Unfortunately for him, the urban design function was one of the early casualties of…

Rodney Hide claims the exercise wasn't done to save money (to which Sean Plunkett chokes on his cornflakes). Hide says they are not yet in a position to know how much – which is probably true to some extent,…

manner-cow

My favourite fatted calf is being slaughtered, so that one Orcland will rule them all.

Manukau, and the identity it has generated in the last several decades, is about to regress into "South Auckland", with all that is associated in the psyches of New Zealanders the length and breadth…

as a persons income falls

sacrilege

Most people end up voting the same way as their parents, in my experience.

But now that we all have two votes, that tribalism can be rather fractured, or non-existent. At one family gathering before a recent election, we went around the room and realised that of the eight people…

Most people end up voting the same way as their parents, in my experience. This can range from the mild…

Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase.

That's about as silly as saying Helen Clark is some kind of class traitor — which is very silly indeed. And I've got to admit I was a National voter when I didn't have the proverbial…

Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase.

That transition has been seen to take as little as the time it takes to get a hair cut.

I'm sure this is a joke, with some inside meaning I'm not aware of.

However it would…

Frankly, this is erroneous idiotic dreck.

Certainly doesnt happen in my whanau, nor within the families of my wholly Pakeha cuzzies either-

That transition has been seen to take as little as the time it takes to get a hair cut.

Why aren't these people held liable? did they lie to BRANZ about the suitability of their products?

does the Government/country still own any forests? – perhaps they (and other timber suppliers who profited) could supply the right timber free of charge to sort this, lesson learned, moving on...

Nothing changes an Alliance/Labour voter into a National/Act voter faster than a pay increase.

Have you just discovered the concept of class?

You sound surprised that you defended socialism in front of a room full of probably drunk students receiving interest free student loans, and won?
I'd love you to do the same debate with the same students in 10 years, once they've…

Sofie, that's a more constructive sounding McCarten – and the debate sure sounded like an interesting one to be at.

Matt mightn't get it right all the time, (let's face it nobody is perfect) but y'know, .. a tryer innit. and his heart seems in the right place.
I suspect…

Herne Bay is the new 'winner' with seaside Cremorne St boasting a median of $5.6m. For…

The disgrace over the way this fiasco was handled falls on both Labour and National governments – especially given that Canada had already provided an example of both problem and solution if only our leaders…

Len Brown was then quoted saying he wanted to make sure no builder responsible for the mess profited from the repair work.

Builder??? FFS. When Carters, Feltchers, Hardies and an assortment of developers/finance companies lobbied their mates, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_homes_crisis |…

Not to forget "Paraparam"

Someone of an older generation used that around me the other day, and I was all 'whut?' I suppose we can be glad that I'd never heard it before...

pronounced (incorrectly)

manner-cow

I see Manukau spelt Manakau all the time, including on the tellie. A good example of how something is pronounced (incorrectly) influencing how it is spelt I suppose.

Although at least we don't see Papatoe and Otahu in print :)

Manukau

You all look the same from tastfully renovated inner city Edwardian villas.

I mean, he uses the same boilerplate speech for everything – here is talking about a discarded Trumpet wrapper left on the motorway verge:

“an literring monstrosity”.

“For people coming into the city, it says: ‘Welcome to the aspirational capital of New…

But it fits the narrative of standing up for Auckland against bloody-minded government interference.

It might seem that way if you are an Aaron Bhatnagar who fancies himself as a fiendishly clever Mordor McCully clone, plotting subtle combinations that will undoutably lead to Bankie's re-election and the end of whaling…

Like rail corridors, the govt-owned property in question is outside some standard planning controls – like height in this case, it seems. As the Herald story…

the more I think about the story the thicker the stench of bullshit becomes.

Yeah I agree Craig. Did Banks feel the need to touch base with "the people" once realising his ship might have run aground? I am starting to think it looks like the casino too. Bit of…

the only way any evil ACT-supporting scum are going to notice shit about what happens in Mount Eden Prison is

...if any of the fraudulent feckers who fleeced the elderly through finance companies actually get sent there. Fat chance, I know, especially with toothless wastes of space like our "securities…

That toilet is quite cool, and the success of it has meant that Kawakawa is now starting to talk about reviving the train journey that used to run from there out to the coast.

Just in time for the government and Kiwi Rail to shut all the branch lines!

