Remember – March against National’s undemocratic supercity Monday 25th, noon, Queen St [More info]
Sometimes democracy’s a pain in the arse. So Aucklanders are in luck. Local democracy’s been done away with.
Now, there’s a junta in charge. The councils Aucklanders elected a year and a half ago are now subject to five people hand picked by Rodney Hide. All friends of big business. No voice for community groups. There’s a woman and a Maori to get the PC quotient right.
This Atlas of a man has carried Auckland’s water (Watercare Services) and public transport (ARTA) systems on his mighty shoulders for 15 and 2 years respectively. And aren’t they in fine shape.
I reckon you can always tell a lot about the type of business ‘leader’ you’re dealing with by their picture in the annual report. Ford’s is a full-page spread. Reminiscent of Winston Peters’ 2005 ‘ain’t I hot’ campaign ad. Without the je ne sais quoi.
If my admittedly addled memory serves me right there was some fracas with Ford and the councils over water privatisation back in the late 1990s. Can anyone fill in the details? Drop us a line. Would be appreciated.
It’s quite clear how this is going to play out. Appoint five Randian heroes to design you a council what will you get? A council run like a big business for big business, ready to be sold off to big business.
Wave goodbye to local democracy, Auckland.
– Ps. How long had my byline been spelled Zetitic? That’s a dumb name.
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