Hard News: The Wall and the Paper
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I think where-the-line-is-drawn is actually the nub of this issue. What powers does Shields have, what policy was he acting under, what are the damn rules anyway?
Wearing my stylish elected representative hat (in recognition of fashion week coming up):
Valid questions. AFAIK Mr Shields has the power to paint out graffiti on Council property, and powers to offer the same services to private landowners where the walls/fences etc face the public road or space. I don't think that there are necessarily any rules, but I'll find out for you.
In general, the issue of council officers’ power vs. that of elected representatives is worth discussing in the Super City.
A valid issue. Under the old regime, powers of Councillors in control were extraordinary, which is why $5m can be diverted from the general Auckland City Coastline budget of $10m to one site, Judges Bay, Parnell. I do not query the outcome of this, merely point out the powers of elected representatives can be quite large. However this is quite fluid, and on other issues, officers generally ran the show. In general, about 70-80% was decided by officers, and the remaining part by elected representatives.
As a mere Community Board chair under the old regime, officers generally and politely ignored me, so I had little power, other than the power of argument, which I exploited to the hilt as officers had, and still have, very little time in their work-lives to actually think.
In the new regime, as could be imagined, everyone is busy grabbing whatever power they can, including Local Boards. Time will tell how much power each part has (Council, Local Boards, officers, CCO's). It is still early days and I dare not risk making a call.
I am struck by the dissonance between the public's perception of my power and the actual field of power in local government. It used to annoy me as the public expect elected reps to wave a wand and make things happen. It never happens like that due to the diffuse and diverse nature of that power.
It’s also politically useful that those despised bureaucrats can’t (and shouldn’t) respond to with the international sign for “dude, I’ve seen sceptic tanks less full of crap than you.” (If you’d like to make one at home: Take one clenched fist, then fully extend your middle finger. Repeat until you feel better.)
I agree, it's not helpful for officers to 'flip the bird'. They just do it in other more subtle ways; delaying things, not responding, or outright lying (there have been three instances where officers have lied to me - not because they wanted to, but because the lie was better than the truth and much less painful).
Who gets to decide what colour you paint your house?
In the Waitakere Ranges, Council does. It depends on the issue. If it’s critical that control of colour in the ‘wild’ of the Ranges be had to prevent say, bright pink being used, then the District Plan is amended. In other parts of the city, Council doesn’t control such issue (and why should it?) – control is usually exercised by NZ House and Garden, and other magazines of that ilk.
doffing said hat...
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Rex Widerstrom, in reply to
Who gets to decide what colour you paint your house?
When I built a home over here in Oz I was astounded to be given a list of "approved" brick colours, told I could only have a tile roof, told I was only allowed to have the fences at the side of my property as far forward as the front wall of the house, and even handed a list of approved plants and trees I could put in the front lawn.
Generously, I could plant what I liked in my own back yard and could extend the range in the front yard after three years.
It's all about "estates" now, you see. The developers pay for the roading, drains etc and in return get to place all sorts of caveats on what you can do so as to create "little boxes on the hillside" which apparently sell better to Australians, who must have a fetish for homogenity, or something.
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I recall that within weeks of Mayor Banks being sworn into office, even before he was sworn at in office, having the policy of wild flowers median strips and verges on highways reversed. Having them replaced by nice, middle class, inoffensive shrubbery.
If you are referring to the wildflower strips all along the southern part of the motorway just before the Bombay Hills then I'm afraid you are incorrect. This land is NZTA land, and even there, Mayor Banks had no control. I understand that the wildflowers were replaced due to maintenance problems.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
It's all about "estates" now, you see. The developers pay for the roading, drains etc and in return get to place all sorts of caveats on what you can do so as to create "little boxes on the hillside" which apparently sell better to Australians, who must have a fetish for homogenity, or something.
In other words, a gated community minus the actual gates. All made of ticky-tacky and they look just the same.
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
If you are referring to the wildflower strips all along the southern part of the motorway just before the Bombay Hills then I’m afraid you are incorrect.
I was referring to City Highways ie. St Lukes and Balmoral roads as well as a few others.
I understand that the wildflowers were replaced due to maintenance problems.
Because wild flowers need so much maintenance, how would they survive without us, eh?.
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Ahhh, well then, it is entirely possible that Banks did order replacement of pansies with sensible and macho griselinias.
I don't know what the maintenance problems were, other than the use of that phrase tends to be code for 'it was too much trouble and we couldn't be bothered'.
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Rex Widerstrom, in reply to
In other words, a gated community minus the actual gates
Yep. I was amazed to find things like "residents only' swimming pools, hidden away in parks behind the house. From the street you're driving past rows of look-alike homes, not realising that the space between them is actually larger than you expect and behind them is a little enclosed enclave.
And the truly freaky thing is that this isn;t just a recent phenomenon. I shared a house that was clearly around 20+ years old, and it turned out to be part of an "estate", just not as obviously as the recent ones, which usually have one road in and out and a large brick feature wall with the name of the community on it.
I always think "that's where the gate will go when it all hits the fan". And these are the rule now, not the exception. If I wanted not to live on an estate I'd need to buy or rent in an older suburb, very close to the city (and thus very expensive).