I do think there is a beautifully timed irony to this situation in leafy Mt Eden

Sofie: Any estate agent who calls Boston Road "leafy Mount Eden" should be done for fraud, and forbidden from selling property to the blind. Seriously, the more I think about the story the thicker…

Seems those who whine loudest about the RMA see fit to invoke it when it suits them. Would they rather have a nuclear reactor built there instead?

Well, I do remember a deliciously snappy observation from Annette King that the Thorndonites bitching about the Cake Tin should remember that plenty…

andin, thanks so much for that! Muito obrigado! I am loving what I read about Curitiba and Lerne

My pleasure.

And I'm reminded of this little gem in leafy Khandallah a couple of years back.

And within minutes of passing it visitors will be exiting the motorway on to Nelson St where they'll drive down a bleak avenue of much more ghastly, jail-like, accommodation blocks.

Yawn... isn't it time for another Herald sob-story about how damn unfair it is that nice white middle-class double-income couples…

And within minutes of passing it visitors will be exiting the motorway on to Nelson St where they'll drive down a bleak avenue of much more ghastly, jail-like, accommodation blocks.

By the time they pass the monolithic SkyCity block, they'll be asking the taxi driver to turn back to the…

Welcome to Auckland.Oh look! a pretty jail.

Ah, yes, it blocks the inspirational view of Auckland Grammar's Californicated kitsch, card yards, and the sprawl of anodyne small office buildings. Don't tell me — there's an election this year, right? :)

The rules are simple: Once you go in, you don't come out.

"Stairway to Heaven." Led Zepp.
"Build it and they will come."Some movie about a baseball park.

I shall pass on your descriptor

Which I absorbed by osmosis some years back, no doubt from a journo or online commenter.

__In 2011, the crime rate in New Zealand rises four hundred percent. The once-great city of Manukau becomes the one maximum-security prison for the entire country. A twenty-metre containment wall is erected along the Mangere Inlet, across the East Tamaki and Manurewa Domains, and down along the Manukau shoreline.…

empty apartments

That picture does look strikingly similar to other parts of the cbd where rampant shoebox building at all costs was the order of the day earlier in the decade. Add some razorwire and guard towers to upper Nelson St and no one would tell the difference.

a man whose professional responsibility it is to have a massive hard-on for anything happening in the vicinity of Newmarket

John Minto teams up with & arms Steve Crows Boobs on Bikes. Culminating in the Storming of Mt Eden.

http://chattahbox.com/images/2009/04/storming_the_bastille.jpg

Prisons need to be where the people are. I'm not alone in advocating for many on the empty apartments to be used for this purpose. The…

Newmarket Business Association chief Cameron Brewer was a lone voice of support for the project. He said the $250 million-plus being spent on upgrading the site "is arguably going to improve the area aesthetically".

"What [the] block rising from the ashes does is clearly remind people travelling through Spaghetti Junction…

Ha! Did you see the lovely new architectural buildiing going up beside spaghetti junction, that adorned the front page of the Herald today. Wonder what colour that will be. my guess is, an enchanting grey like Watford.

It'll look like an office block with glass outer wall. Something that looks…

"For people coming into the city, it says: 'Welcome to the aspirational capital of New Zealand, where you jail people ... and it's great'," he said.

Mr Banks said.

Oh dear.

Where's the colour?

where's our Radiant City when ya need it
or if not Le Corbusier, bring back Hundertwasser
I like that they both liked roof gardens too

There are plenty of 'Jamie Lerners' around

Well we all have the potential lets say..

and a hefty dose of NZ sensibility that says, yeah, that works.

Last seen round these here parts...and influencing govt decisions........
Oh you choose.

(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland? Where's the colour?)

Ha! Did you see the lovely new architectural buildiing going up beside spaghetti junction, that adorned the front page of the Herald today. Wonder what colour that will be. my guess is, an enchanting grey…

(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland? Where's the colour?)

Try these. [Thread Jack]]

StreetArse by Cut Collective.

Wellington Wall Street.

Dunedin Streets.

Guess it's not everybody's thang, but it is often colourful.

(I'm in my 'colour mood: why are all our buildings so bland?…

Like many cities, Curitiba is bordered by floodplain. While wealthier cities in the United States such as New Orleans and Sacramento, have chosen to build expensive, and expensive-to-maintain levee systems to build…

Not quite as strong as 'direct political control', but it indicates concerns over who ends up pulling the strings. Much of what he said made a certain…

How is it that a city in a "developing economy" managed to achieve such far-sighted planning,

It seems to have been one man's vision as far as I can tell.

"That sounds nice, but how would you actually deliver?"

