Reading Between The Blinds
Reading Between The Blinds
It seems that – no matter what, all councils are intent on subverting democracy – by hook or by crook. Linked below are some articles about The Hamilton City Council’s sabotage of Ratepayers’ democratic rights. Blinded by their own arrogance and knowing that a Ratepayer referendum would likely favour democracy over racism, the Council simply thumbed its nose at Ratepayers and made a number of incontestable-by-Ratepayers racist appointments to its various committees.
And while they made those undemocratic appointments, they also handed Ratepayers a bill for the privilege of being ignored. Each racist appointee will get $100 an hour, plus an assortment of IT toys (takeaway tablets?) coasting Ratepayers $12k.
One correspondent – Max Christoffersen – was strongly unimpressed.
Opinion: Council spends, spends, spends
This [racist] “can we have another go” initiative comes after the failure of the earlier Maori ward vote to get sufficient Maori votes behind it to make the change.
Recent media reports suggest few if any New Zealanders feel they are represented in local body decision-making. Ratepayers feel disaffected, disconnected and used by empire builders using ratepayers as an endless money supply to fund pet projects.
The same council criticism is levelled in every region of the country: Get back to basics. Keep basic infrastructure and council facilities maintained (Founders Theatre could have used that), forget the extravagance and get the rubbish picked up, city potholes fixed and keep the sewerage systems working. Forget everything else.
There was some dissent, but not enough to overcome the racist councillor voting bloc. A petition against the appointment of non-elected members, started by Democracy Action, had obtained 371 signatures.
Hamilton City Council’s plan to appoint non-elected members to Council committees will erode local democracy. This proposal is potentially even more damaging than Maori wards. The new appointees will not be elected, so they will be unaccountable in their decision-making – even to Maori. The appointees will come from the local iwi and a Maori social service agency, will have full voting rights on their committees, and will receive full-time salaries paid by Hamilton ratepayers.
Three Hamilton council committees get Maori representation
Councillor Mark Bunting was concerned that there was no input from the public on this decision. My concern is that by not giving people the choice we are not following the process,” Mr Bunting said. “Are we afraid to have this debate with the public.”
Of course the racist councillors are afraid of democracy and Ratepaying voters. That’s why this is being done in a back door fashion. Doh!
UPDATE
Racist commentator and columnist Joel Maxwell endorses Hamilton Council’s undemocratic decisions: