NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Mike Hosking: Memo, council planners - get your hands off my car

Mike Hosking
By Mike Hosking
Mike Hosking is a breakfast host on Newstalk ZB.·NZ Herald·
14 Mar, 2018 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Most Aucklanders would rather drive their cars than ride bikes or catch buses because it's more convenient, says Mike Hosking. Picture/Artist impression

Most Aucklanders would rather drive their cars than ride bikes or catch buses because it's more convenient, says Mike Hosking. Picture/Artist impression

Mike Hosking
Opinion by Mike Hosking
Mike Hosking has hosted his number one Breakfast show on Newstalk ZB since 2008. Listen live each weekday from 6am on Newstalk ZB.
Learn more

My first piece of advice is don't call your building Daisy.

Daisy is the name of a cat or dog - not a building.

Buildings should have bold names like The Empire, or The Statesman.

Mind you, they could have called it anything, it still wouldn't hide the crime that's being committed.

Daisy is an apartment building on the fringe of the city, that has 33 apartments... and no car parks.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Daisy is allegedly the way of the future, whereby we will all have scooters and bikes, embrace the bus, and co-exist in harmony sharing communal gardens.

It is Kevin McCloud's dream.

Grand Designs, his version, not the butchered local one, is one of my favourite shows.

In one series he personally became involved in his housing utopia whereby he invested in community housing.

There were private homes, rentals, council houses, all clustered together.

Discover more

Opinion

Cars are part of the answer to Auckland's congestion

28 Feb 04:00 PM
New Zealand|politics

Watch: Auckland Council discuss 10-year budget

28 Feb 04:30 AM
New Zealand

Goff: Fuel tax 'not enough' to fix Auckland's transport woes

28 Feb 09:00 PM
Opinion

Simon Wilson: Will bigger bus stops really ruin the Mt Eden village?

15 Mar 04:00 PM

There was a shared garden and open area to play and the locals would share the garden shed for maintenance, and there would be a community car.

Look it up, it's worth watching.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Now back at the Daisy building, to be fair to the developers if they can build a place and sell it to willing purchasers, then who am I to tell them what to do.

But the more important question is, did they build this because they thought it was a good idea, or did they build it because the council told them to - there is a big difference.

The developer operating on their own volition is meeting a potential demand.
The developer doing it under council instruction is acquiescing to an ideological plan designed to force us into submission whether we like it or not.

And if it's the council and their agenda that's produced Daisy then we need to fight back.

All over Auckland now, we are seeing the signs of resistance.

The local businesses who are over the endless bus and bike lanes that prevent people getting access to their shops.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The lack of parking that prevents people getting to their shops, the ideological rubbish that's being exposed around bike lanes and their usage.

From Devonport to Mt Eden there are protests and meetings involving people who have not and quite sensibly will not, buy into the dogma that if only we get every car off the road, public transport and your scooter can fill the gap. It's crap.

Even if people loved buses and trains, which they don't, there aren't enough of them or anywhere close.

People like convenience, people need to go from A to B… not from down the road from "A" to a good walk away from "B".

Kids need dropping, errands need running, life needs to be conducted and for the vast majority of us that's not possible on public transport.

So here's your cold hard reality, when Daisy, or buildings like it get built and there are no car parks, the cars get put on the street and the street becomes full and the businesses find it hard to get customers in the door.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

You see by operating in a theoretical way.. you fail to deal with the truth, the facts, with real life.

The reality is the car is going nowhere.

Look at how many cars we have, look at the sales of cars, they're at record levels, why? Because we want and like cars, they suit our lives and the lives we choose to live.

And the council and the developers can poo poo it, they can argue the issues around cars till they're old and grey, but the cars aren't going away.

The trick to an argument, or an ideology, is to convince people of its sense and purpose.

When it comes to driving cars out of the city, the argument is being lost, and increasingly badly.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And that's why you're starting to see the meetings and the protests, because the theory.. all the stuff they dreamed up on their council whiteboards and gleaned from their international brain washing conferences doesn't work, it's not practical, and it's sucking up increasing amounts of public money.

The apartment I want, has the view, the balcony, the storage facility and three car parks.

If it doesn't I'm not buying.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM
New Zealand|crime

Ex-Outlaws leader bought guns for protection while on parole, sold meth to pay for them

18 Jun 06:00 AM
New Zealand

UFC star Dan Hooker invites women to backyard brawls with $50k prize

18 Jun 05:59 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

Police warn gangs after major drug operation

18 Jun 06:04 AM

Police arrested 20 Greazy Dogs members over alleged meth crimes in Bay of Plenty.

Ex-Outlaws leader bought guns for protection while on parole, sold meth to pay for them

Ex-Outlaws leader bought guns for protection while on parole, sold meth to pay for them

18 Jun 06:00 AM
UFC star Dan Hooker invites women to backyard brawls with $50k prize

UFC star Dan Hooker invites women to backyard brawls with $50k prize

18 Jun 05:59 AM
Bootcamps: Minister admits teen death derailed pilot participants

Bootcamps: Minister admits teen death derailed pilot participants

18 Jun 05:48 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP