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When ’speak to the hand’ isn’t good enough

Posted by Phil Twyford on September 23rd, 2010

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Mark Ford was appointed by Rodney Hide to set up the Auckland super city. The ratepayers of Auckland pay him $540,000 a year.

He was responsible for hiring the agency Momentum to recruit 45 senior executives for the super city. Momentum has close ties with the National Party, employing former National Party President Michelle Boag as a senior executive, and with former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley on its board. Back in February it was revealed Ms Boag was working for John Banks’ mayoral campaign as an unpaid adviser while at the same time recruiting the super city’s chief spin doctor.

Now we find out Ms Boag has been soliciting money and votes for John Banks on Momentum letterhead while the agency is recruiting the super city’s top executives. Mr Ford is asked about it by the Herald and he says “I’m not going there.”

When Mark Ford effectively says “speak to the hand” it is a disturbing sign of what could be in store for Auckland after the local body elections.  After overseeing the establishment of the super city, and advising Cabinet against allowing elected representatives on the boards of CCOs, and overseeing the appointment of the CCO boards, Mr Ford finds himself appointed to chair the powerful new transport agency which will spend more than half of Aucklanders’ rates.

He will be responsible for every transport matter from the smallest pot-hole to the second harbour crossing. And this is how seriously he takes public accountability.

But let’s be clear about this. Mark Ford is only a public servant. Rodney Hide is the Minister. He is responsible. He designed the structures of the Auckland super city which have shifted 75% of civic operations into council owned companies run by hand-picked corporate boards.  The entire lot was signed off every step of the way by John Key’s Cabinet.

It is time for Rodney Hide to tell Aucklanders whether this is the standard of public accountability he expects from the people running the super city.

Update: Rodney Hide washed his hands of responsibility for this matter in Question Time this afternoon, even though the Momentum contact is costing Auckland ratepayers $355,000 to recruit 45 managers for the super city. I’m calling on Hide to show some accountability and tell Mark Ford to bring the ATA’s relationship with Momentum to an end.

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Filed under: Auckland, democracy, local government
26 Comments

Rail links – yes, holiday highway – no. Time to listen to Aucklanders, Mr Joyce

Posted by David Shearer on September 20th, 2010

Steven Joyce might want to think about the Herald’s digipoll that asked what Aucklanders most want. Top of the list – and what they’d be willing to increase rates for – is a rail link to the airport. Improving public transport was right up there too. In fourth place was improving roads – Joyce’s infatuation.

Joyce’s rear visionary thinking is not in line with what Auckland wants, or needs.

An inner city loop rated lower but is necessary before a link to the airport becomes feasible. It’s impossible to run the frequency of trains from the airport without it. It’s fair to say the case for the loop has yet to be made as clearly as it could to Aucklanders.

So let’s sink the Holiday Highway – one of the Roads of National Party Significance Joyce is blindly championing – and get in behind what people want, rather than fight on with 1950s thinking.

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Filed under: Auckland, Uncategorized, local government, transport
42 Comments

Managing parking or maximising tickets?

Posted by Phil Twyford on September 13th, 2010

Marcus Ganley of Labour is running an impressive campaign in the Wellington Council downtown ward of Lambton. One of his issues is whether the Council should bring parking enforcement in-house and put an end to revenue maximisation. You can vote in Marcus’ poll here, and choose which one of a gruelling schedule of meet-the-candidates meetings is nearest you.

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Filed under: Labour Party, local government, wellington
23 Comments

Let them eat cake

Posted by Phil Twyford on September 9th, 2010

I enjoy a regular correspondence with Rodney Hide’s Auckland Transition Agency each letter prefaced with the phrase “Under the Official Information Act…”.  The ATA is the special group of public servants whose job it is to set up the Auckland super city.  I’ve been critical of their secretive ways but when they do release information they do it in style.

And now their secret is out. The Aucklander has revealed the ATA is writing its letters on replica goatskin parchment which costs $118 for a ream of 500 sheets  – up to 17 times the cost of normal paper.

