Posts by Sacha
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Group blog? Socialism!
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Thanks, Hilary. I'll be our token disability strategist. Hoping to feel less tired and somehow thinner by tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting Sally Wenley who sounds like good value.
Also got an auckland governance select committee submission to present earlier - interesting day. That other Media7 panel sure sounds f$^%king compelling too.
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Jump away, grasshopper. :)
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gave huge powers to the hand-picked Transition Authority
Here's a recent example:
Just a one liner at the bottom of a Supercity story in the Herald today, to the effect that the TA has taken upon itself the legal powers to appoint the second and third tier of officers for the new council. It had previously been given the job of appointing the CEO. This means that all General and Group Manager equivalents will be chosen by the TA, leaving [only] the team leader level to the new council.
And that referenced Herald quote:
Mr Kerr-Newell said the agency had also extended its legal powers to appoint a new council chief executive to staff at the next two tiers down.
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First, the usual disclaimer that nothing I say here is on behalf of any of the Auckland local body organisations that I am connected with, just my private views.
Angus, I understand from our discussions here that Hide's hypocrisy is his promotion of a Bill requiring widespread Council referendums while at the same time pushing through under urgency a Bill that removed the pre-existing standard requirement for a referendum of citizens for major changes to Auckland's local governance arrangements. It's hardly the stuff of principle.
However, Twyford's private Bill seems mainly a response to well-canvassed fears of asset-stripping without proper checks and balances - including usual Parliamentary scrutiny of the initial Bill which gave huge powers to the hand-picked Transition Authority. As Russell notes, Twyford sounds flexible about how that goal is achieved. I doubt his Bill is really expected to go anywhere other than providing some topical focus and perhaps leverage.
I agree that none of us should be surprised when a right-wing government sells down state assets and services in favour of the private sector. The approach seems different when it's about this country's huge private sector debt, for some reason. Maybe someone can explain that one for me.
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Disenfranchise minorities too.
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Excellent.
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What alternatives would people like the govt to invest in?
Early stage innovation funding and support, management and governance training, high value creative and knowledge industries not subject to the tyranny of distance from markets.
Whanau-oriented wrap-around social services that harness existing community strengths.
The kind of stuff we can do as a young Pacific nation with global connections and talented, pragmatic people.
Something ambitious.
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Obama is one thing but it's not a good sign when I envy the Aussies their PM.
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