Rodney Hide thinks opposition to the super city is a media beat up. From a speech to a business and investment seminar today:
One aspect of the new governance structure that has come in for some criticism, was the Auckland Transition Agency proposal for Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) under the new Auckland Council. The criticisms have been more in the mould of a political campaign run by the media, than a considered analysis of the issues, most of which have been substantially misrepresented.
Hilarious. If the Minister talked to some real Aucklanders, or read the polls, he’d know the level of discontent about his handling of the super city including the vexed issue of council-owned companies runs deep and wide.
Len Brown responded that ‘opposition to the new super-city structure is well-founded, and not simply a media campaign as claimed by Local Government Minister Rodney Hide’.
The government only has itself to blame for that and the widespread concerns. The super-city plan put forward by the Royal Commission has been substantially altered, and many in the Auckland region now fear for their local voice in the new structure.
The government has made a number of major mistakes including:
• It needed to put into legislation clear roles, functions and responsibilities for the local boards. It refuses to do so.
• It should not have legislated for council-controlled organisations. These should have been left to the new council to decide and establish.
• It should not have established a powerful transport CCO when that will be a key issue for the new Mayor and Council to grapple with.
• Having bulldozed ahead with the CCOs, the government should be giving the existing councils a say on the directors. It refuses to do so.
Failing to listen to the concerns of Aucklanders is the reason for widespread discontent – not any media campaign. Mr Hide and the government still have time to amend the third Bill on the super-city currently before Parliament. If they did so, they might find some of the opposition might lessen.
Are submissions to a select committee not available to the minister responsible until the committee has reported back? Hide clearly hasn’t read the submissions on the last Auckland governance bill if that’s what he believes…
Bring it on !!! we want one here in Canterbury ASAP. I think the turnout in the last auckland elections was around 30% which is a clear indication of how much Aucklanders feel they have local representation. Truly, Labour thought it was bizarre and dysfunctional otherwise they wouldnt have launched a royal commission.
Phil, really, what opposition? I cant think of anyone I know who even talks about this, let alone against it. The whole eposide is a big yawn.
David, it’s not that we’re super-citying, it’s how we’re super-citying.
Actually if you ask me, it’s heading in exactly the wrong direction, but then I’m a bit of a contrarian.
Either way, if Rodders had any real faith that there were benefits to Aucklanders (and not just his wealthy mates), or even a teeny bit of respect for democracy, he’d have a) sold this better, and b) put it to a binding referendum.
It doesnt seem all that different from what you have now, 100 and something CCOs already operating. Most of the moaning seems to come from the mental mayors who are going to be unemployed, and rightfully so, soon.
Personally I dont think there should be CCOs anywhere, and they are nationwide not just in Auckland. But just think of the advantages as an Aucklander when you want something done you have one council who will make it happen (or else) rather than 8 councils who spend most of their lives blaming each other.
I fail to understand why you would want to have 8 councils for 1 city. Duplication and gridlock you have experienced for years will be gone, hopefully. You know that the ARC is currently sueing the auckland city council and this is costing you poor Aucklanders, its enough to make you cry (unless you are a lawyer).
I am struggling to see how Rodders mates are benefiting, who are they and how will they benefit ?
Len Brown is totally correct. People I talk to have no connection to this supercity. The decisions have been made and no one seems to be listening.
If you think 7 local and 1 regional council is too much (aguable for a city thats 1/3 of the whole of NZ) why would want 1 council, 20 Local Boards and 7 autonomous CCO’s ALL with overlapping and poorly defined responsibilities?
What sort of mess does that create? I can’t believe Rodney has no conception of this.
Thats the exact opposite of what the Royal Commission was trying to do.
Every other CCO in NZ is established by the council supposedly administering them, not by separate legislation. They are truly autonomous as long as they are protected by legislation.
Sadly most people want read anything thats takes more than two mins in this day and age.
