Hard News: The standing-still sweep
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And on the plus side, at least you're guaranteed material for the next three years.
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jb,
Every country gets the government it deserves - Aristotle
Observing from a safe distance, I'm amazed by the gullibility of the Auckland voters.
John Banks?
AGAIN?
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Bank's has already begun, with his carry on over the Eden Park upgrade looking like part of a plan to paint himself the hero of the grey power ratepayers of the western suburbs, with an eye on the mayoralty of any super-city that will come from local government reform.
Anyway, with Bob Harvey getting things off to a good start by saying Bank's election has set Auckland city back 20 years and with the formidable operator Mike Lee back at the ARC along with a strongly Labour aligned mayor in Manakau it looks like just when Auckland is desperately in need of seriously good leadership we are going to get a full blown three years of trench warfare in the Balkans of Auckland local governance, with everyone looking to be in a position to seize control of super-Auckland.
Anyone know anything about the new guy on the shore? As far as I can tell he's been elected on a traditional do nothing and keep the rates down platform, but I don't really know.
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I happened to be listening to Salmonella Dub's John Banks track from this album about 5 minutes before I read Russel's sad post. Spooky.
Looks like it shall become topical/useful for the third time.
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I heard Banks on Radio Sport this morning.
Seriously, Auckland, what the f*ck were you thinking?! -
I'm kinda glad (in a selfish way) that Andrew Williams won on the North Shore. Now I won't have 747s overhead every 5 minutes landing at Whenuapai. I just hope it's not a pact with the Devil though.
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He was on the Rock as well. Something about a whole new paradigm, and not coughing up for Eden park, cause the govt volunteered for the RWC, so Auckland ratepayers shouldn't have to foot the bill.
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He was on the Rock as well. Something about a whole new paradigm, and not coughing up for Eden park, cause the govt volunteered for the RWC, so Auckland ratepayers shouldn't have to foot the bill.
And then he said on Morning Report, in response to a question, that he might reconsider if the city got some equity in the park, which is actually quite a different position.
I strongly suspect that the discussions so far have already covered the idea of such a quid pro quo for both local and national governments, but Banks hasn't bothered to find out before sounding off.
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The SST said it didn't believe that this was a symbolic swing to the Right and this wasn't some portent of National Doom to come...
Is it a swing to the bigots though?
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Seems to me that we already have planes overhead on the north shore, except because they're military they fly in at weird hours of the night. The other week we had helicopters practicing some sort of unannounced night landings in the local school after 11pm.
In comparison, 747's into Whenuapai would be fine by me if it meant we could get to an airport quicker than the ridiculous amount of time it takes now.
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The SST said it didn't believe that this was a symbolic swing to the Right and this wasn't some portent of National Doom to come...
Is it a swing to the bigots though?
I think a swing usually implies votes swinging from one side to the other, and the numbers above clearly show that hasn't happened.
I think the most useful lesson for Labour might be that a low turnout won't be good for them.
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Inspired by Eating Media Lunch's superb interruption of Christine Rankin's minute silence - I think that all Aucklanders should have a minute's silence (and a big intake of breath) to compose ourselves for a term with John Banks (and Cameron Brewer) and Christine Rankin in the ARC...
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I think the most useful lesson for Labour might be that a low turnout won't be good for them.
I think they figured that out before the last election. Their key strategy, remember, was pumping the vote in key Auckland constituencies, and making sure their voters made it to the polls. And as strategies go, i think its one we should encourage, no matter who does it.
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Standing still is right.
Another three years of treading water, or worse - running the city based on some 1960s ideals, where the automobile is king.
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That North Shore voters delivered Christine Rankin as their top-polling ARC candidate is a testament to the advantage of celebrity in municipal contests.
mind you, john and willie didn't make it, and celebrity was all they had.
and as for banks... not everyone has forgotten he's a bigot.
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and as for banks... not everyone has forgotten he's a bigot.
I have a horrible feeling that he may have got in partly because of that, rather than despite it.
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On the plus side Banks is all for amalgamating the inefficiently biodiverse local government system in Auckland. Although his constant self-aggrandising might not be an asset to that cause.
As for Eden Park, I’ll wait and see. The whole thing has been a tragi-comedy so far. Maybe he can negotiate a better deal, maybe not.