Why not real goatskin parchment? That’s what I want to know. Tight-wads!

According to The Aucklander the ATA’s paper is Grecian tan rather than shades such as marble white or faint Corinthian green.

I am surprised they don’t go the whole hog and hand deliver their letters on a gold cushion with tassels.

As for the Auckland ratepayers, a majority of whom believe their rates will go up under the super city, I am sure Lord Hide of Epsom would happily let them eat cake.

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Filed under: Auckland, humour, local government
20 Comments

Minister for school privatisation

Posted by Phil Twyford on September 8th, 2010

I see Rodney Hide’s new delegations as associate education minister include responsibility for public private partnerships in schools.

Is this another instance of the Nats using Hide to front stuff they would like to do but don’t have the cojones for? And Key giving Hide the opportunity to play to his right wing base?

For a while there it looked like that strategy might work with the super city.  When the public reacted to unpopular decisions Key could just shrug and say “well, that’s Rodney”. But things got so out of control, and Hide’s brand so damaged, that his low standing with the public and close association with the super city has done a great deal to tarnish the whole project.

I wonder how successful he will be at convincing the public that PPPs in schools are a good idea.

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Filed under: Auckland, education, local government, privatisation, public services
17 Comments

Ethnic Aucklanders under-represented in council controlled organisations

Posted by Ashraf Choudhary on August 31st, 2010

The list of directors and chairs for Auckland Super City’s council-controlled organisations agreed by Cabinet last week under-represents the Asian and Ethnic voice.

It is a big disappointment the Government has not acknowledged more fully Asian and Ethnic representation in its Super City reform.

There are many successful Asian business people to choose from. This is exactly the kind of initiative the Government should be using to improve representation for ethnic people.

According to the Government every single member and chair is an Aucklander, yet the make-up of CCO boards announced does not acknowledge the over 20 percent of Aucklanders of ethnic descent.

This insensitivity is not acceptable to the wider ethnic community of Auckland, who have contributed hugely to the cities economic development.

These nominations were invited from Mayors of all Auckland territorial authorities, the chair of the Auckland Regional Council, Ministers, as well as the Ministers of Women’s Affairs, Consumer Affairs, and Pacific Island Affairs, Te Puni Kökiri, the Offices of Ethnic Affairs and Disabilities and the Treasury.

I question how robust this nomination process was, because the CCO board certainly does not reflect the diversity of Auckland city.

Filed under: Auckland, ethnic, local government
47 Comments

Hide hoses down Auckland water fears

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 31st, 2010

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has intervened in the Auckland mayoral and council elections with a carefully contrived announcement on water rates.

You would think water rates would be decided and announced by the new Auckland Council. The election is, after all, only six weeks away. And the water company, is after all, owned  by the Council.

But no, Mr Hide yesterday trumpeted a new water rate that will see all Auckland houses pay the same tariff of $1.30 per 1000 litres of water.

Asked why he was announcing it now, he replied because Aucklanders have been “anxious about water” charges.

Why have they been anxious about water charges? Because the Government wants to roll out volumetric or user pays pricing for waste-water expected to result in hefty increases for most Aucklanders. And because the centre-right Citizens and Ratepayers ticket has the same policy. And the C&R mayoral candidate Mr Banks has been taking heat on this issue.

Mr Hide was happy to announce the new rate on water piped to the home, but he was keeping quiet on the new rate for waste water which is the one that is likely to go up significantly if it gets the full user-pays treatment. If he was going to announce one I don’t see why he couldn’t have announced both, because Watercare has had a full year to do the calculations on both.

The farsighted Mr Hide has legislated that waste water charges, and general rates, won’t be going up until mid-2012 which just happens to be after the mayoral and council elections, and after next year’s general election.

By the time the new waste water and general rates kick in, the Auckland Council will have been in place for 18 months and Mr Hide will be able to wash his hands of any responsibility. He is hoping the Council will have to carry the can for the structures and budgets he put in place 18 months before.

If in 2012 the waste water charges and general rates do go up, as most Aucklanders believe they will, with any luck we won’t have to listen to Mr Hide blaming the Auckland Council.  He will be long gone by then.

