democracy under attack

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Sshhh! You’ll make the economy cry

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 9:00 am, August 5th, 2009 - 29 comments

John Key says we shouldn’t be talking about the number of people going on to the dole. He reckons that mentioning the fact that thousands of people are losing there jobs will cause people to lose confidence and hurt the economy. Isn’t the real problem for the economy that thousands of people are losing their jobs, […]

Linton Kwesi Johnson: FITE DEM BACK

Written By: the sprout - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 1st, 2009 - 6 comments

Coverage round-up: Bully Bennett

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 10:22 am, July 29th, 2009 - 71 comments

Sean Plunkett: Being vocal in a democracy shouldn’t mean you lose your rights and protections under the law. Tracey Watkins: “The Privacy Commissioner advises that ministers can release information about an individual who has criticised a department but only that which is “relevant to the issues raised by the individual”. I would take that to […]

Nats attack workers’ right to protest

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:59 am, July 1st, 2009 - 55 comments

I am outraged to learn that the Department of Labour told its employees they were not allowed attend the pay equity rally at Parliament yesterday. A leaked email from the department to its staff said: “Attendance at such a demonstration may well be perceived as crossing the line by criticising a decision of the Government. […]

Justifying the unjustifiable

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 8:03 pm, June 30th, 2009 - 20 comments

Spending time with DC neo-cons must be going to Farrar’s head. I thought better of him than supporting the Honduran military’s overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya. Farrar offers a legalistic justification for the military/rightwing coup (yes, it is actually the right behind the coup with the support of the military, read up): Zelaya has been elected to a four […]

â€˜Supercity’ Select Committee Submissions Workshop

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:30 pm, June 18th, 2009 - Comments Off on â€˜Supercity’ Select Committee Submissions Workshop

The University of Auckland’s Political Studies Department is hosting a free public workshop presented by Rob Thomas to assist people interested in making submissions to the Select Committee on Auckland’s Governance. This is a non-partisan community event to encourage community participation in the decision making process. At the workshop we will: Discuss a brief history of the Local […]

Key’s surprise for Aucklanders

Written By: Marty G - Date published: 6:47 am, June 16th, 2009 - 18 comments

Analysis by Rhema Vaithianathan, which hasn’t itself been critiqued but has seen her subjected to the typical vicious personal attacks from National, shows that the supercity will have big economic costs for the areas of most of the existing councils: â€¢ Rodney: annual regional GDP falls by up to $74 million and 270 job losses […]

Watercare – minons of the dictator

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:00 pm, June 12th, 2009 - 9 comments

Rodney Hide, in his role of Minister for Local Government, has made himself the petty dictator of Auckland’s future. Therefore he is ultimately responsible in that role for a curious request through his minions. Phil Twyford reports at Red Alert.. Council water staff in Auckland have been given a case of the jitters after Councils […]

Submit!

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:17 am, June 3rd, 2009 - 1 comment

Over at No Right Turn, Idiot/Savant writes:- The Auckland Governance Committee has called for submissions on the Local Government (Auckland Council) Bill. Two copies, by Friday, 26 June 2009, to: Auckland Governance Committee Secretariat Parliament Buildings Wellington The bill contains the details of the government’s Auckland Supercity, including its plans for at-large election, no Maori […]

Resistance Photography

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, May 26th, 2009 - 18 comments

Some great photos from yesterday’s hikoi from Squirrel. Click the thumbnails below to view photos, or see the whole set at the Resistance Photography channel on flickr.

Reader photos

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 4:30 pm, May 25th, 2009 - 30 comments

Thanks to a reader for sending in these photos from today’s hikoi: If anyone else has photos or youtube send them in and we’ll put them up.

Hikoi video

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:05 pm, May 25th, 2009 - 1 comment

The Herald Online has some great video from today’s hikoi here and here, and some photos here. The videos really are worth a look. They manage to give a sense of the atmosphere on the ground while at the same time giving voice to the people taking part in the march. If anyone has any […]

Talking tough

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 10:30 am, May 25th, 2009 - 34 comments

Remember – March against National’s undemocratic supercity today 25th, noon, Queen St [More info] Today in the Herald John Key is talking tough, dismissing the Super City hikoi before it’s even begun: Today’s hikoi against the proposed Auckland Super City is unlikely to make a difference, is premature and the wrong forum to raise concerns, […]

Hikoi route

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:30 am, May 24th, 2009 - 14 comments

Tumeke has put together this handy map of tomorrow’s hikoi with the meeting places across Auckland. You can view the full size version by clicking on the image below and there are more details at the hikoi organisers’ site here. Get on down if you can.

Nat MPs distancing themselves from Super City

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 3:20 pm, May 22nd, 2009 - 29 comments

Remember – March against National’s undemocratic supercity Monday 25th, noon, Queen St [More info] National’s Paul Hutchison, whose Hunua electorate lies in Franklin, has written a piece with Mark Ball, the mayor of Franklin, in today’s Herald. The sum of it: Supercity yes, but leave Franklin out of it. Funny because ‘leave me out of […]

Last night’s Super City meeting

Written By: Guest post - Date published: 12:00 pm, May 21st, 2009 - 22 comments

I attended the Paula Bennett-John Carter Supercity meeting yesterday evening in Kelston. This was one of the hastily arranged series of meetings arranged in the Auckland area to persuade ordinary jafas and westies that this Government is really listening and living up to its election promise to consult on the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance’s […]

Join the Super City hikoi

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:55 pm, May 20th, 2009 - 13 comments

