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May 24, 2011 8:10am by David Farrar

General Debate 24 May 2011

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General Debate

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Murray

So according to Michael fowler its actually ok to be racist if its just white folk you’re sneering at is it.

We here at the HQ of the Irish community are giving Michael Fowler 15 minutes to evacuate his place of work in response to his racial sterotyping of us! Mess with the Irish will ya!
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May 24, 2011 8:23am
publicwatchdog

Good moaning ‘Kiwibloggers’! 😉

Yesterday, Monday 23 May 2011 I made an historic first complaint to Chief Archivist about Auckland Council’s alleged failure to maintain full and accurate ‘contracting’ records.

I arrived at the Office of the National Archives with evidence which, in my considered opinion, proves that ‘contracting’ at Auckland Council is effectively ‘out-of-control’ and made a formal written complaint to the Chief Archivist, about an alleged breach, by Auckland Council, of s 61 (c) of the Public Records Act 2005, because the Auckland Council

‘(c) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under it.

(This alleged failure to comply attaches to s 17 (1) of the Public Records Act 2005:

‘Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its offices in accordance with normal prudent business practice, including the records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor.’

(Evidence to support this complaint is provided in detail on my blog).

I will be formally advising the Governing Body of the Auckland Council of this development, at their meeting this morning Tuesday 24 May 2011 at the former Manukau Council Chamber at 10am, where myself and fellow ‘Public Watchdog’ community activist, Lisa Prager have speaking rights.

How can the elected representatives of the Auckland ‘$upercity’ Council support this 3.7% rate$ increase – when there cannot have been proper ‘line-by-line’ accounting because full and accurate records of contracts are not being kept in a proper way?

In my considered opinion, if the private ‘piggies-in-the-middle’ consultants and contractors were removed from core Council services and returned to ‘in-house’ provision – there could be savings to residents and ratepayers of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Whose interests are being served here, and where exactly are our public monies going?

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 8:25am
Murray

Piss off idiot.
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May 24, 2011 8:30am
bearhunter

Murray, I see the dreadful twat (Fowler, not Bright) is saying that it wasn’t derogatory now. Perhaps he should try to substitute “Irish” for “Maori” and see how far he gets. Gobshite.
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May 24, 2011 8:39am
Nookin

I think that if ACC adds a further 3% to the rates it might come close to having the resources to comply with the forms-in-triplicate mentality that seems to pervade bureaucracy throughout New Zealand. Keep it up, Penny. Once you get strict compliance you might well have added 10% to the local householder bill. Won’t they be pleased with you then? And how proud will you be?
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May 24, 2011 8:40am
Murray

Yeah thats what I was thinking bear. It IS offensive and he needs to be bailed up on it.
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May 24, 2011 8:43am
Dazzaman

Sean & Paddy, grew up together and were lifelong friends. Paddy developed cancer, and was dying. On his deathbed, he called to his buddy, Sean, “Sean, come ‘ere. I ‘ave a request for ye.”

“Seany ole boy, we’ve been friends all our lives, and now I’m leaving ‘ere. I ‘ave one last request fir ye to do.”

Paddy burst into tears, “Anything Paddy, anything ye wish. It’s done.”

“Well, under me bed is a box containing a bottle of the finest whiskey in all of Ireland. Bottled the year I was born it was. After I die, and they plant me in the ground, I want you to pour that fine whiskey over me grave so it might soak into me bones and I’ll be able to enjoy it for all eternity.”

Paddy was overcome by the beauty and in the true Irish spirit of his friend’s request, he asked, “Aye, tis a fine thing you ask of me, and I will pour the whiskey. But, might I strain it through me kidneys first?”
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May 24, 2011 8:54am
Inventory2

Speaking on racism, I see that the Senior Citizen from St Mary’s Bay is revving up the old folks with his anti-Chinese rhetoric. The more things change, the more they stay the same …

http://keepingstock.blogspot.com/2011/05/of-winston-peters-and-reds-under-bed.html
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May 24, 2011 9:02am
hj

Government policies blamed for house prices

Immigration and tax breaks for investment in residential property are being cited as the underlying causes of steep increases in the cost of housing over the past decade.

