local government

Categories under local government

The Greens: Party democracy and parliamentary politics

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, June 9th, 2013 - 106 comments

John Armstrong follows Lusk’s plan in attacking The Green Party’s democratic change to Conference remit procedures. Isaac Davison gives a more balanced account& points to preparation for a Labour-Green government.  How much bottom-up democracy can there be in a top-down parliamentary system?

Slums for Auckland?

Written By: - Date published: 9:05 am, June 6th, 2013 - 28 comments

Housing Minister Nick Smith had ominous words for Auckland. Hands up all you Aucklanders who are keen to sacrifice quality housing?

Green Party for democracy

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 31st, 2013 - 34 comments

Yesterday in Question Time, Green MP Holly Walker challenged to government’s  anti-democratic rush to enable the government to over-ride local councils on housing.  Today Russel Norman challenges the Key government’s anti-democratic processes. This weekend there is a democratic Green Party conference.

Last day to submit on Auckland plan

Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, May 31st, 2013 - 13 comments

Today – by 5pm – is the last day to submit on the draft of Auckland’s Unitary Plan. Generation Zero have made it easy for you with a quick submission form.

The Battle of Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 9:47 pm, May 29th, 2013 - 8 comments

“The Auckland that never was” in my view is the most interesting chapter in Chris Trotter’s “NO LEFT TURN”. It details the Ministry of Works’ post-war plan  outlined in a document The Shape of Things to Come that was scrapped by the Sid Holland National party. Now we see history repeating itself. In what Labour accurately describes as a “War on Auckland” Key, Joyce and Brownlie are following in the footsteps of the much unloved Sid Holland.

Submit on the Unitary Plan now!

Written By: - Date published: 4:00 pm, May 29th, 2013 - 11 comments

The draft unitary plan, while not perfect, is a key part of making Auckland the most livable city. The plan is a progressive document: we know urban sprawl hurts the poor and creates worse health, social and economic outcomes. Generation Zero have put together an easy quick feedback tool so that you can submit on […]

The shameless Nick Smith

Written By: - Date published: 10:43 am, May 24th, 2013 - 31 comments

Nick Smith has a long history of slippery dealings.  He apologises but accepts no blame, then is resurrected: contempt of court, a defamation case, the Pullar-ACC “conflict of interest”, bad faith negotiations with Auckland Council, the Denniston Plateau deal. Yesterday on RNZ, Smith exposed the government’s agenda on mining conservation land.

When an “accord” is not

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, May 17th, 2013 - 130 comments

Yesterday’s budget is a sop to affordable housing & aims to privatise state housing. Penny Hulse says the government’s related “housing accord” Bill is at odds with the agreement her council has not yet ratified.  It overrides local democracy & endangers the AKL “agreement”. [Update] Waitakere News analysis

City Rail Link in the Budget?

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 pm, May 15th, 2013 - 45 comments

A reader sent us a comment from another blog by someone who was polled a couple of weeks back. The questions are very interesting, especially once you realise that it’s clearly being done for National and the Right in Auckland (one of the questions gives it away). Have a read, then I’ll tell you why I reckon the Nats are going to fund the City Rail Link in the Budget.

Nats sign up for KiwiBuild?

Written By: - Date published: 6:16 pm, May 10th, 2013 - 26 comments

KiwiBuild has already been a success, scaring the Nats in to producing, in conjunction with Len Brown’s Auckland, a more significant housing policy. The “Unitary Plan” is woefully short on detail, but it concedes that KiwiBuild’s target of 10,000 new homes a year is easily achievable (I guess it’s only impossible when Labour propose it).

Political vision?

Written By: - Date published: 9:27 am, May 3rd, 2013 - 61 comments

Today’s NZ Herald editorial on Auckland’s up-coming mayoral election campaign, says Brown has vision, but Minto and Williamson lack it. What sort of vision should the left provide in the up-coming local authority elections around NZ, and in NZ’s parliamentary elections in 2014?

The NZ Herald – advancing Auckland backwards

Written By: - Date published: 10:52 am, May 1st, 2013 - 32 comments

To the Herald the Fourth Estate must be a greenfield development on the outer margins of Auckland: a Dickensian space, hiding the poor from the upper middle-classes. The Herald lacks critical balance & equal weighting for diverse views: it scaremongers about the Akl Unitary Plan & undermines public transport.

Space and density: Auckland Unitary Plan

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, April 22nd, 2013 - 8 comments

The draft Auckland Unitary Plan is massive and complex.  The Auckland Transport Blog helps in untangling issues around intensification vs sprawl. The government & some right wing councillors want sprawl & to delay implementation.  The Akl Council website has some cool videos visualising the planned developments. And social housing?

Will Wellington’s Green mayor outsource council jobs?

Written By: - Date published: 6:32 am, April 4th, 2013 - 106 comments

Hard to believe, but despite having a Green Party mayor the Wellington City Council is about to outsource work currently done by council staff. We all know what that means – redundancies, longer hours, poorer safety standards and ultimately lower pay for workers as contractors screw down wages in a bid to undercut each other […]

Akl Unitary Plan: the good, the bad & the debatable

Written By: - Date published: 10:44 am, March 17th, 2013 - 39 comments

The Draft Auckland Unitary Plan has much to commend it.  It focuses on resource management, responds to the reality of climate change & aims for a more dense but ‘liveable’ city.  It has weaknesses, embraces destructive “growth” and raises questions: e.g. about affordable housing & environmental management.

