Unfortunately, our speaker was unable to attend this week. So, no meeting this week. However, we have a good list of speakers until we stop for the Christmas/ New Year break. Including Eugenie Sage speaking about 3 Waters.
1. This week’s notes address the new mayor and his “tight” team around him who desire to run CCC from behind the scenes whenever possible.
The concentration of power into this small cabal is potentially a worry. It has been said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and it’s important that this cabal, and the executive, are closely monitored. Democracy is best delivered in the daylight.
“Government is a trust and the officers of the government are trustees, and both the trust and the trustees are created for the benefit of the people.”
Henry Clay said centuries ago
Those in key positions in our city must remember that they hold office to benefit the city.
The finances of CCC are stretched as hell. Mostly because the council elected to overspend on a stadium. Now they must pay for it. The small group which promoted this crazy decision will be tempted to gouge out existing assets, cut costs which they see as unnecessary, and cast savings down on the altar of their stupidity.
I just hope that the CEO has prepared her team to identify savings which can be considered and that the list of these savings will be made public for us all to consider, and comment on.
People with power, he suggests, can take a literal revenge on their enemies: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Fintan O’Toole, that great Irish writer wrote about power
2. The second focus of the Tuesday Club notes this week is on the government’s choosing to ignore most of the submissions on the 3 Waters legislation…
This whole debate has become so complicated most people cannot follow it. Most have been turned off. Basically, despite incredibly lucid arguments to the contrary, our local assets are being stolen. The democratic management of our water assets, paid for by generations of ratepayers, will disappear. The government will hand the management of our water systems over to invisible boards, corporate financiers, and iwi.
I have witnessed the Labour Party stuff up this country twice. Once in the 1980’s and again with this government. Once I stayed within the party to try to get some sense within the Party. I left Labour 5 years ago and now I am viewing this disastrous government as a spectator. Next years election can’t come soon enough.
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