local government
Categories under local government
- auckland supercity (415)
- C&R (18)
- local body elections (117)
- supercity (100)
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
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
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.
CIR & the silience of the citirats
Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, September 10th, 2012 - 6 comments
The Nats’ lines on the citizens-initiated referendum on asset sales are very weak: ‘we don’t care because we have a mandate’ and making up stories about invalid signatures. Those lines will only hold until the petition is certified by the Clerk of the House later this year. Then, they’ll have to grow up a little. Their first decision will be when to hold the referendum.
NRT: Extended
Written By: - Date published: 9:14 am, September 8th, 2012 - 25 comments
No Right Turn on the Nats’ continuing contempt for democracy in Canterbury.
The bill arrives for the “supercity”
Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, August 1st, 2012 - 37 comments
The bill for the Nats’ Auckland “supercity” is arriving in ratepayers’ letterboxes. Some are in for a nasty shock…
Stop the power grab
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, July 23rd, 2012 - 4 comments
I did posts on submitting against National’s Local Government Bill a while ago, but the end date for submissions is on the 26th, so here’s a reminder: this Bill will reduce your local say and give more power to central government. Wellbeing is removed from the remit, and low rates over better services is added.
Bye bye Local Government 2
Written By: - Date published: 10:32 am, June 26th, 2012 - 12 comments
National’s Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill will do significant damage to local democracy as they seek to restrict councils to “core” services, put in fiscal constraints, put power into fewer hands and override local concerns with amalgamations. Overall the legislation is shoddy. The Regulatory Impact Statement on the Government’s proposals from the Department of […]
Bye bye Local Government
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, June 25th, 2012 - 42 comments
National’s record on local government is horrific: the lack of consultation as they rammed through the Supercity, the canning of ECAN, and continued suspension of democracy in Canterbury, the pushing of asset sales on an unwilling Christchurch.
And their latest attack – the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill – will do significant damage to local democracy.
Nats ramp up attacks on local government
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, June 8th, 2012 - 21 comments
The neoliberals hate democracy. It tends to get in the way. Especially local government. It’s easier to control a single unicameral Parliament than it is to control 70-odd territorial authorities. National has attacked local government, particularly in Auckland and Canterbury but now they’re going all out with more dictatorships and forced mergers.
Recent Comments