Written By: - Date published: 7:47 pm, June 9th, 2010 - 79 comments
The Press reports John Key was greeted by angry protesters at the South Island forum in Christchurch tonight. About 100 people waved placards protesting the undemocratic dismissal of the regional council by the Key government.
Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, June 2nd, 2010 - 5 comments
It’s an innocous looking bill but Rodney Hide’s Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill packs a wallop when you unpick it. Not only does it open the door for the privatisation of our water services, it positively ushers it in, takes off its coat and says ‘stay a spell, why don’t you?’, 35 years in fact.
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 am, June 2nd, 2010 - 13 comments
Congratulations Aucklanders, you are about to become the owners of a supercity. It was forced on you with no referendum and the your concerns have been ignored. This is being done to suit business, not the needs of Aucklanders. Democracy just gets in the way. Rodney Hide said the set up cost would be “minuscule”. And it’s cost you just $200 million… so far.
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, May 27th, 2010 - 9 comments
Rodney Hide’s new line is that he has listened to the people, democracy has triumphed, and the SuperShitty is all better now. It isn’t. We still have CCOs imposed by government. And the vast majority of submitters that wanted more powers for local boards have largely been ignored. Rodney still has no idea how much this SuperShitty is going to cost. But rates are going one way – up.
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, May 17th, 2010 - 8 comments
A passage from Matt McCarten’s article in the Sunday Herald summed up for me not only the approach of Rodney Hide in setting up his Super City but also the neo-liberal project that has been in vogue for the past quarter century. Democracy under the neo-liberal model is, as far as possible, to be a financial transaction.
Written By: - Date published: 12:55 am, May 13th, 2010 - 25 comments
I’ve been having a look at the new advice on the civil service code of conduct. It is a clear attempt by the Nats to make sure the civil service is ‘politically correct’ for their purposes. Perhaps they’re tired of getting official advice that says ‘don’t cut that, it’s good value for money’, ‘don’t fund that, it’s stupid’, and ‘don’t pass that law, it might cause more murders’.
Written By: - Date published: 6:41 am, April 30th, 2010 - 23 comments
Live in Canterbury? Value democracy? What are you doing today after work? Come to the ECan protest, 5:30 pm @ ECan office 58 Kilmore St. Because Canterbury is only the beginning…
Written By: - Date published: 11:05 am, April 29th, 2010 - 15 comments
The government announced a package of measures for the aquaculture industry – including a power for Ministers “to amend regional coastal plans in exceptional circumstances where it is in significant regional or national interest”. The Minister can unilaterally decide what is in a region’s interests, irrespective of what the people of that region may say to the contrary.
This continues this authoritarian government’s assaults on voters ability to choose the own representation.
Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, April 28th, 2010 - 78 comments
Last month, the Government abolished the democratically-elected Canterbury Regional Council known as Environment Canterbury. Not only were the current elected officials booted out, Cantabarians were denied their right to elect the next council in the upcoming local body elections. Now, Labour has pledged to restore democracy to Canterbury.
Written By: - Date published: 11:34 am, April 27th, 2010 - 70 comments
Fresh from promising to restore the top tax rate that National is set to abolish and give the revenue to the poor, Phil Goff has outlined his vision for fixing National’s undemocratic Supercity. National and Act have ridden roughshod over Auckland democracy in the interests of their corporate allies. Phil Goff has made it clear that Labour will restore local democracy.
Written By: - Date published: 9:52 pm, April 26th, 2010 - 12 comments
To paraphrase Muldoon – send a JAFA to Wellington, and we can only increase the average intelligence of both parts of the country. Needless to say, TV news chose to focus on a minor story in Goffs speech. If a future mayor of Auckland, Brown, can sit at the cabinet table on decisions related to […]
Written By: - Date published: 11:55 am, April 23rd, 2010 - 91 comments
No Right Turn’s typically forthright take on the sacking of the ECan councillors and the makeup of the government’s appointed directors.
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, April 12th, 2010 - 2 comments
Before the election National promised that they would “Ensure that institutions have greater autonomy”. What does greater autonomy look like, National style? It looks like yet another National attack on democratic governance.
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, April 6th, 2010 - 23 comments
Last year, Rodney Hide said that John Key is a ‘do nothing’ prime minister, and his fellow ministers were lazy and didn’t pay attention what his was up to. Well, they might like to pay attention now: Hide is keynote speaker at a conference on local government later this month where water privatisation is the highlight of the agenda. Does Key support Hide’s push for water privatisation?
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, March 31st, 2010 - 4 comments
Norightturn writes DPF went apeshit about the then-Labour government’s Electoral Finance Act. He vented online, raised funds, even launched billboards. You’d think that with plans to sack an elected council and strip 560,000 people of their vote in regional council elections for four years, as a “defender of democracy”, he’d be similarly outraged.
