Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Bringing an order Auckland just might not want

Sacha

Sat, 31 Oct 2015 19:34:11 +1300

http://www.donotlink.com/h753 – Slatter undermines Kaye's posse as expected, including bitching thusly:

Former National List MP Arthur Anae is rumoured to have been approached but has turned them down on the grounds he would not look good sharing a ticket with a woman who has had so much plastic surgery she…

Sacha

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 19:13:32 +1300

Nats play coy about Council, says Brian Rudman.

If Mr Goodfellow and his backroom plotters want to rule Auckland, then for goodness' sake, come out of the closet and present a National-labelled ticket and policy. Who knows, it might encourage Labour and the Greens to present as a team and do…

Steve Barnes

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 17:55:51 +1300

Spotted somewhere in Parnell.

I call photoshop... ;-)

Kumara Republic

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 15:57:37 +1300

Spotted somewhere in Parnell.

And that vehicle is…
A GTF-00A, It rides the Roads of Nationals Significunts to the bounteous nether regions of Aotearoa with a rapidity only exceeded by the growth of the National debt.
The GTF-00A,
got the fuck out of Auckland..

Steve Barnes

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:14:06 +1300

And the fact that Bill Ralston – named by The Standard as a likely starter – has chosen to stand as an independent candidate isn’t a great omen either.
Isn’t that the name you use when you call prominent right wingers “Arseholes”?
Or is that KeyHoles?.

a vehicle for National…

Kumara Republic

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:13:19 +1300

Come on Russell, you already know the answer to that – repeat after me – lower rates, user pays, privatisation, business friendly.

The usual suspects will support user pays with a passion. That is, until a budding entrepreneur sets up a toll booth on Remuera Rd or the Auckland Harbour…

Tom Semmens

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:06:00 +1300

I wonder if National has realized what a blunder the super city was for them...

Central government in Wellington has not exactly covered itself in glory with it's thrashing around trying to work out what to do about the beast of the north. Generally speaking, I think what the authoritarian…

Andre

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 11:05:50 +1300

I'd love to see the rates graph compared to one showing house price increases. Rates are almost the only universal wealth tax levied in NZ, long may they soar.

Bart Janssen

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 10:03:26 +1300

As of Monday, only 7.3% of eligible voters had returned voting papers in Auckland Energy Consumer Trust (AECT) election

I found the letter sent by C&R quite helpful in eliminating choices. It became pretty easy to identify those who just wanted higher prices and a bigger dividend compared to those who…

Bart Janssen

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 09:59:35 +1300

fevered Paul Henry

redundant

BenWilson

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 09:28:03 +1300

I wonder if National has realized what a blunder the super city was for them, and thinks its only stands a chance of getting a right wing candidate in is if they can rebrand themselves as "not the National Party". After a strong run in which it's patently clear that…

Sofie Bribiesca

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 09:14:50 +1300

Let’s see if this is a return of Luigi Wewege as this older article notes from Herald, he’s back.

He already has his fingers in many pies

Russell Brown

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 08:55:59 +1300

This Stu Donovan post on TransportBlog examines the claim in a fevered Paul Henry editorial that Auckland rates are “out of control” – which is also, of course, the animating concept of Auckland Future.

He determines that, however you dice it, Auckland super city rates have risen less against baseline…

Luke Williamson

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 08:32:01 +1300

Come on Russell, you already know the answer to that – repeat after me – lower rates, user pays, privatisation, business friendly.

william blake

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 22:59:06 +1300

Simon Wilson postulates that "if National could have found a suitable (mayoral) candidate they would have by now", I thought they had, in the form of Neo lib Phil Goff.

Sacha

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:22:08 +1300

From Metro Mag

Great piece by Simon Wilson there, thanks. Nails the conclusion too:

Does Auckland Future want to run Auckland because, as with National running the country, they believe they are better at it? Or do they want power because they want to change the direction we’re heading in…

Sacha

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:01:04 +1300

'Centre Right'

a key win in the right's control of framing since about 2006.

Sacha

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 17:57:17 +1300

a vehicle for National

Their leader tells RNZ Checkpoint that's not what they are.

linger

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:45:14 +1300

Centre Right' [...] tends to mean rabidly neoliberal= Scent of Fright.

Simon Bennett

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:30:39 +1300

The use of 'Centre Right' is interesting. In today's newspeak this tends to mean rabidly neoliberal.

Ian Dalziel

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 16:20:23 +1300

Do-Re-Mi...
Future Auckland
FA
(...a long long way to run)
and what are they gonna do?
I can see their slogan now:
"What are we good for? F.A. ..."
sweet F.A.
;- )

George Darroch

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:48:13 +1300

I found it bizarre that the Herald spent a whole editorial castigating Akl Council

I find it fairly normal. The Herald have had a vendetta against the Council ever since the first elections produced a centrist-left majority of Councillors and Mayor.

Negative editorials are as reliable as the rain.

