by Sue Kedgley
John Banks, in a revealing early morning interview with Ewing Stevens Wednesday on Radio Live, enthused about the Auckland Super City, and his ambitions to be the first Mayor.
He confided that he already had a campaign team of 600 in place, and confirmed the campaign would be very expensive, as it would cost $130,000 just to send one letter to the 800,00 voters in Auckland.
It’s no wonder John Banks is rubbing his hands with joy, and investing big money and resources into winning the Auckland mayoralty. There is a lot at stake here.
Especially as he knows that Rodney Hide has delivered a piece of legislation which would enable him to become a sort of Tsar of Auckland, and to unleash his right-wing agenda on unsuspecting Aucklanders, without being blocked by pesky opponents on Council.
The bill gives the future Mayor of Auckland powers that no other Mayor in New Zealand has. The Mayor will be able to appoint his deputy Mayor and all of the chairs of committees. He can even appoint himself as chair of any committee. These powers will give him and his inner cabal control over the votes, and therefore the agenda, of the future Auckland council.
The Mayor will also draw up the budget, the Council strategy and the annual and long-term plans, and decide when and if the council will bother to consult with Aucklanders.
He will also have control over the 20-30 local boards, which will be even smaller in size (4-9 members) than existing community boards but with slightly increased powers.
Associate Minister of Local Government, John Carter, kept claiming during the debate on the bill, that the local boards would be fully empowered, under the legislation, and would become effective voices of their local communities. But its hard to work out how they will be empowered to do much at all, when they have no staff of their own, no autonomy, no independent source of finance, no ability to deliver services, and no representation on the Auckland Council, which will control the budget and resources. Despite Mr Carter’s claims, the reality is that the local boards will be totally beholden to and subservient to the council (called the governing body).
And the Council has powers to veto just about any decision a local board would make.
So Aucklanders, be warned. There is a right wing agenda behind the Local Government (Auckland Council) bill, which was, after all, masterminded by Rodney Hide, whose party has a stated agenda of seeking to privatise local government assets and to reduce local government democracy – just look on the ACT website, if you don’t believe me.
This is especially concerning when you realise that the Mayor of Auckland could be elected by as little as 20% of Aucklanders. (Only 40% of people vote in local Council elections, so a Mayor would need only 20% of votes or less to be elected, under the first past the post voting system). The Green party tried to get the bill amended, so that the Mayor and Councillors are elected by STV.
But Rodney Hide, who has publicly stated on numerous occasions his support for STV, voted against it, and thereby ensured its defeat. This is astonishingly hypocritical, especially since Rodney Hide has justified his implacable opposition to having Maori seats on Council, by claiming his ardent support for STV instead.
Published in Justice & Democracy | Parliament | THE GAME by Sue Kedgley on Fri, September 18th, 2009
More posts by Sue Kedgley | more about Sue Kedgley
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
I must remind Aucklanders what Banks did before he got voted out before the Hubbard era. He kicked old age pensioners out of their council homes and sold them off!!!!!!!
And he calls himself a christian. He is only a mayor because a minority of Aucklanders voted and now they have had this supercity foisted upon them.
As for Rodney Hide saying it is more what Dr. Jeckle is doing!!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
Hubbard was only a mayor because a minority of Aucklanders voted too. Indeed, half of the MPs are too.
Of course Labour would have created a super city as well, so tweedledum tweedledee, politicians wanting to meddle and force people to pay for the privilege. Sue of course never came remotely close to being Mayor in Wellington.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
I think the issue here is population growth (mainly) due to migration. We live in a world where people can move about relatively freely and seek a city with cheaper real estate than the home country and a better lifestyle. The private contracts between buyers and sellers leave out existing residents who may like the place just as it is, but nevertheless have to suffer change as rates,traffic, and density increases around them. The beneficiaries make a bomb out of it all and can live wherever they like.
The left is as guilty for letting it happen as the right.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)