auckland supercity
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SuperCity not Solved
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.
The Supercity & neoliberalism
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.
Strong showing for Len Brown
Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, May 16th, 2010 - 9 comments
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.
Goff stands up for democracy in Auckland
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.
Dead even in Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, April 27th, 2010 - 11 comments
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.
Send a JAFA to Wellington….
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 […]
C&R’s takeover attempt
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, April 16th, 2010 - 19 comments
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.
Campbell and McCarten on McKay
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, March 30th, 2010 - 17 comments
The latest piece from the ever excellent Gordon Campbell has a go at the beat up of North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams. Towards the end he raises some interesting points about Auckland’s new boss.
Hide plays dictator of local government
Written By: - Date published: 12:24 pm, March 28th, 2010 - 79 comments
Andrew Williams, mayor of North Shore, is clearly a bit of an odd-ball. Maybe the people of North Shore simply feel that a bit of public urination is a small price to pay for having a good mayor. I don’t know or care. But it’s outrageous, frankly, to see Hide once again over-stepping the constitutional limitations on his office. It is clear his call for Williams’ resignation is politically motivated.
Super bill for Supercity
Written By: - Date published: 8:27 am, March 25th, 2010 - 6 comments
When pressed very very hard, Rodney Hide described the set up costs of the Government’s Supercity as “minuscule” even though he couldn’t put a number on it. Now, we have some a number on what “minuscule” is in Hide’s book. The Auckland City Council alone faces a $34 million bill to establish the Supercity.
One person one vote
Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, March 24th, 2010 - 14 comments
Pita Sharples’ speech on race relations day, and his comments that followed, certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons. Did Sharples really mean to suggest that we should do away with “one person one vote”? I don’t think so…
Banks’ brand is buggered
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, March 22nd, 2010 - 13 comments
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.
Sex & the Supercity
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.
Lee, Joyce and Hide’s Super City “pig’s arse”
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, March 17th, 2010 - 9 comments
In a letter to the Herald today, responding to Mike Lee’s op-ed of yesterday, Steven Joyce says:
“Contrary to what Mike Lee says, the Auckland Council will be able to appoint or dismiss any member of the Auckland Transport Board at any time.”
Problem is, Mike Lee didn’t actually say what Joyce says he did.
Auckland Super City and the American Revolution
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.
Radicals are a pain
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, March 12th, 2010 - 28 comments
Looking at the leaders for the Fabians seminar on Sunday, it looks to me like it is going to be quite interesting because it is likely to focus more on incremental rather than radical methods. One of the major issues to me with the existing ‘debate’ on economic matters has been the level at which it is ideologically driven rather than based on the actual economy. The main problem with the ‘debate’ are impatient radicals from all sides.
Come on Granny
Written By: - Date published: 3:57 pm, March 6th, 2010 - 11 comments
Come on Granny Herald. You’re almost there…
Alternate forms of protest
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?
Go to lunch – protest sham ‘consultation’
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
Come Aucklanders – protest tomorrow.
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.
National’s jam tomorrow
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…
I’ll book the billboards, you ring Roger Kerr for a donation
Written By: - Date published: 3:53 pm, February 26th, 2010 - 26 comments
The Human Rights Commission has come out swinging at the anti-democratic nature of the Super City consultation.
Will the Free Speech Coalition leap into action as it did last time? Probably not.
Looks like Rodney Hide was lying (again)
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.
Stealing Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, February 25th, 2010 - 5 comments
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.”
Supercity: Who’s gonna vote?
Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, February 23rd, 2010 - 21 comments
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.
Boag on way, Farrar to follow?
Written By: - Date published: 10:59 am, February 20th, 2010 - 14 comments
Former National Party President Michelle Boag has been told to remove herself from the consultancy charged with selecting executive staff for the Auckland Supershity, because of her conflict of interest as an advisor to John Banks’ campaign
The pipsqueak attacks the Waitakeres
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 […]
Banks gets bitten
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 pm, February 2nd, 2010 - 31 comments
In a sure sign that the political phone is off the hook for John ‘Mayor for Remuera’ Banks, the deputy mayor of Rodney John Kirikiri has a scathing letter in yesterday’s Herald criticising the super-mayoral candidate’s cynical electioneering. After a couple of high-profile high-cost staff hires (he has ex 3 News political reporter Scott Campbell […]
Meetings: Auckland super-shitty
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 […]
Hide opens door for Winston?
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, January 23rd, 2010 - 14 comments
Eddie has already covered the story of Hide giving the middle finger to the people of Franklin regarding the Supercity. Franklin is Tory heartland. However the current local National MP for Hunua, the underwhelming Dr Paul Hutchinson, has consistently been taken to pieces over his government’s decision to destroy the district. Locals are furious with […]
Franklin & Papakura want out, Hide says ‘no way’
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 […]
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