Julie Fairey

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:30:18 +1300

It's been interesting to observe when the ideological leanings are clearly expressed by those in the centre-right groups on Governing Body – Denise Krum for example delivered a really full on anti-Living Wage speech but is generally considered quite moderate. (Linda Cooper of course pledged pre election to support it…

Russell Brown

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:28:37 +1300

Seems Simon also thinks the same as I do that the looser group of pragmatists from Council (both Left and Right) often rally around Deputy Mayor Hulse.

And as he points, apart from being a vehicle for National (one potentially at war with the established vehicle for National), what exactly…

George Darroch

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:28:21 +1300

It's a very strange situation. I worked with councillors on a policy recently, and they were being pushed around by their CEO and senior officers. Policy that the officers didn't like was undermined by the vague threat of "legal action", despite similar such policy being well established elsewhere. Arguably it…

bob daktari

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:26:34 +1300

I wonder what their berm policy is #bigtings

Ben Ross

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 15:16:21 +1300

From Metro Mag

There are no caucuses. There’s a small right-leaning grouping led by Dick Quax, who is in the Act Party, not National, but it doesn’t include several high-profile National Party people, like Christine Fletcher and Cameron Brewer. There is a looser but larger grouping centred on deputy mayor…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:48:47 +1300

The roles of (senior) officers and councillors seem to have reversed in Wellington. The CEO and his mates drive policy, and our ex-Green mayor fronts for it. Actually standing up for the policies she was voted in on (not building motorways, white elephant runways and other pork for the construction…

Sacha

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:42:22 +1300

I've suggested to Greg Presland that he take a complaint to the Electoral Commission.

heh. brilliant

George Darroch

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:03:03 +1300

Meanwhile, in Wellington the current arrangement is playing out in interesting ways. The green (formerly Green) Mayor and her centrist (quietly Labour) deputy are being challenged by a National contender and a Labour deputy-contender, and the reasonably workable Council in the middle is a mixture of egos, policies, friendships, and…

BenWilson

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:50:53 +1300

Kaye, Michelle Boag and others were frustrated that there is “not a coherent left-right divide that you see in central government” and that councillors vote on issues.

It's like they found the only good thing about local government and decided it had to go.

BenWilson

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:48:28 +1300

C&R president Karen Sherry, when asked if C&R could merge with Auckland Future, said “that’s a discussion that needs to be had” but added “sometimes competition can be healthy”.

LOL, genius. Hoist by their own petards!!

George Darroch

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:24:26 +1300

"Future Auckland" also have a problem, as their name is quite similar to the longstanding (two electoral cycles) and successful Labour-Green-independent grouping called Future West.

I've suggested to Greg Presland that he take a complaint to the Electoral Commission. The names are sufficiently similar that a voter could easily be…

Russell Brown

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:15:24 +1300

We can now all get the popcorn, because you can guarantee that the Tea Party faction of the Auckland National party (Slater/Brewer/Quax/Collins) will regard the NINA (National In Name Only) Future ticket as their true sworn enemies.

Yep, I think the Slater rage has already begun. As it was always…

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:11:12 +1300

It's all because of the undemocratic FPP voting system. (even though if the right are split, that will leave a gap for the left to dominate).

Councils should have:
– fair voting, which would allow individual parties to run under their established identities (and that nutjob candidates like Quax would…

Julian Melville

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:59:12 +1300

Maybe they should change the name to the "Some of the Southern Bits of Auckland Energy Trust". Auckland's a bit bigger these days and I've never even heard of the Trust.

Jolisa

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:48:33 +1300

Last minute voting details (from an email from CityVision). Looks like you can drop off papers in person till Friday 5pm at 198 Federal St. And if you didn't get voting papers, you can phone and organise a special vote.

All power account holders in the AECT district covering the…

Tom Semmens

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:42:05 +1300

Kumara Republic

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:41:28 +1300

I'm not the only one to suspect that Future Auckland's biggest effect would be to do a Ross Perot on C&R.

Sacha

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:34:52 +1300

They would have to canvass donors to find out what to think.

fixed :)

Russell Brown

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:33:42 +1300

The Isthmus and east (Fletcher notwithstanding apart from the Unitary Plan) are more driven by ideology and wonder why they get frustrated around the Governing Body.

That, sir, is an interesting observation.

Ianmac

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:27:05 +1300

And the most interesting part is who's not in the tent.
Perhaps risk averse conservatives might wait and see and if it looks safe and secure, more might come forward.
Be awful to have Central Government MPs voting issue by issue. They would have to canvass the electors to find…

Ben Ross

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:19:55 +1300

" Kaye, Michelle Boag and others were frustrated that there is "not a coherent left-right divide that you see in central government" and that councillors vote on issues. "

And that is why Future Auckland or whatever they are called are doomed to fail from the outset.

The South and…

EliotBlennerhassett

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:16:58 +1300

Why does the National Party even need to stand candidates in a local body election? If the elected councillors don't do the "right" thing, they can be replaced by commissioners who will, or overruled by a minister with extraordinary powers. That's how "democracy" works round here anyway.

Public Address

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 12:16:58 +1300

Discussion from blog post.