New Zealand now boasts one of the highest rates of home unaffordability in the world as a result of prices rising far faster than incomes, and the government’s Savings Working Group blames that squarely on the policies of successive governments.

Although “the favourable tax treatment of property investment” accounted for about 50% of house price increases between 2001 and 2007, the working group said, there was also strong evidence that rapid swings in immigration brought about price-rise “shocks”.

There was a sharp spike in immigration in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and, said working group committee member Dr Andrew Coleman, it appeared that property prices did not fall anywhere near as greatly when immigration fell again.

The report added that there was little evidence that immigration boosted local incomes. In fact, the need to build roads and schools meant that net migration contributed to the national deficit.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/4622459/Government-policies-blamed-for-house-prices
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May 24, 2011 9:15am
hj

Labour’s Third World Solution
“To the extent these trends are maintained it could take as few as 60 years before the population is effectively totally renewed. To the extent the sources of the greatest number of arrivals are now in Asia, Mr Peters is quite justified to point out that New Zealand is looking at a social and demographic revolution.

There are two obvious ways to dampen the fires of resentment that Winston is fanning. One is to just cut back on immigrants. The problem with that is that it would cut the legs from under Labour’s growth strategy and expose the full effect of its economic illiteracy. Miss Clark’s dream of closing the gap between Kiwi incomes and those of the first world would rapidly go the same way as her vision of closing the income gap between rich and poor New Zealanders. ”
http://nbr.infometrics.co.nz/column.php?id=409

John Key told Hard Talk that his government is “pro immigration” so it looks as though Nationals policies are no better than labours, unless there is a core economic activity other than building houses for immigrants and the money they bring.
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May 24, 2011 9:31am
hj

Developers slam land tax proposal
Outraged developers in Queenstown have blasted a proposal before the Government suggesting radical changes to the tax system.

Yesterday the Tax Working Group, a think tank set up to look at the tax system, published their findings.

The report labels the tax system broken and recommends a range of changes including introducing a land tax on all properties and raising GST from 12.5 per cent to 15 per cent.

But several Queenstown developers reacted angrily to the land tax recommendation, with one predicting it could lead to another recession.

Developer Bob Robertson said the proposal was ridiculous and would also hurt farmers, who were struggling to run a profitable business.

Things were already tough for developers and there was “zero” money available from banks for projects, he said.

Mr Robertson doubted the proposal would be adopted by the Government but if it was it could trigger another recession.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/3248188/Developers-slam-land-tax-proposal

From a past president of the South Island branch of the Property Council

“Obviously the developers couldn’t buy the local politicians and public officials off fast enough in Dallas Fort Worth to overcome the zoning impediment – but they have been trying as this article Fed Up: Texas Monthly November 2007 illustrates. It goes on pretty much everywhere of course – but only illustrates how zoning tends to assist in inflating prices and stalling supply responses.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0711/S00303.htm
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May 24, 2011 9:45am
flipper

A change in direction –

The standard of reporting on AGW / ETS in both print and electronic media continues to decline (with rare exceptions such as LS’s show). This example from Dom Post and Stuff this morning…..
Despite generating about half of the country’s carbon emissions, Key said agriculture would not be “thrown to the wolves” if other countries did not get on board.
Farmers already paid a share of the ETS costs because they were big users of petrol, diesel and power, Key said.
It was also more difficult for farmers to mitigate their carbon emissions.
“If you are going to put an emissions trading scheme on them for the methane and nitrate gases that come from the burping and farting of animals when there is no other option, that’s pretty tough on them.”
Questions:
When will the media explain that CO2 is not a pollutant ?
When will they explain the difference between “solid,” airborne pollution and life-giving CO2?
When will they explain that the main “greenhouse” gas is water vapour?
Sadly, probably never
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May 24, 2011 10:20am
Puzzled in Ekatahuna

Murray, can you please provide a link or outline as to what Michael Fowler has said to upset people?
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May 24, 2011 10:31am
reid

So what do people think about the possibility of trading away Pharmac for the TPP?

