I’ve been to celebrations of Korean identity and culture as part of the annual Gwangbokjeol commemorations that this year also heralded in the recent inauguration of a new President of South Korea. The future is positive for us all both economically and in our societies if we choose to embrace it and if New Zealand chooses to be a part of a post-Covid world.

Here in New Zealand, our government has decided to get caught up in not thinking about the big picture, and not looking to the best future for local New Zealanders. It has chosen to look past local communities in many ways; for instance, taking away their say over 3 Waters. It has ended the local independence and say of our District Health Boards. The really important concern though, it has stopped listening. They need to listen again to New Zealanders and, like many Kiwis regardless of our politics, I’m concerned they don’t want to, despite the country crying out to be heard.

Labour think they know best when the world is now telling them there is a real risk New Zealand will soon be left behind in our international rankings and obligations. Local communities are feeling unheard in their government. Let’s hope this changes soon before we return to more strikes on our streets and crime gets even worse in our suburbs.

We are now steering the course into spring, so I’m really excited for the upcoming Onam, Mid-Autumn Festival, Nepalese Teej and Chuseok celebrations happening across our city in the coming weeks. These celebrations are an integral part of Auckland’s multi-ethnic values and community spirit. I hope to see you at one of these special celebrations at least. These are ways we all can come together to acknowledge the beauty in our diverse and exceptional city.

Keep safe! (MELISSA LEE MP) National Member of Parliament

National Spokesperson for Broadcasting & Media| Digital Economy and Communications | Ethnic Communities E: mplee@parliament.govt.nz Authorised by Melissa Lee, Parliament Buildings, Wellington

If you require any assistance I and my office are always happy and ready to provide advice and support

Please get in touch on 09 520 0538 or at MPLee@parliament.govt.nz to make an appointment. Melissa Lee National List MP based in Auckland

MPLee@parliament.govt.nz • melissalee.co.nz • mpmelissalee

Funded by the Parliamentary Service. Authorised by Melissa Lee, Parliament Buildings, Wgtn.

EBIKE LIFE; HACKS, TACKS, PACKS N’ TRACKS

(Alan Dempsey, ex Mamil, unbiased FoldiE Rider)

Okay folks, this is a column that will address how, why, where, which and when Ebikes are best for you, your commute and adventurous world. This being the first article in a series it seems appropriate that we look at what constitutes a decent bike for YOUR lifestyle.

Vital points are quality, especially of battery cells and motor. Frames these days are good but be sure to go to good antielectrolysis alloys, not aluminium. Carbon is cool but is awfully expensive with limited life, especially in MTB applications, so I say, “go good alloy.”

Motor quality is vital, and IMHO anything under 300W will not match the demands of Auckland’s steep and long hills. Many cheaper ‘300W’ claims are really the cheap 250W motors, dragging extra voltage and overstressed on hills. If the motor’s light, it will lack torque and/or genuine watt capacity. Size and weight matter, so be alert. 300W genuine ‘on the tar’ output requires 340W actual power, and this represents a very substantial difference in climbing, speed, and smooth power delivery.

In summary, Auckland is hilly, so don’t scrimp on wattage. By the same token the coppers are starting to get rarkey on hooney speeding ebikers, so if you go for 500W, keep it below 35km/hour; the legal limit is 32km/hour which is a fair clip – 40km will get you ticketed.

Likewise, battery quality, A-grade cells give 1000+ chargecycle life, and that’s what you want. Many cheaper bikes save on motor and battery grade - Samsung, Panasonic, and LG cells are recommended, and make sure they’re A-grade certified.

Range is something everyone asks about. For Auckland, pedal assisted commuting say for Lincoln Road to the CBD and return, a 36V/10-amp hour battery is ample. Anything inside that 15km radius, gives you lots of spare capacity, but consider the battery reserve used when climbing. A lot of sales wallahs will brush over this fact, but it is important. And I advise strongly that you should pedal assist on hills as even moderate assistance reduces loads on battery, motor, and transmission dramatically. Besides, it’s fun and VERY satisfying, climbing like a pro!