King Brownlee dips his oar into Chch elections

Written By: - Date published: 9:07 am, March 15th, 2013 - 40 comments

King Brownlee can do pretty much what he likes in Christchurch. And what he wants to do is fuck all. When I was in Christchurch recently, I was deeply disturbed by the lack of rebuild, and the vibe. People feel it. People get angry. When people get angry, Brownlee looks for someone else to blame. Now, he’s doubling down by interfering in the coming local elections.

National’s war on Auckland

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, March 14th, 2013 - 49 comments

motorway madness

Phil Twyford is the Labour MP for Te Atatu, and Labour’s spokesperson on Housing and Auckland Issues. He is also asking the same questions that many Aucklanders keep asking as they watch a succession of government ministers trying to valiantly advance backwards into Auckland’s past with no obvious purpose.

Auckland housing: Brown vs Smith

Written By: - Date published: 10:54 am, March 7th, 2013 - 53 comments

Nick Smith, of the forked tongue, is challenging Auckland council’s plan for affordable compact housing. It will do nothing for housing affordability, transport, the environment. It is undemocratic, over-rides the council, and will enrich developers.

NRT: Pillaging the Rakaia

Written By: - Date published: 12:14 pm, February 7th, 2013 - 35 comments

No Right Turn with the latest on National’s ongoing annexation of Canterbury.

NRT: Not even pretending anymore

Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, January 21st, 2013 - 66 comments

I/S at No Right Turn on the Nats’ contempt for democracy in Canterbury. Elections remain on hold so that the commissioners’ agenda can be completed without unwelcome input from urban representation.

What’s the Right’s plan for Auckland 2013?

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, January 10th, 2013 - 55 comments

It’s 9 months until polls close in the 2013 local body elections. Len Brown has just been rated the 7th best mayor in the world. So, who’s going to stand up from the Right? 9 months is no time to get the brand recognition needed to take the most powerful political job in the country outside Cabinet’s top 5. Does no rightie want to run because they’re sure to lose?

Bad news govt: it must be recess

Written By: - Date published: 1:50 pm, December 13th, 2012 - 11 comments

The House went into recess yesterday. Today there is a rush of stories that are bad news for the government.  Collins and the Binnie report, unsuccessful boot camps, and counter-productive anti-union and anti-worker policies.  What else?

When ideology fails: a Dickensian Govt

Written By: - Date published: 10:05 am, December 6th, 2012 - 53 comments

The Key government’s sham and failed ideology of freedom and democracy can be seen in two Bills that were before the House this week.  This government is increasingly autocratic and anti-democratic, while enabling the powerful to exploit and control the powerless, including children.

NRT: More dictatorship from Brownlee

Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, November 23rd, 2012 - 11 comments

No Right Turn on the Nats’ contemplating yet another way to trample on democracy in Christchurch.

Auckland housing market bubbling

Written By: - Date published: 2:40 pm, November 15th, 2012 - 34 comments

housing apartment

Like many other well-paid people in their 30’s.  Lyn is getting depressed watching a toehold Auckland property disappear out of her grasp. Of course the well rounded gits in Wellington will get ‘worried’ about this and want to make property available 50kms away. But spending an hour or two of your life driving each day is hardly useful to anyone apart from the land bankers, property developers and used car sales who seem to be of such importance to the National party.

Hypocrisy and bad spin

Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, November 8th, 2012 - 44 comments

NActUF use a lot of finely-honed, diversionary and distorting spin.  However, when debating 2 Private Members’ Bills yesterday, government MPs couldn’t even be bothered trying too hard; the hypocrisy was glaring and the spin clumsy – showing clearly the differences between left & right wing principles.

Free Public Libraries Bill

Written By: - Date published: 10:15 am, November 5th, 2012 - 19 comments

Darien Fenton’s “Keep Public Libraries Free” Bill will soon be getting its first reading in parliament. Public libraries are an important community resource. Keeping their resources and services free contributes to social inclusion and participatory democracy.

NRT: National’s tyranny

Written By: - Date published: 1:55 pm, October 30th, 2012 - 43 comments

No Right Turn on the overthrow of local democracy in Canterbury…

Banks must now submit correct return

Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, September 14th, 2012 - 53 comments

John Key is wrong, John Banks has broken the law. He just did not get prosecuted. The return of donations he signed and submitted in 2010 is false, as the Police have stated. He should now correct it, or he is still in breach of the law.

Labour hits the motherlode

Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, September 13th, 2012 - 82 comments

The Police Report into the Banks.com affair, which Labour has distributed to the media, is a gold mine. Banks is shown to be a liar and completely unethical. He insisted that Dotcom’s donation be anonymised. He used the donations, which he had told media he didn’t remember, as an excuse not to help Dotcom while a minister. Banks is lying low now. Key has to sack him.

Known unknowns

Written By: - Date published: 9:44 pm, September 12th, 2012 - 8 comments

My OIA request for the Police  file of their investigation into Banks’ anonymous donations arrived today. John Key had said the law would be changed if “they could find the time.” Today David Carter found the time to say the law will be tightened before the 2013 elections.It will be very important that all the lessons from this sorry affair can be properly considered  at select committee.

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