Subscribe to RSSTransport Body’s Secret Powers Must Not Be Allowed
The government decision to let the forthcoming all-powerful supercity Auckland transport authority operate in total secrecy is a disgrace.
We must fight it.
Transport Auckland, which takes over every minor and major decision involving transport in our lives (even where bus stops are located) by the new legislation, is not required to tell anyone what’s doing and deciding, at least not until after the event when it’s too late.
That means we literally will wake up one day and find changes in our transport lives about which we had no say and no prior knowledge.
This is an age of open democracy, thanks in part to the internet and local bodies are making far more of their decision – making transparent.
The official reason why not even the new transport authority’s agendas will be available so we can read in advance or later what the council decides is given as being the bureaucratic administrative work involved in making them available. And the public – that’s you – can’t attend any meetings to find out what’s happening.
That’s plainly absurd. Even little councils around the country are putting such information online. It’s easy to do. This super – city mega-body will be a bureaucracy and after all, you and I will be paying both the salaries of the business people running it and paying for the millions being spent on the projects. That all comes from our pockets.
But the truth as we know is that it’s because the all-powerful council wants to hide what it’s working on.
ARC’s Mike Lee is spot on when he suggests the secrecy behind the hasty removal of the Newmarket West train station at Christmas without any public debate is a sign of what’s ahead.
Presently, there are far too many cooks in the kitchen when it comes to Auckland transport policy. Creating a separate entity makes sense. But not one that can operate in total secrecy.
A private company can make boardroom decisions to which only shareholders need to be informed. This is a public body that will be in charge of half the Auckland super-city rating revenue.
You will no longer be able to call your councillor about transport issues be it a cycle lane or bus stop location.
The council will tell you it’s a transport authority matter now.
This cone of secrecy must not be allowed to happen.
EARLIER; Auckland City Council has concerns
17 Comments
Well it’s obvious that this is because Joyce wants to be able to dicate what he thinks Auckland’s transport direction should be. Without opposition like he has encountered recently from the ARC. I agree this needs to be fought, however i fear it’s going to happen anyway.
What can we do about this? How do we fight? When Rodney district presented a petition to the government asking not to be included in the supercity, Rodney Hide told them to f*ck off as it was a done deal.
Don’t we get to vote on this? Apparently a vote for National/ACT was a vote against democracy in the Auckland region.
Bad news. Bus routes will disappear, tenders be decided on without notice/input by residents.
Transport Minister in September: “Councillors won’t have time to micromanage every aspect of transport … this is a whole new league in terms of … size,”(NZ Herald)
Councillors should spend a fair bit of time on transport issues – they affect residents in a big and increasing way.
Make submissions here: “http://bit.ly/9irXh5″
The above is a shortcut address to New Zealand parliamen’s website. You then enter the text displayed at the bottom, and click on “online submission”. Easy.
It is enough if you simply give your name and address, and state that you oppose that Auckland Transport is not required to hold public meetings or publish agendas.
The matter is public enough now (even if it is rather late!) that they won’t need you to cite clauses or parts of the bill just to have them understand what you are saying.
Could someone post that link again? I’ll have my say not that i think it will do much good.
Submissions close today,I would have made one, had I known how the transport body was going to operae
http://bit.ly/9irXh5
there it is @Cambennett
chuck one in @Harry, @ingolfson explained pretty well whats involved. Hopefully closing today means 5pm or something – worth a try even so.
Make your submission here: http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/SC/MakeSub/6/3/a/49SCAGL_SCF_00DBHOH_BILL9729_1-Local-Government-Auckland-Law-Reform.htm
As submissions close tonight it is important you have your say! This shouldn’t be happening
That little gnome that is Rodney Hide needs to be hung, drawn and quartered. I had notice the little man had gone very quite.
Shame it won’t let me put through a submission against this. What a sham, how long has the submission web page been there?
This is a very very dangerous part of this Bill. A lot of the information that Jon and I write blog posts about come from agendas for various transport committees around Auckland.
Without that raw material, there’s going to be so much less known about what’s going on in the transport world. Pretty disgraceful I agree.
It’s good sometimes just to allow people to get things done for a change! ‘Democracy’ in NZ is nothing more than letting the whingers block everything and hold the city back…
“Shame it won’t let me put through a submission against this. What a sham, how long has the submission web page been there?”
It may have closed at 5pm – sometimes that is the limit on the day.
It presumably has been there for quite a while. Definitely for two weeks or more.
Thanks to everyone for their support and those who managed to get a submission in in time.
We have now made this an election issue so congratulations! http://www.aktnz.co.nz/2010/02/14/manukau-mayor-len-brown-promises-to-dump-auckland-transport-directors-end-secrecy/
@jarbury I’m not at all worried about the impact on this blog. I do a lot of original content including photos, attend meetings myself and have my own sources. This is not about me or my blog but about open government and the rights of all Aucklanders to be able to attend meetings and have a say or have full access to what’s going on.
Agree @Jon C. reproducing other people’s work in full and calling it a post isn’t that original. Many of us appreciate the work that must go into providing fresh balanced and original coverage – thanks.