IHI Aotearoa has put out the call for Aucklanders to join their hikoi against the Government’s undemocratic Super City proposal on Monday, May 25th: “We want the Crown to honour its exisiting agreements with Tangata Whenua. To create better and more diverse representation in local government. To protect mana whenua rights. To protect the land, […]

The ‘Rankin Effect’

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:39 am, May 19th, 2009 - 11 comments

Why is the National government delaying its announcement of the Supercity transitional agency? The Rankin Effect. That’s the flinch you get when your rampant arrogance becomes a bit too obvious. But despite the Rankin Effect, it looks like most of Rodney Hide’s picks for the new board will pass Key’s test. Who wants to take […]

Transition Agency knocked back

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 2:13 pm, May 18th, 2009 - 24 comments

Stuff is reporting that cabinet has failed to approve the make up of the Auckland Supercity transition agency. In case you’re out of the loop, that’s the unlected oligarchy that will now effectively govern Auckland without any democratic accountability, running roughshod over the results of the 2007 local body elections. The prediction had been that […]

No credible argument against referendum

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:15 am, May 18th, 2009 - 32 comments

This morning Radio NZ ran a report on the increasing grassroots opposition to the Government’s supercity plans. In the interview that followed it Rodney Hide was asked why the Government won’t let Aucklanders have the final say on the proposal through a referendum. His answer? The tired, discredited old line that it’s “not just a […]

NACT prefer to have a filibuster

Written By: lprent - Date published: 5:11 pm, May 16th, 2009 - 39 comments

The ongoing filibuster is highlighting the intransigent nature of the NACT government. NACT ministers are getting annoyed by having to remain at the house to push through their legislation. However there is a perfectly reasonable offer on the table – but they’d prefer to have the filibuster maintained rather than get the holes fixed in […]

The Maori Party’s commitment to democracy

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 12:46 pm, May 16th, 2009 - 60 comments

In an epic last-ditch defence of Aucklanders’ right to be consulted on the removal of their democracy, Labour and the Greens are currently filibustering the government’s enabling legislation in Parliament by forcing a vote on thousands of new amendments. Their objective is simple, they want to get the bill off to a select committee and […]

Ratepayers to fork out lots for super-city

Written By: lprent - Date published: 5:17 pm, May 15th, 2009 - 2 comments

In the absence of any numbers about transition costs from Rodney or NACT on the super-city, Phil Twyford over at Red Alert has gotten Dr Rhema Vaithianathan to crunch the available numbers. Ratepayers are going to get whacked with a bill for up to $750 just for the transition costs, and that’s 30% higher than […]

Has anyone asked them what they think now?

Written By: lprent - Date published: 12:46 pm, May 15th, 2009 - 7 comments

Moana Mackey has been looking at old Hansards in a post on Red Alert. The topic was the Local Government Act changes in 2002. It is a revealing look at the change of attitude by National MP’s on the process of consultation for local government changes. A couple of examples: Phil Heatley: I was disturbed […]

Have your say, make them listen

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:03 am, May 12th, 2009 - 14 comments

The government has announced its legislative plan for the supercity in a press release from John Carter, rather than Rodney Hide whose arrogant mishandling of the issue is privately blamed by National for the growing unrest in Auckland. The press release says: Now that the Government has announced our position on the Royal Commission’s Report into […]

Hide on his way to Privileges Committee?

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 5:32 am, May 8th, 2009 - 44 comments

Has Rodney Hide breached privilege by seriously misleading the House? This is one for you legal types out there but from a layperson’s perspective it looks like it. Here’s what happened (the full transcripts are below): On Wednesday, Phil Twyford (or Twif-ford as Hide insists on calling him) asked Hide whether “he has costed the super-city proposal outlined […]

Oh dear – Hyde the costs

Written By: lprent - Date published: 9:40 pm, May 7th, 2009 - 71 comments

How embarrassing. Rodney Hide has been forced to admit that he has no idea of the costs of his super-city proposal. Phil Twyford with the aid of the speaker cornered him into an admission that he’d been bullshitting. The Minister has been caught out trying to mislead Aucklanders about whether the Government has done those […]

Backlash building on supercity

Written By: Tane - Date published: 11:30 am, May 5th, 2009 - 25 comments

The unseemly haste with which the National/Act Government is pursuing its undemocratic supercity is causing more and more people to wake up to the con job they are pulling. A Reid poll (ignored by the Herald but run by the community newspapers) shows where just weeks ago the public was split evenly on the proposed […]

It’s good enough for Wanganui

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 7:21 am, April 29th, 2009 - 11 comments

Rodney Hide refuses to give Aucklanders their referendum on the supercity and one of the excuses he offers is the cost: “The difficulty with a referendum is it would cost a million dollars” So what kind of things do councils find it worthwhile holding referenda on? Here’s what the people of Wanganui got to vote […]

The Backlash Begins

Written By: Tane - Date published: 1:00 pm, April 28th, 2009 - 43 comments

We’ve been warning that John Key faces a backlash in Auckland if he doesn’t rein in Rodney Hide and present a democratic supercity structure instead of the rort that is on the table now. We’re starting to see it. A poll out yesterday shows only 12% of people in Key’s own electorate support his government’s […]

Meeting tonight on Super City

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:27 pm, April 28th, 2009 - Comments Off on Meeting tonight on Super City

From Just Left: Tonight – Freemans Bay Community Centre – the Western Bays Community Board is holding a meeting from 6.30pm to discuss the Govt’s super-city proposal. Come along. It is nice to see that some parts of the Council do want to hear what residents think, rather than other parts who are buying into […]