Hard News: We need to talk about Len
205 Responses
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There’s only a million other ones online
Can't do them in the lunch room.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Quacking like Donald Dick, presumably?
In a strait-laced Dutch Reformed kind of way, probably.
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My wife and I stayed at the Langham last year…and we got a free upgrade to the Presidential Suite. I’ll do my best to get them a good deal on dental practice management software when the time comes.
As for Len Brown….he’s become something of a Bill Clinton figure. Obviously talented. Obviously flawed. It becomes a calculation of sorts: Do we balance the risks of his flaws against the benefits of his intended programs and try to come to some kind of conclusion? Or do we assume there is some other leader in waiting who will promote the same agenda and ask Len to make way for that person by resigning and having an election? If we have an election now, won’t the Right buy it, aided by an NZ Herald deeply in love with business interests? If that were to be the case, we would probably lose the Central Rail Link, Watercare may be privatised and the low-density sprawl to the horizon will continue unabated….and so on.
With all that in the balance….I hope Len enjoyed his stays at the hotels. Would I vote for him again? Maybe…if the only alternative was a Palino-like proxy for the robber barons who would pillage Aucklanders.
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BenWilson, in reply to
Or do we assume there is some other leader in waiting who will promote the same agenda and ask Len to make way for that person by resigning and having an election?
What, another one? He just caned everyone in one, like weeks ago.
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Bart Janssen, in reply to
NZ Herald deeply in love with business interests
"deeply corrupted by" is my guess
The whole response to a fair and democratic election has been for The Herald and The Right to throw an enormous tantrum, screaming and crying so loudly that they might just get their way and we might lose a mayor who has achieved much good for this city ...
Every Aucklander should be ashamed of the way their representatives have tossed aside democracy for personal political gain.
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" Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse expressed sadness at the impact Brown's affair had had on the Auckland "reputation that we have worked so hard to build".
What a disgusting hypocrite. She could have cut through the smear campaign in a second but she chose to use it to gain political capital.
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Chris Waugh, in reply to
“reputation that we have worked so hard to build”.
Actually, Auckland's reputation has been boosted in my mind - boosted, I should make clear, by all you intelligent, reasonable, engaged people who live there. It's that petty excuse for a City Council you lot have to suffer under I've lost respect for. I mean, they can't even do corruption or abuse of political process properly.
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Orsman thinks it bizarre that Brown is not dragged through the street and lynched in the Herald approved manner as usually befits someone that receives upgrades.
15-5 Bernard. What I want to know is how did Dick Quax know about the report before it was released?
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"Labour MP Shane Jones said there was no future for Mr Brown in public life after this, and he had to decide whether to leave now or later."
*facepalm*
Of all the people ffs
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Gareth Ward, in reply to
If anything will save @mayorlenbrown, it’ll be his opponents behaving like malignant guttersnipe
Who would have thought a Council Meeting censuring a mayor for affairs and failures of disclosure would have left said-Mayor far from the least-respected member of that body?
The guttersnipe (primarily the usual Auckland CR suspects and the Herald) have been so OTT and shotgun in their condemnation that the Mayor has escaped answering the handful of relevant questions - primarily why did the Hilton give him all personal stays gratis, SkyCity almost half, why he thought disclosure wasn't necessary, and what involvement he's had with any Council business affecting them? All the upgrade/text message/where-his-car-went crap is insignificant distraction that has allowed him to avoid those questions...
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
All the upgrade/text message/where-his-car-went crap is insignificant distraction that has allowed him to avoid those questions…
Oh, you mean the questions a goodly proportion of Councillors don't want asked of anyone, least of all themselves?
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Rob Stowell, in reply to
the Mayor has escaped answering the handful of relevant questions – primarily why did the Hilton give him all personal stays gratis, SkyCity almost half, why he thought disclosure wasn’t necessary, and what involvement he’s had with any Council business affecting them? All the upgrade/text message/where-his-car-went crap is insignificant distraction that has allowed him to avoid those questions…
Spot on. So much ranting- and obviously false or misleading attacks and insinuations- that real matters of substance just wash away with all the mud.