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Steve Barnes, in reply to
I don’t know what the maintenance problems were, other than the use of that phrase tends to be code for ‘it was too much trouble and we couldn’t be bothered’.
Well, yes. It is so hard to keep the little blighters in line, in neat rows as it were. It's so much easier to do with people. All you need is riot shields.
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Islander, in reply to
Heh!
That raised a giggle from this cold-flattened person - thanks Steve B! -
BenWilson, in reply to
In other words, a gated community minus the actual gates. All made of ticky-tacky and they look just the same.
Sounds like vast tracts of Europe to me, only more modern. Perhaps it was just sentimentality but after my first world trip, I wept when I flew over Auckland at the beauty of the cacophony of roof colors and odd section and building shapes. It seemed like something precious about my home town after seeing 10 or so drab cities with miles upon miles of identical roofs on identical houses on identical streets.
I did notice that Euros often make up for it with their interior decorating, though.
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Because wild flowers need so much maintenance, how would they survive without us, eh?.
Actually, wild 'flowers' do need a lot of maintenance. They flower over summer, go to seed, and die. Then other things, generally weeds and grasses, take over. If the wildflower seeds survive they can't compete with these now established plants. To look good the wildflower areas have to be cleared and re-seeded every year, and that's really expensive on a motorway scale. If we considered assorted weed 'wildflowers' to be ok, that's fine (I know, a weed is just a plant in the wrong place), but they're not the pretty flowers most people have in mind. Our real wildflowers are flax, cabbage tree, manuka etc. Motorways have lots of those.
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Regarding the various discussions here (SST, Askew etc), I highly recommend tonight's Media 7, where Our Russell gives the editor of the SST a right bollocking, and Len Brown a lighter bollocking.
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Regarding the various discussions here (SST, Askew etc), I highly recommend tonight’s Media 7, where Our Russell gives the editor of the SST a right bollocking, and Len Brown a lighter bollocking.
Looking forward to that. Also, speaking of things TVNZ 7: the current season of The Good Word is, er, good too. All three critics this week (Braunias, Ward-Lealand, Bill Hastings) gave Bret Easton Ellis' recent Imperial Bedrooms a bollocking also.
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BenWilson, in reply to
It's good to finally hear a decent reason for it. I did like the flowers, but wondered why it's so seldom that you just see wild fields of them. So the answer is "they need maintenance"?
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Regarding the various discussions here (SST, Askew etc), I highly recommend tonight’s Media 7, where Our Russell gives the editor of the SST a right bollocking, and Len Brown a lighter bollocking.
The mayor was certainly a bit more bollocking-proof. He's been paying attention at media training, I suspect.
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Meanwhile, the mother of an Aspie boy has posted this response to Laws on her blog.
Laws has now replied, informing the mother that it is her fault her son is Asperger.
Just, wow.
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Sam F, in reply to
Just, wow.
Personally I've now passed the point where getting progressively angrier at Laws' progressively more offensive behaviour has given way to a calm, simple desire to see him off the airwaves and out of our papers permanently.
Anyone got a go-to list of those I should not be spending money with until this happens?
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Che Tibby, in reply to
Anyone got a go-to list of those I should not be spending money with until this happens?
please.
if anyone has the time to shake these out i'll take the time to write to them.
this arsehat Lhaws really has to go. and the sooner the better.
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@Sam F I am all for some sort of organised campaign, as a SST subscriber and an occasional contributor to their Reader's panel. I wonder if a formal complaint to the Press Council is worthwhile but past experiences suggest it is rather a toothless animal.
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nzlemming, in reply to
Laws has now replied, informing the mother that it is her fault her son is Asperger
And a nice piece it is too: "Michael Laws really is a special little man".
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Sacha, in reply to
And a nice piece it is too: "Michael Laws really is a special little man".
+1 - though it only reinforces my dislike of "special" in other contexts too
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If you are referring to the wildflower strips all along the southern part of the motorway just before the Bombay Hills then I'm afraid you are incorrect. This land is NZTA land, and even there, Mayor Banks had no control. I understand that the wildflowers were replaced due to maintenance problems.
As a sometime motorcyclist, I'm rather partial to shrubbery over wildflowers where those wire barrier cheesecutters have been installed.
In the event of a crash, the shrubbery might have a better chance than the pretty flowers do of absorbing some of my impact energy before the wire gets to slice off one of my limbs or decapitate me.
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Kumara Republic, in reply to
Laws has now replied, informing the mother that it is her fault her son is Asperger.
Just, wow.
Lhaws has jumped off the slippery slope all right. I hope Rex's police report gets followed through, although I'm uneasy about potential reprisals from Lhaws' Lhoyalists if it is. How big exactly? Potentially something bigger than Henrygate.
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3 News website story by Dan Satherly.
Laws is quoted, then posts a whiny comment. It's conceivable that his rude reply to Marilynn McLachlan meant something other than everyone thought it did, but it's also quite possible he knew what he was saying.
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Nice to hear that my complaint to the editor added to the avalanche. Shows it is worth doing.
Also the photograph with the Satherley article is particularly scary.
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