I'm not sure how more concrete you are expecting them to be than for example having monthly meetings with the CCO heads as Brown suggested.

they've actually got to work with the whole council and work within the legislative framework that…

At least some didn't go down that road

Thanks for depressing me. How is it that a city in a "developing economy" managed to achieve such far-sighted planning, with considered appreciation of public transport and other social services, when our "developed economy" is stuck with the mindset of roads, cars,…

The practical solutions Brown mentioned seem pretty standard governance material and hardly controversial.

And practically indistinguishable from what Banks has already said on the subject, to be fair. But while they both rather fond of using the first person singular pronoun an awful lot, they've actually got to work with…

The first inkling of Livingstone vs Thatcher, NZ-style.

Well, I guess I've got to give Brown credit for coming up with some actual policy — but if the story on Morning Report is an indication of things to come. Oy: Brown and Banks can come up with any platitudinous "I…

Yes it does refer to the road reserve, and potentially non-transport activities that council might want to conduct on it. I can't think of too many examples off the top of my head, but I doubt "shared space" would be one…

Joshua, this part might reward further investigation (may refer to road reserve?):

The amendments make it clear that the Auckland Council may continue to act as a…

I can't see that getting much better though, just look at the mismatch between the ARC and the government when it comes to…

Rich, I declare you cant scan your own shout-

all you have to do is add *is*

"Great is meaning/large or immense!We mean it in/the perjorative sense!

And cool! I'd chant that!

Rich, I declare you to be hilarious.

Well, I did 'borrow' it from the Simpsons....

I have…

This land is your land, this land is my land
But we can't set foot on our own Somes Island

Except now, thanks to te tiriti settlements and the removal of the quarantine station, you can.

Also old hippies never sang those songs,…

What we have is more akin to gerrymandering and plutocracy, so neo-feudalism is more accurate, but not quite forceful enough of a word.

So then... voilà!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illiberal_democracy

Think Singapore but…

Thanks Stephen. Not being a Pol Sci guy I've deffered to Wiki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporatism

But even Fascist Corporatism allows (in theory) for various levels of…

I'd prefer you didn't play Humpty Dumpty and found some other more accurate term, or invented one.

Steven Joyce is Humpty Dumpty ;)

I've had a more detailed look through the bill and it would seem as though Auckland Transport and the other CCOs will have to conduct their business…

Square that circle if you dare, folks

I'd need a strong cup of tea

– Local government should be confined to the core activities that produce general public benefits, such as regulation, flood control and roads.

...and art

And if you find that you just can't do it, it's probably better just to leave it there.

Hey, my meatdrive goes all blue screen of death trying to figure out how Barack Obama is single-handedly turning the US into an infanticidal Marxist-Leninist Caliphate. Square that circle if you dare,…

I hate the word "fascist" (small "f", that is) because it means different things to different people. It's just a term of abuse that gets bandied about, and provides…

should we make the effort to find another word?

Yes, we should. What am I supposed to call actual fascists if you keep calling every authoritarian right-winger a fascist?

I'd prefer you didn't play Humpty Dumpty and found some other more accurate term, or invented one.

Actually, what's wrong with…

Fascism does not by definition have to be totalitarian or racist. As much Democracy does not have to be peaceful and not racist.
It's an economic/political system of Government for the Corporation, rather than the People.
I'ld love to hear a thoughtful analysis of what the system of governance is,…

-hey! your bub could grow into 'em!

all you have to do is add *is*

"Great is meaning/large or immense!We mean it in/the perjorative sense!

And cool! I'd chant that!

enrolling Rangitoto College students for rallies down Queen Street in jack boots.

Danielle, finally our time in the sun!

At last! I've been waiting for nearly two decades for my miserable four years at that school to pay off. If only I hadn't sold my steel-toed boots in the mid-90s.…

I'd love to hear a thoughtful analysis of what the system of governance is, if not fascist.

I'm sure that might be interesting for you, but what difference would it make? How will you apply and share that understanding?

I'ld love to hear a thoughtful analysis of what the system of governance is,…

"One, two, three and a bit! Lockwood Smith is full of..."

That was you? You sure left us hanging. Oh, now I get it...
Is it time for a video, so we can all le'go and move on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWs1-2foKoo

Should we adopt and lift fascist out of its European meaning for use here in Aotearoa, or should we make the effort to find another word?

Any other words you feel like adopting and lifting out of their European meanings? How about blue? Or green? Or democracy? Feel free to…

Should we adopt and lift fascist out of its European meaning for use here in Aotearoa, or should we make the effort to find another word?