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I remember seeing Gil Scott Heron at a student gig in Liverpool. It was great and one of the few occasions he managed to get through UK customs without being caught on possession of cocaine.
Auckland deserves better.
D'ya think? All that snippiness over the stadium and "Auckland deserves" attitude would lead some of us to think otherwise.
As a Wellington ratepayer, business and personal, I would be very willing to fork out more to get the Caketin upgraded and the final played here. Just like I am willing to pay to see a half decent soccer team play week in / out and attend the World of Wearable Arts show.
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merc,
I don't think Councils should do events until they demonstrate that they can organize sewerage.
Clean and safe, how hard is it? -
Good point, Che: I was surprised by the very low voter interest in Willie Jackson in Manukau City.
In Waitakere City Bob Harvey beat "JT" (as he's been styling himself) by a fairly comfortable 4500 votes.
In another of our constituent territorial local authorities, Rodney, a former ACT MP Penny Webster won the mayoralty with a field that included former National MP Brian "swept out by the new broom" Neeson.
Regrettably, the Neeson legacy lives on in Waitakere City, with wife Vanessa a councillor for the Massey ward, and son Michael on the Massey community board. The man himself was re-elected to the Waitemata DHB.
They sure got value for their "Its [sic] time to vote Neeson" signs.
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An election should have sense of occasion, it should be a community celebration, a celebration of democracy.
The concept of postal voting is totally devoid of any sense of occasion or comunity spirit, which is why there is a minimal turnout for
local elections. When we are given the chance to change the "status quo" we are given a long list of people we know little about and are forced
into a rather blase process of letting the powers that be know what it is that we actually want. We seem to have no interest in who these people
are or what they do until they intrude on our lives in a negative manner. I think we owe more to ourselves and our communities than to allow
those with vested interests to continue to use the present system to further their own interests.
I would suggest that voting in local elections could be facilitated by the use of local libraries rather than the postal vote. Dealing with a
librarian is usually the only time that, as a member of the public, we get to have positive contact with a local public servant. We are more likley to
have contact with a council worker whose duty is to enforce regulation, such as a parking warden or building inspector, than someone who is
actually there to supply any sort of useful service.
On a side note. We were recently asked, on a form, to state the breed of our dog. We were not give the chance of mongrol or mutt
we are only allowed to list two breeds. In our case we stated all the types of breed we knew our dog could have been, Greyhound, whippet,
huntaway, terrier, collie, sheep (she came from the country) and were informed, on the regestration papers, that she was a bloodhound. Go
figure.
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On the plus side Banks is all for amalgamating the inefficiently biodiverse local government system in Auckland.
Well, I'm still trying to make sense of the reasoning behind this more than usually fatuous Herald editorial.
Mr Banks is an enthusiast for unifying Auckland's local government, as was Mr Hubbard, and hopes he will be the last Mayor of Auckland City as now constituted. The low turnouts for these elections are another argument for a single city. People are less likely to vote when they are presented with a plethora of councils and boards and hardly know what some of them do.
People like myself are also less likely to vote if they can't find a candidate they can at least live with.
And TomS wrote:
Anyone know anything about the new guy on the shore? As far as I can tell he's been elected on a traditional do nothing and keep the rates down platform, but I don't really know.
Which would be a fair summary of Mayor-elect Williams' platform (as well as opposition to Whenuapai becoming a commercial airport) - but, once again, the sentiment warms the cockles of my evil, selfish Tory heart but how exactly are you going to do it? To use an awful cliche, everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die first. And it sure seems to me that everyone wants their rates reduced, but start bitching and whinging when anyone has the gall to say 'well, where do we start cutting spending'?
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Steve Barnes:
Love the poem, dude! You should send it to Landfall.
I tried to write my own ode on the subject of the local body elections, but couldn't think of an appropriate rhyme for Banks...
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Which would be a fair summary of Mayor-elect Williams' platform (as well as opposition to Whenuapai becoming a commercial airport)
I find it interesting that the people of North Shore (or a plurality of those who bother to vote, at least) prefer the current situation of a torturous drive to Mangere over the possibility of an airport in their own region.
And I write this as someone who lives very close to the proposed site (and currently has Hercules(?) and military choppers going overhead relatively frequently).
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but couldn't think of an appropriate rhyme for Banks...
... 'thanks' ???
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