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Filed under: Auckland, local government, water
18 Comments

Hide’s appointees to run Auckland Corp

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 30th, 2010

Hide and Ford

Rodney Hide’s hand picked appointees to run the new corporatised Auckland have been announced.

Apart from Sir Don McKinnon and Mayor Bob Harvey most Aucklanders won’t know who they are. And that is the point: these people will now wield enormous power over local government in Auckland but they’ve been selected in secret by the Minister, without Aucklanders having a say.

Not only did the Key-Hide Government insist on corporatising the super city against the will of Aucklanders. But Hide couldn’t wait two months and let the newly elected Auckland Council make the appointments – he had to put his own people in there.  Hide promised to consult Auckland Mayors on the appointments and then promptly broke that promise.

The appointment that sticks in the craw is that of Mark Ford. Mr Ford is a former chief executive of Watercare and chair of the Auckland Regional Transport Agency(ARTA). He is Hide’s man put in place to run the Auckland Transition Agency setting up the super city. Along with Hide he is the main architect of the over-centralised and undemocratic corporate jack up that the super city has become. He has been extraordinarily influential, at times advising Cabinet directly.

As well as setting up the super city, and overseeing the appointment process for the directors of these council owned companies, Mark Ford now has arguably the most powerful job in the whole set up. He is going to run the new mega-transport agency which will spend 54% of Aucklanders’ rates.  Transport is the area Aucklanders most want to see fixed. It’s importance cannot be over-emphasised.

Underlying the concerns about the Auckland super city has been a fear that power is being concentrated in the hands of a highly centralised bureaucracy, and corporate boards operating behind closed doors. Mark Ford is the personal embodiment of both.

I think the Auckland Council should hold US Senate-style confirmation hearings on the appointment of these board chairs. Let the newly elected Mayor and Councillors question Hide’s appointees on behalf of the people of Auckland in open session. Ask the questions their electors want asked and then decide whether these appointments should stand.

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Filed under: Auckland, democracy, local government
45 Comments

Water pressure

Posted by Brendon Burns on August 24th, 2010

The Nats polling must be disastrous among Canterbury voters on its handling of water issues for today’s backflip to take place.

Why otherwise would they send 120,000 homes – at taxpayers’ expense – a four page glossy brochure with John Key seeking their views, including asking whether  new elections are wanted immediately for Environment Canterbury councillors, axed in 30 hours of urgency in March.

Today Key refused to answer my question about how much the brochures cost taxpayers: “Seeing it is paid out of the leader’s budget, I have no ministerial responsibility for that.” Cop out.  Await the OIAs.

Jim Anderton suggested consultation was best before the Government fired the elected councillors, rather than asking them 5 months later. ” I think that Cantabrians support the moves by the Government, and that is why over 55 percent of people in a recent poll gave that view,” said Key.

Sorry, if 55 % support the move, why revisit it?   Three inter-connected issues may have driven the Govt PR initiative (at our expense!) ; a wish to try and defuse water as a local body election issue (for non-endorsed candidates);  Key might be want to move away from Hide, a key supporter of the ECAN legislation as ACT implodes; and sending a peace-making signal may help ensure the crucial national Land and Water Forum can actually report this month amid ongoing signals of distrust from environmental reps who were deeply aggrieved at the ECAN legislation handing Water Conservation Order powers to the Govt-appointed commissioners…

One certainty; a lot of water has flown under the bridge since the pre-Easter legislation – and it’s made this the number one political issue in Canterbury.

Filed under: local government, water
14 Comments

Taking the public out of transport

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 22nd, 2010

National-ACT’s determination to corporatise Auckland’s transport operation has been one of the most controversial aspects of its super city plan. They rammed it through against the advice of three government departments who argued a council-owned company would be less accountable to ratepayers than if it was run in house. The transport agency, governed by a hand-picked corporate board, will spend 54% of the super city budget and have 1000 staff.

There is no doubt getting progress on transport is top of Aucklanders’ must-do list for the super city. If it fails on this it will be judged harshly. And more specifically, it will be judged on its success or failure in ramping up public transport.