Fascist doesn't apply just to Italy or even just to Europe. I just mentioned Pinochet. There is a small 'f' fascism, the watered-down colloquial…

Because you come from Italy and you clearly fancy yourself the world expert on the subject?

Not a world expert, no. Knowing more than you, by a long shot. And not because I'm Italian either, simply because you don't know shit.

If both fascism and Hide's neo-liberalism are incompatible with…

That meaning seems to be very particular, definite and ahistorical. The meaning seems not to be able to be applied…

Hah! Why I should I listen to you?

Well, Tom, the reason I'm listening to him is because he's doing whatever the internet equivalent of talking calmly and reasonably is.

As opposed to barking and frothing at the mouth while chewing the carpet.

In short, council would have…

Ye gawds. You mentioned two politicians who couldn't be more different. And what you insist in calling Hide's Fascism is in fact is avowed neoliberalism

Hah! Why I should I listen to you? Because you come from Italy and you clearly fancy yourself the world expert on the subject? The…

Gio, I didn't realise the liberalism, even of the neo variety, extended to deeming democracy and its processes to be an inconvenience that must be subverted, denied, or ignored whenever possible. ie: at all times outside the electoral cycle. Because that's what we're seeing from Rodney.

Liberalism, no. Neoliberalism, yes.

Yes it's a far cry from fascism in the historical sense, but the parallels are there: suspending…

Poverty-inducing-neoliberalism?

Community-destroying-neoliberalism?

Bad-for-everyone-and-the-environment neo-liberalism?

As far as I am concerned, Rodney Hide is "new era" fascist in the Berlusconi mode and he does not believe in the primacy of democracy.

Ye gawds. You mentioned two politicians who couldn't be more different. And what you insist in calling Hide's Fascism is in fact is avowed…

Two! Four! Six! Eight! Rodney's crimes are very great!

Great meaning large or immense! We mean it in the pejorative sense!

Where were you in the mid-90s when I was trying to make up protest chants for students?

(My favourite: "One, two, three and a bit! Lockwood Smith is full…

Hey you one-tenth-of-the-way-to-being-kinda-but-also-kinda-not-necessarily fascist!

Not a very good protest chant is it.

Two! Four! Six! Eight! Rodney's crimes are very great!

Great meaning large or immense! We mean it in the pejorative sense!

One can say that a mouse slightly resembles an elephant in some respects without claiming that they are the same thing, you know.

It's obviously not how the word Fascism was introduced in the conversation. And, more to the point, the mouse (National) resembles an elephant (Fascism) as much as…

Hyperbole, much?

No.

If I might be allowed a whole phrase, I'd say "not big on process."

Not big on legitimate process?

I think this is one of the occasions where English fails us. We need a made up word (the German language makes up compound words to reflect new…

You guys are nuts and need to stop it right away. And quite frankly, the European Commission and lots of left leaning governments are also enthusiastic about running local services through corporate models. This doesn't mean they are freaking Fascists.

I hope you don't mean me, but I suppose you…

Did you notice the contradictions?

__- Local government will be required to shed its commercial activity,

– Roads and piped water will be supplied on a fully commercial basis.

– Local government should be confined to the core activities that produce general public benefits,…

"Dictatorial powers that remove freedom and choice."

LOL. Removing freedom and choice is kinda core to dictatorial powers so that's a nice tautology.

Otherwise perhaps a little simmering down until he (they) start actually running a single party state, espousing Darwinian Elitism or enrolling Rangitoto College students for rallies down Queen Street in jack boots.

Danielle, finally our time in the sun!

So the alternative is? What word exactly covers the general actions of National?

If I might be allowed a whole phrase, I'd say "not big on process." A string of studies, commissions, reports and negotiations have been canned or ignored, while the PM indulges a tendency to make policy by…

- Local government will be required to shed its commercial activity, thereby eliminating the need to separate regulatory and commercial functions between local and regional councils.

– Roads and piped water will…

Otherwise perhaps a little simmering down until he (they) start actually running a single party state, espousing Darwinian Elitism or enrolling Rangitoto College students for rallies down Queen Street in jack…

When people hear the word Fascism (with a capital F) they often think of Hitler's Fascism. Mussolini's Fascism was less focused on 'racial hygiene', and more on the merger of state and corporate interests.

You guys are nuts and need to stop it right away. And quite frankly, the European…

Not a very good protest chant is it.

Nope, but then reality is rarely encapsulated by a slogan. That's one of Progressives' biggest problems, really; always having to argue, "It's complicated.".