This is how the transfer of the public assets of Auckland region into the hands of foreign corporate raiders is going to pan out, pin it your fridge, $28 odd billion dollars of assets consildated under concentrated control via processes the check and balances of democracy can’t keep up with, Auckland then will go on an increased lending binge to bring forward infrastructure program claiming increased borrowing is save against increased rating base, infrastructure jobs will go to the back room boys club, costs will blow out and debt repayment crisis will occur, leaving the foreign raiding co-operative leadership to state that we no-longer have any choice but to sell public necessities of life at quichfire prices to transnational corporations who are majority stakeholder owned by the very same banks that made the initial loans, banks get the built assets cheap and pursue rating base for residual debts, its an old trick but goody, been done to this nation as a whole by the same people already in 1961 and 1984. The foreign primary bond dealers who also cross-own the transnational corporations will loan Auckland the money from their magic debt book entry cheque books in exchange for pledged repayment out of future rates as contracted by Bonds, local commission taking affiliates of the primary bond dealers, such as Rob Cameron, who just happens to on every govt advisory panel going, thus no surprises from him that everything is increased debt via Bonds:
“New Zealand’s Cameron Partners and Rothschild Australia – the Australian arm of the global Rothschild empire – have formed an alliance to extend their global reaches.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10523347
“Task force chairman Rob Cameron said a bond bank was an outstanding opportunity which “looks like a no-brainer” for local government.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/2392852/Council-bond-bank-plan-supported
“The Government says it is considering creating a local body “bond bank” which would help finance up to $30 billion in planned infrastructure costs over the next decade… The study will be undertaken by Cameron Partners and Asia-Pacific Risk Management.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/banking-finance/2575325/Govt-mulls-local-govt-bond-bank
“The Securities (Local Authority Exemption) Amendment Bill is in the select committee stage in the parliamentary process to pass it into law. Only five submissions have been made to the select committee and all are supportive. When the exemption from the Securities Act is passed in February/March Local Government debt issuers will be able to issue fixed rate Bonds and Floating Rate Notes to retail investors without the hassle of a full prospectus (a short-form investment statement is still required) As commented in our July 2007 “Treasury Broadsheet” publication, local authorities are expected to borrow an additional $30 billion from the local investor market over the next 10 years. Whether there is the capacity in the market to absorb $3 billion of net new issuance each year remains to be seen. Over the last 3 years local authority issuance has been $0.5 billion in 2005, $1 billion in 2006 and just over $0.5 billion in 2007.”
http://www.asia-pacificrisk.com/456/LeftMenu/Publications/TreasuryBroadsheet/ProgressinconvertingLocalGovernmentdebtissue/tabid/118/Default.aspx
What goes on behind the diplomatic curtain in this coutry would make the man on mainstreet very ill if someone ever bothered to inform them, just maybe the Labour Party might oneday pull itself free of the foreign corporate raider co-operatives who infiltrated it and nuted it.
What ever else one thing is for sure.
Hyde and john (jeckle?)want CCOs. This leaves the question of why.
What may lies ahead for further privatisation of cities.
[You are way off thread, Iain. We expect comments on Red Alert to stick to the post. PT]
[ditto]
[ditto]
@ David 5.54 – You are clearly a masochist. You say you want a super city in Canterbury, well the Government has gone one step further by suspending elections for your regional council for three and a half years. It is the natural extension of their philosophy. You cant trust the people to govern so put in commissioners. Yes Labour did set up a Royal Commission because we believed (and continue to believe) Auckland can do better, but this Government has corrupted the whole process.
6.44 – Actually there are 41 CCOs currently, many of them tiny. Dont believe the Government’s spin that they are simply rationalising the CCOs. They are corporatising 75% of local government operations. It is a massive extension of the commercial model compared to what we have now. TopCat is right. The CCOs are just going to replace one set of siloed fiefdoms with another.
Earth to sweetd.
Thanks for bothering to answer my questions, so how about unlocking my my 9.27 post, that is right on thread.