Which is why it is worrying there are early signs public transport might not be top of mind for those setting up the new transport agency.

For starters it appears the Auckland Transition Agency has overlooked the need for ongoing development of the bus system, which still carries the majority of Auckland public transport passengers.

It has specialists on urban design, storm water, cycling and walking, and several parking meter specialists. But no bus system development specialists. These are the people dedicated to the initiatives that give buses priority, from bus lanes to special signals at traffic lights, and the green patches in the middle of intersections that allow buses to queue jump.

Huge numbers of Aucklanders, especially in the outer suburbs, depend on the buses to get around the city. And the buses also feed the railway stations.

This public transport blind spot is reflected in the agency’s 306-page workforce plan which is mostly about roads. Bus stops, bus shelters, and bus priorities only get one mention each in the entire document. The words bus lane only get one mention, and that is in the context of revenue collection.

Josh Arbury over at the Auckland Transport blog has more to say on the apparent lack of focus on public transport in the new transport agency. He is also concerned about a lack of integration with urban design and land use planning, a point well made to the select committee when the bill was being considered.

The announcement of the newly appointed interm chief executive of the transport agency David Warburton gives further cause for concern. Mr Warburton does not appear to have any significant experience in urban transport.  While the ATA says he has a PhD in environmental engineering, he did his thesis  on dairy shed effluent at Massey. He was Wanganui District Council’s CEO under Michael Laws, and then led a Melbourne-based engineering firm that does very little urban transport work.

He may well be a good manager, but don’t we need leadership on urban transformation? It has been reported urban transport high fliers from Perth and London pulled out of the recruitment. Perth is the public transport success story of Australasia. They are where we would have been if we had adopted Robbie’s rapid rail 25 years ago. Perhaps the Perth candidate got wind of Steven Joyce’s roads fixation and a super city being set up by people who just don’t “get” public transport?

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Filed under: Auckland, local government, transport
12 Comments

The thoughts of Chairman Lee

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 21st, 2010

Mike Lee has a new blog as part of his campaign to win the Gulf & Waitemata seat on the Auckland Council. He has a great post on the cheek of Steven Joyce criticising Auckland mayoral candidates for pushing pet rail projects when he is imposing his own Holiday Highway folly on Aucklanders at a cost of a cool $2 billion. Exactly what I was thinking!

You can also find a presentation Mike gave earlier this year called Sins of the Fathers – The Decline and Rise of Rail Transit in Auckland.  And a speech on Auckland’s local government history that Mike delivered as the Bruce Jesson lecture a few years back.  Both essential background to the current debates on Auckland.

Mike is a champion. He has done more than almost anyone I can think of to promote the necessary revitalisation of public transport in Auckland. Along with Bruce Jesson and others he saved the Ports from being sold off in the nineties. Under his leadership the ARC has expanded its superb network of parks. His submissions to the Royal Commission and two select committees on the future of Auckland governance have been in my opinion among the smartest and soundest.

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Filed under: Auckland, local government
3 Comments

The Future of Auckland

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 20th, 2010

Auckland’s best years are ahead of it.

We can fix the mess Rodney Hide and John Key have made of setting up the super city.  We can invest in a modern public transport system and defeat Stephen Joyce’s obsession with the holiday highway. We can tackle poverty and inequality unlike this Government who have virtually ignored the Royal Commission’s ambitious plans on community well-being. We can build a vibrant, prosperous, job-rich economy. We can revitalise the downtown and waterfront – and build great neighbourhoods and streets and public spaces to match the sublime physical environment.

The Labour team have spent the last year fighting the Hide-Key Auckland jack up. But now we are developing a plan for The Future of Auckland that we will take into the election next year. We will put people at the heart of the super city. And Labour in government will work hand in hand with the Auckland Council – unlike this Government who try to control Auckland from Wellington.

