20 August 2009

Renewed call to replace Hide with Carter

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide’s attempted veto of Maori representation on the new Auckland Council is yet another example of why the Prime Minister needs to consider his replacement in the portfolio, North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams said today.

“Rodney Hide’s actions as Minister of Local Government, driven by his dogged adherence to ACT party policy that is supported by only 1 percent of voters, is making it increasingly difficult for his own government to make progress in local government matters,” Mayor Williams said.

“Rodney Hide’s plan to slash local government back to narrow core services and to cap local authority rates is making it virtually impossible for the government and local government to sort out the funding of the $30 billion worth of badly needed investment in local infrastructure, and to reach a long term solution to the $11 billion leaky homes problem.”

“The two positions, that of Rodney Hide on the one hand and that of the much more pragmatic National party ministers on the other, are fast becoming irreconcilable. The Finance Minister, the Building and Construction Minister, and the Associate Local Government Minister genuinely want to work in partnership with local government to make progress on dealing with these and other major issues, yet Rodney Hide continues to cruise the country running his tired old ACT party lines.”

“Now, we have Rodney Hide holding the Auckland Governance Committee and the government to ransom, undermining the democratic process, and applying undue influence by threatening to resign if he doesn’t get his way, despite the efforts of communities all over Auckland to make submissions, appear before the Committee, and the efforts of the Committee and its sub-Committee to get around Auckland to listen to thousands of people over the ‘super city’ plan.”

“What was the point of having the special sub-committee to tour the region’s marae to korero with mana whenua, when their report is dismissed out of hand by the Minister before we even hear from it and what it has recommended?”

“Remember that Rodney Hide tried to make a virtue of the select committee process, telling people he supported local democracy and that people would get a genuine say on the ‘super city’, and now that it is not going his way, he is pulling the plug on it.”

“Will he also threaten to resign if the Committee ditches his plan for celebrity ‘at-large’ councillors too, after he has argued forcefully for them and said the reforms will fail without them? It is interesting that Rodney Hide chose to draw a line in the sand over the Maori representation issue, and not all the other ‘deal breaker’ issues he has staked his reputation on.”

“John Carter has proven himself, both as chair of the Auckland Governance Legislation Committee and in his engagement with local government leaders and communities up and down the nation, to be well suited to the job. It is time the Prime Minister allowed his natural pragmatism and common sense to the fore, and considered replacing Rodney Hide,” Mayor Williams said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media