How long does the site registration process normally take?
Dont tell me the Labour Party is no longer an open party of democratic ideals that welcomes prospective new members with new ideas, or in my case old ideas, to progress through the ranks should they garner enough support?
Auckland is getting a real Hiding
PT, its about monopolisation, by transnational corporates, of the necessities of life of the persons on mainstreet and high finance, as the irrefutable evidence in my 9.27 post proves, if you don’t know that, or you do and you aren’t telling it straight, you are in poor shape to be a champion of economic equal opportunity.
Spud,
not just Auckland, put the entire nation is like we are on a hamster wheel trying to escape the fast approaching steamroller, all this talk from parties saying they are going to keep their powder dry until the next election is suicidal, the corperate raiders and the locally recruited co-operatives are going to have all the ducks lined up in a row if left to their own devices that long.
Good article by Alex Swney in today’s herald explains the concern with CCOs very effectively: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10638414
IP
Or maybe the Finance Minister will instruct the IRD to ask the existing CCOs with big deferred tax bills on their books to pay that deferred tax, making those same CCOs insolvent. Then their sale to private interests would be unavoidable. The old mantra went something like “there is no alternative”.
Wellington lost its Municipal Electricity Dept through a similar senario under Fran Wilde.
quote
[The unparalleled scale of its transfer of control and ownership of New Zealand assets and critical infrastructure to foreign bankers at firesale rates. (Or as David Lange, the Prime Minister of this time, put it subsequently, “… They (The Americans) allowed us to keep our Nuclear Free Policy in exchange for an unparalleled transfer of capital to them.”]
John Key will be smiling more than ever and Rodney won’t Hyde his either.
What was John’s last job?
They have been taking lessons from Douglas.
Kerry Prendergast is talking with the other mayors of Wellington area. She appear determined to privatise water. The talks will include Wellington Super City.
Running up big debts including almost uncapped expenses to “promote” business for he commercial sector, seems to be the norm. Ratepayers pay without any direct benefit.
Surely business should pay for any promotion they are to profit by – oh no not if your mayor is supported by the business community.
Bigger things can be achieved if council debt can be increased so Council services are sold off to meet the debts.
MED was just such a “forced” sale complete with goodwill and a large captive customer base.
They are getting braver and operating more in the open.
Jeckle and Hyde have set a knew standard of attack for others to follow. It surely makes sense that they have backing ( massive ) and hardly from the voters who were told nothing of this before the election.
There will be so much spin you will get dizzy.
And smiles.
A reader’s comment from the opinion piece by Alex Swney says,
“National had better take control of this debacle back from the Act party or they will go down heavily in the next election. I am a life long National voter, in my 60’s, but would vote Labour in the next election if they were to correct this mess and return power to the ratepayers and voters of Auckland. If I am prepared to do that how much easier is it to lose the swinging voters?”
I wonder if most National voters are feeling the same way.
Nice to see Rortney attacking the media now that even the most brain-dead journo has woken up to their game. I find his comments encouraging. Keep it up, Rortney.
Who is Len Brown is he a Labour supporter?
“Who is Len Brown”
http://www.lenbrownformayor.co.nz/
Yee haa!!!!
I see John banks must be wary as the Jeckyll and Hyde et al mobilise shonky practices towards privatisation of local Govt.
Banks is distancing himself as the public outcry in response to undemocratic takeover of Auckland (firstly) grows.
Len Brown looks better as his history seems relatively free of private market dimunition of local Govt.
Banks has a long history of being in bed with the marauders.
Will he change his spots? – very possible for the photographs.
Thank you Iain Parker. I am very keen to have all the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed. Then it is easy to tell people exactly where the corporate thieves will strike next. I asked questions about the safety of the water services in my area. I was told they were quite safe by a mayor who should have known better.
Now they’re on their way into some private pocket.