To be fair, there are some mild echoes.

Hey you one-tenth-of-the-way-to-being-kinda-but-also-kinda-not-necessarily fascist!

Not a very good protest chant is it.

maybe you could point out how this behaviour by National corresponds to any of the basic tenets of fascism.

To be fair, there are some mild echoes.

For one, the minister for local government clearly intends a move away from democratic representation and towards the city being run by the…

Well, you got me there. I don't know what word that would be. But it's a trick question, right?

In my experience, people who insist we should have one-word descriptions for everything are generally Fascists. (Smiley face.)

So the alternative is? What word exactly covers the general actions of National?

Well, you got me there. I don't know what word that would be. But it's a trick question, right?

But if you insist on using the word fascist, maybe you could point out how this behaviour by…

The two rarely meet in the context of this government. Actions trumps law consistently, and to increasingly to my mind to a degree that means law is merely an afterthought, manipulated and diminished. Put simply, what Rodney et al says, goes and law is…

And the big boys step in to pave the way?

I honestly don't know what the hell you're going on about. Just because "we" own a bloody bank, it doesn't mean the tax-payers inevitably have to get slugged because it wants to expand. But, hey, at some point next year…

don't bother being an informed and active citizen

It's hardly surprising when lack of any tangible impact on decision-making puts people off, no matter how active and informed they have been. Improved transparency has been one of Hide's catchcries and I certainly look forward to seeing that manifested in Auckland's…

Hide sounded odd at the press conference

Thanks for the link Sacha.

Hide – "That's what the people of Auckland wanted", or in other words, "if I don't make some changes, my electorate seat will be changing parties at the next election".

Put simply, what Rodney et al says, goes and law is changed to reflect this.

And the big boys step in to pave the way?

Yesterday, Mr Key said the Government had had discussions with the board of Kiwibank's parent company, New Zealand Post, about a capital injection to expand the…

I really hate it when people use words like fascist (in this case), socialist, communist or nazi as some kind of generic terms for things they don't like.

Those words have specific meanings and there is no definition of fascist that covers whatever National is doing.

So the alternative is?…

Bitching about your rates bill is certainly futile in the face of an anti-democratic government prepared to do what this one has done in Canterbury and Auckland.

*sigh* Yeah — don't vote, don't bother being an informed and active citizen and it's still got nothing to do with you.

Not at all. As I've said ad nauseum

I'm going to have to turn this into a t-shirt: "It's ad nauseAm, bro".

And you've seen how much "involvement" in those processes was offered by those who think it's theirs to withhold. In that clip, Hide…

Hide sounded odd at the press conference. All that "it took me a while to get my head around the changes" stuff. Was he sulking?

I don't think anyone has posted the Herald's brief video snip. Interesting.

That's what I was getting at, yes.

And do I have to start mainsplaining MMP and the difference between a coalition government and the policy platforms of its constituent parties? When the Minister of Local Government is wearing his other hat (leader of the ACT Party) he sure spends a…

Wait, people not engaging in the political process is a reason for crappy central government laws? Parliament is a "well you didn't use it so we're taking it away" body now?

Exactly. Even if one tried to write to Minister Hide with queries regards this bill, there was a standard…

Mr Hide said that when the Government looked at the long-term plans of the existing councils, it took out a lot of spending on things such as information technology.

The Transition Agency is solely responsible for such LTCCP…

"we think the Council shouldn't run certain services on a day-to-day basis" is not the same as "let's structure the COOs for future sale".

True. My understanding is that there have been certain unique design features compared with all other Councils and their trading arms – such as the new…

Once again, do as Rodney says, not as Rodney does.

hahahaha. As I was trying to find the exact quote from Rodney about his mum and libraries (I failed), I encountered the Scoop release where he apologised for his blatant hypocrisy with use of public funds. Clearly I wasn't the…

Whoops.

Once again, do as Rodney says, not as Rodney does.

You're right, but only because there's nothing secret about Rodney's "privatisation agenda" ....No secrets whatsoever, he's on record as saying it and it's Act policy.

That's what I was getting at, yes.

and The Herald laps up that lovely cold sick and asks for seconds:

Headline: "Super City u-turn: People power wins".

We both know the more accurate 'Select Committee does what select committees do' would have been insufficiently hyperbolic and self-aggrandising for The Herald.

From a lecturer in public policy, I…

until the next regional election in Canterbury (and there are no guarantees when that might be).

