It’s naked panic now. In response to the crisis that isn’t a crisis Key is going to overrule the council that his government created and screw over Auckland democracy just like he screwed over Canterbury. What do you think of that Aucklanders?
The real costs of the Auckland IT merger are at least six times higher than National’s original $200 million estimate. This significantly alters the economic case that was made for the “supercity”. Was National’s estimate deliberately wrong, or was it just incompetent?
The bill for the Nats’ Auckland “supercity” is arriving in ratepayers’ letterboxes. Some are in for a nasty shock…
Happy Birthday Auckland! The new Supercity is now in effect, with Mayor Len Brown at the helm. How is the tension between a left wing mayor representing a third of the country, and a right wing central government, going to play out? The Nats can’t afford to let Auckland fail…
The weekend headlines make it seem like Brown has the Auckland Mayoral election all but won. That’s an invitation to self-defeating complacency. Team Brown needs to keep up the hard work — it ain’t over ’till it’s over.
John Banks has made bashing South Auckland part of his campaign “strategy”. That didn’t work out so well for Melissa Lee, and it won’t work out so well for others that are now trying the same tactic…
John Banks has been slagging off South Auckland. Ooops. That’s the same mistake that Melissa Lee made in the Mt Albert by election. The same mistake deserves the same fate. Banks cannot credibly operate as mayor of the SuperCity.
Sam Cash writes it’s good news for Auckland with Len Brown opening up a strong lead over John Banks. Len Brown’s campaign seems to have been quietly gathering momentum since he launched his insurgency last year.
Sam Cash has spotted a possible issue with Dodgy John “if I wear my policy on my sleeve, I won’t get elected†Banks’ most recent mayoral poll. Could it be Banks is just polling ratepayers to boost his numbers?
Sam Cash takes a look at John Banks’ latest poll and doesn’t find too much to crow about for the Mayor for Remuera – noting he has only managed to draw even with Len Brown in spite of the huge profile lead he has over his challenger.
Voters of the Auckland region should be very concerned with the news that the Auckland City CBD-based Citrat political party looks set to run a single whipped slate of candidates at this year’s supercity election. The fear is that the C&R CBD old boys are gonna do in Waitakere, Manukau, Franklin, Rodney and the North Shore what they did in Otahuhu. Talk about crushing local voice.
How much is the Huljich Kiwisaver figure-fudging scandal hurting John “the dodgy-director†Banks’ mayoral chances? Answer: a lot.O’Sullivan then explicitly writes off Banks – saying he’ll lose to Len Brown – and joins the long list of commentators criticizing the Huljich rip-off and noting it has damaged Banks’ chances. Think this story is only getting play in the business pages? It’s not.
Come on Granny Herald. You’re almost there…
Auckland is being stolen from the people who live there. It will end up like a christmas turkey – “decapitated, plucked, gutted, stuffed, stitched up, roasted and carved up. And when the diners have eaten their fill, all you have left is a dead carcass.”
Recent polls highlight how important turnout will be at this year’s local body election.
Sam Cash takes a look at recent history and how attitudes to the supercity and the themes of this election could increase participation.
In a sure sign that the political phone is off the hook for John ‘Mayor for Remuera’ Banks, the deputy mayor of Rodney […]
Eddie has already covered the story of Hide giving the middle finger to the people of Franklin regarding the Supercity. Franklin is Tory […]
There is a story in today’s Herald noting that current C&R Hobson councillor Aaron Bhatnagar is not going to stand for the new […]
It’s interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as […]
There is a very revealing article in this month’s Metro magazine (not online) that takes a look at the strengths of the campaigns […]
John ‘Mayor for Remuera’ Banks would’ve been gagging on his morning gruel after reading this headline on page two of Monday’s Herald: Jeers […]
Lord Mayor of Remuera John ‘barking mad’ Banks has (mis)fired the first shots of his campaign by producing some strip advertisements outlining the […]
Fresh from pulling the pin (then blaming others) on a Queen’s Wharf redesign competition he himself conceived, led and championed, Remuera mayor John […]
Yesterday the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) released its draft structure for the new Auckland council. Fortunately for the staff, and service levels in […]
John ‘in your guts you know he’s nuts’ Banks has isolated himself out to the right of Rodney Hide when it comes to […]
Last night C&R councillor and National Party MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga ended his double-dipping charade and quit the Auckland City Council. By way […]
John ‘barking mad’ Banks’ cheerleader WhaleOil has called for Rodney Hide to introduce the power of recall into the legislation for the new […]
Len Brown seems to have the Right in a bit of panic. Remuera Mayor John ‘in your guts you know he’s nuts’ Banks […]
There is a very revealing quote from John Banks in the weekend’s Dominion Post where he talks about his campaign strategy: Uptown, Auckland […]
There is an astounding editorial in today’s business newspaper The Independent (not online) titled Foolish idea spirited away. Commenting on the recent 11pm […]
This week John Banks took his faltering super mayoralty campaign to the Takapuna Rotary Club on Auckland’s North Shore. Banks tried to butter […]
Former National Party leader Dr Don Brash and Auckland Mayor John Banks love making the big bucks. And what better way to do […]
I agree with the title of the Herald’s editoral today: “Let citizens have say on Super City“. Unfortunately, the editoral itself is wishy-washy. […]
Brian Rudman has a piece in the NZ Herald looking at the good side of the Auckland reorganisation. The potential for pooling resources. […]