I want to know exactly who and what has their foot on my country’s throat and what Labour (and the Greens) intend to do about that. Cherry picking is out. This next general election is our last chance to have any autonomy as citizens in our own country.
JKeyll and Hide/Douglas will take the election by the same misleading dirty tricks and voter brainwashing (it was just too easy) they used to oust Clark and Cullen. We need all the information on the table, warts and all, to beat them.
The Auckland issue is of great national interest because of the strategic assets its going concentrate into the hands of a concentrated few. 65-75% of NZ fresh exports and imports pass through the Auckland Airport(AA) with very little alternative, AA charge a landing fee upon every landing, from memory I think it was currently in the range of $3000 odd, if AA ends up in the hands of private monopolists, by lifting the landing fee’s they will be esentially putting a direct tariff on much of our fresh produce sector.
Jum,
I have put in a decade+ of indepth research of international currency and banking, the entire debt management history of NZ, I have an indepth knowledge and irrefutable proof from the very mouths of who assisted who to do what in the relentless hollowing and gutting of the people of this nation and its resources.
When you know enough of the past, the oft repeated predatory lending scheme becomes so simple to recognise, if it were not so serious it would be laughable.
Unfortunately the executive level gate keepers of this site have for some unfathomable reason registered me as some sort of a threat and are insisting that all my comments go through the time delaying moderation process that seriously impedes me being able to share my irrefutable evidence at the height of the interest in the thread topic.
Iain the truth scares many. It is scarey stuff to know that the NZ voter can be so easily sucked in with campaigns of media denigration and sloganeering of any social reform advocates.
We are losing our social capital in this country.
There is planned and deliberate support by politicians who will play ball with the financial giants who have multinational expansion as their goal, can only indicate that there is something in it for them.
When / if they are caught it is called corruption.
Mostly they are above the law as operations are carefully managesd though a variety of organisations.
There is so much excess captial they control that every opportunity to take over cash cows such as energy and govt services is hardly missed. Buying politicians is pin money and once they have them in the fold they must remain.
National is not the only party to hold “co-operating” players and they should be exposed. Actual evidence is often well hidden but the pattern of operation is more easily spotted.
Look at history since the 1980s and politicians who have helped wreck havoc then jump ship.
What help did Winston get when exposing the players in the Winebox debacle.
Iain – Very concerning that your comments have been censored; thus far I found your comments to be informative and interesting.
Those in the debate are the ones left to consider the relevance and whether to respond. Did I wake up in China!
Off thread…. are you the sole arbiter of that Phil
No, others moderate as well. Trevor
sweetd – I am an Aucklander and many I speak with are annoyed about how this is being done. I’ve also justbeen down to the South Island and in the rural areas they are very excited about ECAN being sacked BUT they are equally concerned about becoming one council… funny that.
David
The people I speakw ith are not upset about a single council per se (I am in Auckland city) but they are upset at how this is being done. Rodney is being disingenuous, he says it’s a beat up, especially the CCO’s but he wont say WHY the need to have only a minority of elected representatives running the shows.
Iain, have you a website where all this information can be viewed?
Trevor
Now seen Iain post on http://grassroots.labour.org.nz/forum/topics/is-parliamentary-branch-scared
A tad verbose perhaps (I’m guilty of that), none the less not to far off topic looking at underlying issues.
I understand the rules are – clean, respectful, factual and ammicable. Given Iain is within these guidelines I think you need to consider the following
New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990
Part II Freedom of expression
Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form.
Given this discussions theme “undemocratic ramifications of the super city” I would have thought the above would be up- held in forum hosted by Labour MPs, or have you given up on this legislation and principles too?
Has the Labour party considered rules for this Forum?(just been checking the constitution). Does a complaint need to be lodged with the Labour Party council about this censorship to have the issue resolved and rules straighten out?
Richard – not entering into debate on moderation. Our site, our rules, you don’t like it then play somewhere else.
Just to make it clear the site is financed by Labour MPs and donors and is not owned by the party.
You are on a warning. Clare