Subscribe to RSSAuckland Stays The Same?
The signs are that there won’t be much major change to the Auckland super-city legislation when the parliamentary select committee, which heard submissions, reports back on Monday.
MP David Clendon, who knows what has been decided, blogs today:
“I am bound by the confidentiality of the committee process, but suffice to say I’m not planning to crack open the bubbly to celebrate the overall outcome.”
This matches with what Economics writer Ric Oram wrote in last weekend’s Sunday Star-Times. He said there would be only minor changes.
“To show it has listened to voter concerns about council-controlled organisations, it will announce some minor improvements in the Auckland Council’s powers to set strategy for the CCOs and to exercise oversight of them.”
legislation champion Rodney Hide isn’t worried.
He told parliament yesterday:
“I think that a lot of the concerns that Aucklanders have expressed have been heard loudly and clearly by the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee when hearing submissions, and I think that Aucklanders will be pleased with the results of the select committee’s deliberations, which will be announced on Monday.”
I hope he is right.
Personally, nothing short of public accountability for Auckland Transport will satisfy along with council taking over involvement in community matters such as the siting of bus stops.
It would be surprising to see the government ignoring the deafening opposition to the secrecy of the CCOs and risk seeing in November the election of a left-leaning Auckland mayor and super-council, let along risk the wrath of Auckland voters a year out from its own general election.
Auckland's future is in the government's hands
The mining issue has been as badly handled by the government as the Auckland issue which has been badly sold by ministers Hide and Joyce who have come across as not listening and pig-headed in doing what they what to regardless.
The Greens are crowing today at the results just in of a ShapeNZ poll, commissioned by the Business Council for Sustainable Development, (BCSD).
It reveals that a majority of New Zealanders are opposed to the idea of mining our highest-value conservation land, currently protected under Schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act. This majority grows whenever specific areas are mentioned.
Greens co-leader Metiria Turei pointed out that membership of the BCDS includes the BNZ and HSBC banks so can’t be dismissed as leftish.
“It is time that John Key’s Government swallowed the dead rat that is Schedule 4 mining, and re-affirms the cross-party consensus that created Schedule 4 in the first place,” Mrs Turei said.
So despite this afternoon’s Budget tax changes, balanced by GST increases, the government will be bold but stupid to bring the Auckland bill back with just minor tweaking.
They seemed to have forgotten that in politics, perception is everything and the perception of arrogance and being out of touch with voters drowned the Labour party at the last election..
1 Comments
I don’t think Clendon would be happy unless the new Supercity was formed as the Union of Auckland Socialist Councils…
I hope they listen…… for their sake……