If you want to hear more, or want to help us develop the plan, come along to hear Phil Goff and invited guests this Sunday at the University of Auckland, 3pm Sunday. It is a panel discussion chaired by journalist and blogger David Beatson. Joining Phil on the panel are Ngarimu Blair of Ngati Whatua, songwriter Don McGlashan, ideas guy Mike Hutcheson, and Auckland University’s head of architecture and planning Jenny Dixon.

See here for more details.

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Filed under: Auckland, local government
15 Comments

Speaking truth to power

Posted by Phil Twyford on August 18th, 2010

Social policy expert Ian Shirley has launched a blistering attack on the Government’s super city model for Auckland.  Prof Shirley is pro-vice chancellor of AUT University, and professor of public policy with the university’s institute of public policy.

He says the proposed model for Auckland’s governance effectively removes local government from Auckland and argues that it will be “a corporate structure where the major beneficiaries will be the exclusive brethren of big business, merchant bankers and a narrow range of consultants dominated by legal and accountancy firms”.

Prof Shirley was speaking to the National Policy Makers Conference 2010 in Wellington today.

The super city…”ignores history, fails to connect in any meaningful way with the diverse populations and neighbourhoods of the region and has established a corporate framework and process that will not gain the trust of ratepayers.”

He says the policies are driven by a form of economic fundamentalism that equates ‘governance’ with managing a ‘business’ and reduces democracy to a token engagement in the decision-making systems of local and regional government.

Amen to that.

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Filed under: Auckland, democracy, local government
21 Comments

Sticky Fingers Key

Posted by Brendon Burns on August 18th, 2010

John Key’s all but endorsement of Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker last night indicates how out of touch he is with Christchurch voters. Key attended a widely-promoted ‘John and Bob’ gathering at Sticky Fingers in Christchurch last night, their handshake making the front page of The Press. http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/christchurch/4034228/Praise-from-PM-but-no-endorsement

Key praises Parker as having done “a very good job.”

Ok, as a Labour MP I’m not dispassionate here. I totally support Jim Anderton’s bid (though I will say Parker is an extraordinarily gifited speaker and his full-time unpaid Mayoress wife Jo deserves better than to be remembered for having muffins and coffee with the Mayor – (even Key referred to ‘muffingate’ last night)

Point is that it’s not just Labour supporters who are openly saying they want to see Parker go. So are card-carrying Nats and many others. On Monday my dentist, just returned from his European holiday, couldn’t wait to say  how much he wanted to see a change. Last night at Saunders Unsworth’s bash, yet another senior Christcurch business leader told me he won’t be voting for Parker. His reason? The way Parker responded to criticism of the $17m bail-out of property developer Dave Henderson. To compound matters for Parker, ‘Hendo’, once praised, defended and befriended by Rodney Hide, has recently been exposed as having not paid IRD for the GST on the $17m paid  to him. So ratepayers and taxpayers are both out of pocket from the deal.

Add to that, the council’s attempt to hike council tenants’ rents by 24% in one go (defeated in the High Court) and the $3m purchase of the “Ellerslie” flower show for Christchurch, have all led to a city-wide view that Bob has to go. Not that Jim is resting on his laurels; he has had a large and vigorous  campaign team from before his launch several weeks ago capitalising on the mood for change.

Key’s handshake alingment with Parker at Sticky Fingers might be a touch of the tar baby for both of them.

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Filed under: GST, local government
18 Comments

GST increase and rates

Posted by Grant Robertson on August 10th, 2010

The GST increase on 1 October is going to have a lot of consequences, from the price of stamps going up, to schools struggling to work out how they will pay for an additional costs. Marcus Ganley, the Labour Candidate for Lambton Ward of the Wellington City Council has drawn another matter to my attention in his recent post.

The Wellington City Council has sent out a note to ratepayers suggesting that one way they can avoid the GST increase is to make their next three rate payments before the 1st of October. A nice idea, but many Wellington ratepayers are struggling to make one payment at the moment, let alone, as Marcus says three payments in the next seven weeks.

Filed under: GST, Tax, local government
52 Comments

A new initiative on voting in local body elections

Posted by Clare Curran on August 2nd, 2010

This is a good initiative and something David Farrar (at Kiwiblog) and I agree on.