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 am, March 31st, 2010 - 39 comments
There are significant risks associated with the Review Group’s recommendation to temporarily suspend planned triennial elections for regional councillors (scheduled for October 2010) and to transfer the functions and responsibilities of Environment Canterbury’s (ECan) elected councillors to government-appointed commissioners until elections in 2013 at the latest. Elections are a right and privilege of any citizen in New Zealand. The suspension of such a right should only be considered in exceptional circumstances.
Written By: - Date published: 10:56 am, March 21st, 2010 - 52 comments
What a cynical and politically-driven process this whole Supercity process has been. It is undemocratic to its core. It is not about ‘growth’ or creating a better city. It is about securing power (and, thereby, wealth) for the city’s right-wing elite. Now their plans are falling apart around them. A female candidate to replace Banks is their last gasp attempt to stop Len Brown winning.
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, March 17th, 2010 - 26 comments
Suddenly John Key is all over the place complaining about “hysterical” media coverage of National’s plans to turn large chunks of our National Parks into smouldering slag. John seems to have forgotten what “hysterical” politics really looks like. Let’s take a trip down memory lane…
Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, March 15th, 2010 - 6 comments
Much of the power in the new Super City will be held by council controlled organisations. These organisations will be responsible for approximately 75% of Auckland services and their unelected directors will have free rein to make important city decisions. The organisations will have no obligation to consult and no responsibility to the public if things go wrong.
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, March 6th, 2010 - 11 comments
Come on Granny Herald. You’re almost there…
Written By: - Date published: 5:41 pm, March 4th, 2010 - 27 comments
Now this is pretty damn funny and just adds to todays absurdities over the waste of money on rugby world cup TV in 2011. Veteran Springbok Tour protester John Minto has found himself at the centre of a new Eden Park storm, with a controversial plan to name a nearby $3 million road after him.
Will the supercity transition authority now want to stop community boards from naming streets?
Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, March 2nd, 2010 - 9 comments
The select committee considering the 3rd super-shitty bill is sitting in Parnell now. There is a protest against the sham ‘consultation’ that National and Act have used to lock Aucklanders out of having any significant say in their city before, during and after this change.
Goto Quality Hotel Barrycourt, 20 Gladstone Road Parnell Auckland. The protest finishes at 2pm
Written By: - Date published: 12:52 pm, March 1st, 2010 - 7 comments
The select committee on Rodney Hides vision of the Auckland Super-City sits in Parnell tommorrow. The National MPs complicit in foisting this idiotic vision of Auckland on us will be there along with the architect – the head of the lunatic Act party.
Spend your lunchtime demonstrating what a crock this version of the super-city is. Do it in Rodney Hide’s Epsom electorate.
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 1st, 2010 - 5 comments
When it comes to listening to the public, National promise “jam tomorrow”. Wait for the select committee. Wait for the third reading. But the record shows that these are empty promises. The Human Rights Commission has criticised National over their latest mockery of a consultation process on Auckland…
Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, February 26th, 2010 - 6 comments
The Government’s Auckland Transition Agency today released a discussion paper on the powers of the boards and briefed a public hearing of the select committee considering the third super city bill.
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, February 19th, 2010 - 41 comments
The letter warning school boards not to speak out over national standards is an outrage, but John Key and his National Party have a long and dishonourable record of trying to shut down those who speak out to oppose them.
Written By: - Date published: 10:35 am, February 19th, 2010 - 10 comments
The Northern Action Group has, with the support of 80% of Northern Rodney District, been petitioning the Government to leave Northern Rodney out of its Supercity experiment. The Government, as throughout the Supercity process has completely ignored the wishes of the people. Symbolically, the Northern Action Group has put a broken campaign sign on Trade […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, February 12th, 2010 - 21 comments
This is a fast way to get my blood boiling. Rodney Hide as minister of local government has removed protection from the Waitakere ranges. It is time to make the Act party extinct rather than merely being on the endangered species list. The Waitakere ranges are the only readily accessible tramping around Auckland. Virtually every […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, January 28th, 2010 - 2 comments
Phil Twyford has been organizing a series of meetings about the impending Auckland super-city 3rd bill. The date for submissions to the select committee closes on Feb 12. Write a submission and maybe go to Wellington and give Rodney hell – that is if he dares to turn up to the select committee. These meetings […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, January 20th, 2010 - 10 comments
The people of Franklin and Papakura, who overwhelming oppose becoming part of the National/ACT government’s Supercity experiment, have been denied their request to keep their own councils. Instead, Papakura will be forced into the Supercity while Franklin will be carved up between the Supercity, Waikato Council, and Hauraki Council. The people of Franklin and the rest […]
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, November 28th, 2009 - 19 comments
Lockwood Smith seems to be losing the plot. He’s now issuing open threats to the Press Gallery of all things: Parliament’s Speaker, Lockwood Smith, has warned the media that the coverage of MPs’ expenses borders on lobbying, and if it continues he will treat journalists as lobbyists. … If the newspapers do want to have […]
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