Editorial - why the Council must take note
The St Heliers protest is a fierce challenge to the governance of New Zealand's second-biggest public body - an economic powerhouse producing more than 34% of GDP.
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The St Heliers’ protest is a fierce challenge to the governance of New Zealand’s second biggest public body – an economic powerhouse producing more than 34% of GDP.
Auckland Council controls assets worth at least 16% of GDP. Auckland contributes more than $21.2 billion in tax – including at least 60% of company tax and at least 53.6% of GST.
With so much at stake, Mayor Len Brown, his interim chief executive Doug McKay and their lieutenants and armies of consultants, cannot afford to stumble on fundamental nuts and bolts.
Their handling so far of the St Heliers heritage homes debacle is a sorry example of how the will of the people has been trampled rough-shod.
They would do well to remember how central government’s rapid turnaround last year on mining Great Barrier Island came in the face of some 40,000 protesting citizens marching up Queen Street.
Jock Anderson
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
Thu, 20 Jan 2011
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Editorial - why the Council must take note
Editorial,
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