It was reported in the DomPost.

A website designed to help boost the country’s low voter turnout figures for local body elections has gone live.

The website, elections2010.co.nz, is a one-stop shop that aims to equip voters with all the information they need to vote in October’s local body elections

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Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, comms & IT, democracy, internet, local government
15 Comments

McCully spits the dummy again

Posted by Trevor Mallard on July 8th, 2010

I’ve generally taken a pretty non political line on Rugby World Cup issues, and I thought I provided the evidence that one needs to be fully focused to make sure deals stick, but my successor and former team mate has been a terrible mixture of missing in action and throwing his (light) weight around.

And what has happened to Key – this is his big idea that McCully is stuffing up. Remember the 27 photo-ops Key got announcing his plans.

Rumour has it that the finely tuned political skills of Gerry Brownlee are to used to clean up the mess.

Brian Rudman has nailed McCully.

“It’s time Prime Minister John Key popped the dummy back in Murray McCully’s mouth”

and :-

“Threatening to take all his toys back to Wellington if Aucklanders don’t kowtow to his “giant slug” proposal for the “party central” venue on Queens Wharf is just infantile. If this is what passes for negotiation in Foreign Minister McCully’s world, the whales are surely doomed.”

Even Cam the arachnophobic blowhole (yes recess airport time bored had a look) gets it :-

“Isn’t time for Mur­ray McCully to become part of National’s Cau­cus renewal pro­gramme? I mean look at all his stun­ning suc­cesses of late:

  • Whaling…..ooops
  • Fiji…..bugger
  • RWC Party Central……oh shut up”
    • Filed under: local government, sport
    23 Comments

    We don’t need your education

    Posted by Brendon Burns on July 6th, 2010

    National standards for education – and proof-reading – are slipping. Rangitata’s Nat MP Jo Goodhew has sent out a survey asking : What issues are most important to you (rank in order 1-7) Health. Education. Environment. Education. Economy. Law and order. Other

    Hope plenty of Rangitata voters double-tick the environment box and educate Goodhew. She’s never denied revving up Timaru’s mayor to complain about ECAN- along with Christchurch’s Bob Parker – setting in train the loss of local democracy and the Government’s agenda to rush new water allocations into place next year in Canterbury without new environmental rules. Extraordinarily, Parker is now calling for earlier new ECAN elections than scheduled. E for consistency.

    Filed under: education, environment, local government, water
    16 Comments

    Poll on liquor stores

    Posted by Trevor Mallard on June 18th, 2010

    Lots of debate in local communities about liquor stores opening all over the place. What do you think?

    We are going to try and get a poll up on Red Alert on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Most will be serious some will be lighter.

    Should local residents have more ability to block liquor stores opening in their neighbourhoods?

    • Yes (72%, 208 Votes)
    • No (28%, 82 Votes)

    Total Voters: 290

    Loading ... Loading ...
    Tags:
    Filed under: #OpenLabourNZ, alcohol and other drugs, law and order, local government
    36 Comments

    You drink first Minister

    Posted by Brendon Burns on June 17th, 2010

    Challenged acting Health Minister Jonathan Coleman in the House this afternoon to drink some water. Big deal? Well it is water from Port Robinson, small community near Cheviot and it ain’t safe to drink, despite being a reticulated supply. 1 in 6 New Zealanders are in the same boat.

    Coleman, filling in for Tony Ryall, had earlier maintained the charade that local bodies are responsible for ensuring safe drinking water supplies, 10 months after Ryall put a stopper on Labour Govt funding to help small communities to improve water supplies; Ryall has also put a three year moratorium on the need for local bodies to meet World Health Organisation minimum guidelines for safe drinking water.

    Challenged to drink a glass of the water, Coleman said only if I did. Well I will – but a week after Coleman sups up. If he doesn’t come down with e-coli, giardia, cryptosporidium or some other nasty lurking in many water supplies, then I’ll down a glass too.

    Game on Jonathan?

    Filed under: environment, local government, water
    19 Comments

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