Then there is the interesting ‘standard versus folding’ debate. The standard bike (triangle or step thru) needs no introduction; they are great, and all the golden rules above apply, but Foldies are the cool peripheral city-dweller paradigm in Europe and are starting to gain traction here. Their versatility, storability, think ‘car boot, bus, train, office’, and less-is-more chutzpah makes them very cool, and good ones perform, even outperform, standard bike options.

But three things distinguish ‘a real bike’ from ‘a toy’ – geometry, wheelbase, and wheel size. All three define whether it’s going to be a skittery Raleigh 20 public menace, or the best thing since sliced bread. Avoid under 300W, avoid under 20-inch wheels, and avoid short wheelbase! Okay, I admit it, I’m a FoldiE convert, and even though I’ve got over 20 bikes, from carbon racers to classic 1940s old dutchies, I live on my FoldiE. As I said in last month’s Ponsonby News, I toured Europe with it; folded it up, got on the train, got off wherever and RODE!

So… really, whatever you do, go to E-biking, you'll save squoodles on commute costs, have serious fun commuting and just buzzing about the town and trails, and the planet will thank you for it.

Next month. A Quasi-religious debate; CenterDrive Vs HubDrive. www.ebobikes.co.nz

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DAVENPORTS LAW: BUILD A FIRM FOUNDATION

Thomas and Jess had been together for six years and had one young child. Thomas was a school teacher and Jess was an accountant. They owned their home, which due to the rising property market they now had quite a bit of equity in.

After spending two weeks holidaying in a gorgeous little bay on the Coromandel they decided they had enjoyed it so much that they wanted to look at buying a section on which they would eventually build.

Jess was also making her way up the ranks in her accounting firm and had been offered an opportunity to purchase shares in the business and become a director. The other directors in the firm all had their shares in family trusts and recommended that Jess talk to her lawyer regarding whether she should also set up a trust to purchase her shares.

Jess and Thomas spoke to a friend who explained that trusts had become quite a specialised area, especially since the new Act came in at the end of January 2021 and they really needed to talk to someone who was an expert in the area. Their current lawyer, who they had used to buy the house, was lovely but did a bit of everything, so they decided to go to the trust specialist lawyer recommended by their friend.

Their first question to the lawyer was - did they actually need a trust? Her answer was definitely a yes. Becoming a director of any business brought with it an element of risk and it was all about layering up the protection. A trust was an important part of that asset protection and the lawyer recommended that not just the shares went into the trust, but also their family home. This would also wrap protection around the family home.

As Jess was an accountant, she already knew about the potential tax efficiencies that can come with a properly structured trust, particularly with the increase in the top personal tax rate which the government was introducing. Their new lawyer said that she would usually recommend taking tax advice but Jess was able to handle that part of it. She explained that it was always important that the lawyer and accountant worked together to get the best outcome for the client.

Tammy McLeod If Jess and Thomas did go ahead with purchasing the section, then it would be best to also put that into the trust. A trust is a perfect vehicle to hold assets that you may want to keep for future generations, and Jess and Thomas were sure that the holiday home they would eventually build on the section would become a very special place for their family that they would want to pass down to future generations.

The lawyer explained that now was the perfect time to be setting up a trust – it was early on in their careers and lives and they would be able to show a history of protection in the event that they ever needed to rely on the protection that the trust would afford them.

She said it was a bit like taking out medical insurance when you were younger before any “pre-existing conditions” could negate the benefit of protection. She also said with the recent changes to the Trusts Act, it was a perfect opportunity to set up a structure that was well suited to the requirements of the new Act and would hold itself in good stead for the future.

She said that all people who already had trusts should be reviewing their existing trusts to make sure that they were correct in terms of the new Act. Jess and Thomas both made mental notes to let their respective parents, who both had trusts, know this.

The other important elements the lawyer talked about was their wills and making sure that they tied in with the trust. She also said that they would need to think about their wishes for the trust after they died; she said it was called a memorandum of guidance, or letter of wishes, and it was a bit like a will for a trust. She said that she could provide examples to give them some ideas as to the kinds of things people liked to include.

Jess and Thomas left the meeting feeling immensely relieved and confident that they were not only doing the right thing, but that they were dealing with a lawyer who was really knowledgeable and that they were getting exactly the kind of structure that they needed for their family and their future.