Many reputations have suffered. The Herald, various councillors, the Slater/Cook/Weweegee nexus, plus the mayor and his office. It's been lose-lose so far. -
SteveH, in reply to
why did the Hilton give him all personal stays gratis, SkyCity almost half, why he thought disclosure wasn’t necessary
The most likely answer to the first question is that he stayed at the Stamford 57 times in 3 years and the others want that business. Of course only the hotels in question can tell us for sure. Unless he was going to admit to actual corruption all he can say is "I don't know".
The second question should definitely have been asked. I suspect the answer to that is that he just didn't think of it. If I was Mayor I'm not sure I would have thought to declare free upgrades (the free accommodation should clearly have been declared however) . But if that's an offence he should resign for then the rest of the council will have to step down as well as Richard Northey was the only one who declared a gift in 2012 (in fact the only one who appears to have filled in the form seriously at all). One of the councillors made this point during the censure debate: the EY report has opened all of their eyes as to just what they should be putting in that declaration.
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Craig, simple coincidence I'm sure :/
The lose-lose you mention Rob is what pisses me off the most - act with complete disrepute then claim horror that the mayor has bought disrepute to the Council...
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
No confidence motion fails
On the very reasonable grounds that there's no point voting on something outside the powers of the councillors.
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If the PR person commentating on the Panel is the partner of the person who gave paid PR advice to the Mayor's political opponent a couple of elections ago, should that conflict have been declared? Or is it not a conflict at all? It is all getting very murky in Auckland.
Jim Mora just said we need to relearn what ethics are. I'm all for a national conversation on ethics, especially in politics and business.
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
Maybe having journalism done by journalist and politics by politicians, rather than the current situation where it's seen as fine for politicians who's views align with the channel owners (faux 'Labour' to right-of-National) to have radio shows.
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david kinniburgh, in reply to
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! Quacking like Donald Dick, presumably?
In a strait-laced Dutch Reformed kind of way, probably.One dutchman a religion, two dutchmen a church, three dutchmen a crucifxion
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I've just be listening to the audio of my elected councillor Quax. Such outrage. Such indignation. Such vehemence. Must be exhausting. He'll have to go back and review all the sordid dripping details provided by Team Slater (tm) to refresh his condemnation batteries. Probably again and again and again. And there will be that dreadful sneaking thought that creeps in at 4 am - maybe, just maybe the scoundrel enjoyed himself :-(
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Not sure whether this will post properly - shared several times on Facebook today. Very clever mock up of front page of NZ Herald featuring proposed new mayor.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Not sure whether this will post properly – shared several times on Facebook today. Very clever mock up of front page of NZ Herald featuring proposed new mayor.
Try Twitter instead. Works for me.
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david kinniburgh, in reply to
Very clever mock up of front page of NZ Herald featuring proposed new mayor.
And here's advice for the current mayor on how to deal with his tormentor (dated Nov 1970)
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mark taslov, in reply to
Sorry to barge in, I’m not a nice person
Yes you are, you are a good sort, a good sort of the best ilk, you're a very passionate advocate of noble and entirely human ideals, keyword is passionate at the mo, but you can't fool me with your renegade fighter getup, You remain both beautifully sensitive and highly intelligent to these eyes.
I've personally been in a situation where someone anonymously (via a friend's MSN) explicitly incited me to commit suicide over a three hour period, It never even occurred to me that something like that could be illegal, I wouldn't wish it on anyone, so thanks for the heads up. And yes, you are absolutely right that this is horrendous behaviour.
That being said:
"Boycott The Herald!"
In the same week as Russell is running a five day video series with the Herald. In the same week that he is stoking the fires of conversation on this Len Brown issue at 7am with daily links to their website, you know, posting that here was always going to be problematic and against the tide.
But still, I love you kracklite, and I don't even know who you are.
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