This clause makes me question a lot of the rest of that Op-Ed piece. It's inaccurate, to the point of outright lying. The law is quite clear on when the next guaranteed election for…

My point is that if you see a "secret privatisation agenda' every time Rodney Hide scratches his arse, you're going to go there.

You're right, but only because there's nothing secret about Rodney's "privatisation agenda". As far as he's concerned, councils exist to provide libraries (but only because he's scared…

The kind of idiot that knew that the original draft would go down like a cup of cold sick. And so thought they could make this change, and then point to it and say "see we listened to you during the consultation process".

and The Herald laps up that lovely…

Whoops.

That's a bit of an understatement. We (i.e. Auckland ratepayers) will have to repay the 70 million government loan by next November?

Excellent. I love the way these millions are just arbitrarily bandied about as if we're all supposed to understand what it is being spent on, who gets…

So Craig, I think there is a case to argue that the separation of COOs from operational Council control was designed rather than some sort of unintentional consequence of dysfunctional relationship between local and central government.

Not quite what I was getting at, Paul, but fair point well made. I…

... but it's hard to see how you'd write a bill that so comprehensively removed those services from the public sphere unless that's how you wanted it to be.

I think that's a good point. The reforms are clearly designed to remove daily local democratic control of (or "interference in"…

All that — but it's hard to see how you'd write a bill that so comprehensively removed those services from the public sphere unless that's how you wanted it to be.

Well, I'll follow Gio's excellent example and spare everyone a not so wee rant about the "consultation" rounds I've…

Those words have specific meanings and there is no definition of fascist that covers whatever National is doing.

Thank you. Saved me a wee rant.

The kind of idiot that knew that the original draft would go down like a cup of cold sick. And so thought they could make this change, and then point to it and say "see we listened to you during the consultation process".

Yep. They present a huge, steaming turd.…

There seems to be a right wing (following a fascist policy) lobby in the Nats.

I really hate it when people use words like fascist (in this case), socialist, communist or nazi as some kind of generic terms for things they don't like.

Those words have specific meanings and there…

Whoops.

There seems to be a right wing (following a fascist policy) lobby in the Nats ... Collins is following the lead of Labour, I'm waiting for a tour of Gitmo for best practice to be implimented in NZ.

That all is going out on a limb, and then…

It's also not going out on a limb to say, as I did last Sunday, that the whole process has been a self-inflicted farce but it might just have more to do with some pretty dysfunctional relationships between central and local government

All that — but it's hard to see…

There seems to be a right wing (following a fascist policy) lobby in the Nats.
Brownlee, Carter, Hide (if he doesn't go Blue at the end of the election he's lost), & Smith.

Te Heuheu, just seems to have no policy at all, beyond rewards for attending the…

And I hardly think it's going out on a limb to suppose that the leader of the Act Party might envision a privatisation path in his pet local government bill.

It's also not going out on a limb to say, as I did last Sunday, that the whole process has…

It's great we're getting passionate, because this stuff matters more than most people seem to realise so far. I am heartened by Joshua's comments because I respect his thorough and consistent engagement with this.

I'm still quite skeptical of the whole Transport CCO idea, not because it won't have any…

And Sofie, there's no transition agency for the area north of Rodney. Yet.

Ok, yet, is what I thought and still think is strange. I'm talking far north people doing far north stuff. The sheer mention pricked my ears.

Bullshit, Russell — sounds more like a ridiculous level of central government paranoia that shouldn't have been indulged,

It's not bullshit, Craig. It's my opinion.

And I hardly think it's going out on a limb to suppose that the leader of the Act Party might envision a privatisation path in…

I agree with Graeme that the Royal Commission's recommendations were not all golden – most notably…

Could someone tell me how a detailed enough Statement of Intent would not form a suitable democratic control over the behaviour of a CCO?

For the simple reason that words on paper mean diddly squat when it comes to action, and even more so when…

but it's still really up in the air...

I think it is as simple as, their way or the highway. The concept or dream is/has been there for years. This government gives a bit, takes a lot, probably cos it's their turn. There really is no surprises.I really think they…

But I'm with Sacha. The way the CCOs were set up has been weird and unacceptable, and it can only really be read as a prelude to privatisation.

Bullshit, Russell — sounds more like a ridiculous level of central government paranoia that shouldn't have been indulged, even though what passes…

The Royal commission's findings – which were arrived at after a thorough and open process – all seemed very sensible and workable, with the only omission a recommendation on STV or other proportional voting system.

This is simply false. A number of the Royal Commission's recommendations were [trying to think…

Some effort seems to have been made to give the local boards a bit more power, but it's still really…