Hide’s rhetoric conceals audacious plan to smash local government says North Shore Mayor

The government’s plan to smash local government and sell off its community assets has finally been fully revealed in a little known Cabinet paper posted on a government website (see web link AAA below) placing local communities all around the country under threat, North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said today.

“Rodney Hide’s agenda to turn communities into corporations has finally been revealed, putting the meat on the dry bones of his rhetoric about cutting rates and red tape,” says Mayor Williams.

“Rodney Hide’s April Cabinet paper lays out a carefully devised plan to rip the heart out of local democracy by outlawing involvement in “social, economic, environmental, and cultural community outcomes” and replacing it with a narrow focus on ‘core services’ such as roads, footpaths, sewage treatment, storm water and refuse collection.”

“His paper goes on to suggest there is far too much public consultation in local government and cites the example of the need to “consult the public on some decisions –notably decisions to contract major council services to the private sector or to sell shares in a port or airport company” as an area where public consultation is particularly troublesome resulting in “much more information being disclosed” than is relevant and useful.”

“Equally as alarming is that the government does not consider it necessary to issue a public discussion document allowing the public to have a say on these sweeping changes, because “public views are already known”, and instead favours “targeted consultation”, and we all know what that means in Rodney Hide’s little ACT Party world.”

“The irony is that John Key himself promised a referendum on changes to Auckland governance back in 2006, and the even greater irony is that Rodney Hide’s Cabinet paper includes a requirement for referenda when local government changes are “significant” and “likely to be irreversible”.

“The government has made it plain it intends to power-up its ‘super city’ bulldozer and drive it through every community in the country. Only last week, in a speech to our local North Shore Grey Power, Local Government Minister Rodney Hide said that he hoped to see the Auckland ‘super city’ “replicated around the country”.

“This is despite the latest Shape NZ poll showing that around half of New Zealanders do not want a bar of the ‘super city’in their area and an overwhelming 70 percent of New Zealanders saying that any ‘super city’ plans should be put to a referendum or vote before being implemented and not rammed down their throats as is happening in greater Auckland.” (see web link BBB below)

“The government’s real agenda is finally laid bare, to roll the ‘super city’ across all of New Zealand, castrate local democracy to dealing with only the most basic services, and smooth the path for greater private sector contracting and the selling off of community assets including ports and airports.”

“New Zealanders did not vote for this, in fact National promised the opposite, to strengthen local democracy saying “National believes in healthy local democracy. Our communities are diverse and have different needs. Our system of local government should reflect that. “Perhaps the Prime Minister needs to remind his Local Government Minister of that?”

“Kiwis are common sense, practical and fair minded people and they will not take kindly to being bullied and sweet-talked into accepting Rodney Hide’s plans,” Mayor Andrew Williams said.

Mayor Williams said he was encouraged and humbled to see the rest of New Zealand supporting Aucklanders in their opposition to Rodney Hide’s attack on our local democratic institutions.

“Underneath all the ‘jafa’ jokes and good hearted jibes from the rest of the country, Kiwis understand that there is something fundamentally wrong with a small group of powerful Cabinet ministers tearing our communities apart to satisfy their egos and the ambitions of some sections of the business community, and then railroading the rest of the country to follow suit,” Mayor Williams said.

ENDS

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