This is not the first time big pharma have tried something cute, one thing they tried during Liarbore’s time was to regulate all the health store products – most inconvenient for them, to have an industry like that around.

And now they’ve used their lobbyists in the States to put this declaration together.

Personally, I’d prefer us to walk away from the TPP, than trade-away Pharmac. I mean, where is the US going to be, in twenty years time? Is a TPP going to be worth that much to us, then?

We were talking about lobbyists the other day. Interesting example of their power, isn’t it, where a single industry can set an agenda for an international agreement.
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May 24, 2011 10:40am
103PapPap

I wonder who coined the term “coined the term”?
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May 24, 2011 10:42am
reid

A sign of the future for us too, if we don’t watch it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389963/Indian-firms-look-U-S-cheap-labour-outsourcing-goes-circle.html
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May 24, 2011 10:55am
flipper

Pharmac has its ups and downs. It wins more than it loses.
What annoys me is that its savings are never offset against the cases where people (and their families) crying out for “magic” help seek solace and a solution thru the media.
An experimental programme would be helpful. But how to choose?
Major problem.
It will not be solved by a Saunders-Unsworth driven lobby effort.
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May 24, 2011 10:58am
reid

The Federal Reserve has tried its best to hide the secrets of past banking blunders deep in its balance sheet. Commercial real estate (CRE) loans made in haste during the real estate bubble are part of this national disgrace in banking folly. As the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury digitally print the dollar into oblivion the bad CRE loans still linger in the Fed balance sheet. As it turns out the Fed has become the dumping ground for all things real estate and has traded toxic loans for quality liquidity to fuel the banks back up. CRE debt in the form of empty shopping malls, failed hotels, and tumbleweed occupied strip malls is only a flavor of what the Fed is taking on. Yet many of these loans are still occupying the balance sheet of many banks. As it turns out, there was so much junk in the CRE market that the Fed could only balloon their balance sheet and still not encompass one half of the CRE market. Many CRE loans are coming due in 2012. Is the day of reckoning for CRE coming in 2012?

An experimental programme would be helpful.

In what, flipper?
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May 24, 2011 11:02am
Mick Mac

good points Reid
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May 24, 2011 11:03am
cha

# 103PapPap

To coin a phrase’ is now rarely used with its original ‘invent a new phrase’ meaning but is almost always used ironically to introduce a banal or clichéd sentiment. This usage began in the mid 20th century. For example, in Francis Brett Young’s novel Mr. Lucton’s Freedom, 1940:

“It takes all sorts to make a world, to coin a phrase.”

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/coin-a-phrase.html
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May 24, 2011 11:11am
flipper

Reid…
The use of “new” drugs for which funding is sought.
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May 24, 2011 11:11am
cha

Former Wellington mayor and architect Sir Michael Fowler penned his support in a handwritten letter to The Dominion Post yesterday.

He wrote that, since its conception, “I’ve believed it to be clever, witty and relevant and its critics dumb, humourless, totally irrelevant and probably Irish”.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5039300/Hundreds-protest-Wellywood-sign
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May 24, 2011 11:17am
wreck1080

Top driver frustration are those who do not indicate….

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/motoring/5046890/What-Kiwi-drivers-hate-lazy-indicators

YES YES YES….I demand the cops put cameras on roundabouts and issue tickets to those who do not indicate.

Just about had a crash yesterday cos some muppet was not indicating at a busy local roundabout.
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May 24, 2011 11:48am
reid

Reid…The use of “new” drugs for which funding is sought.

Sorry flipper, still don’t get what you’re saying here. Are you suggesting we change the current Pharmac rules for those new drugs that come on the market? If so, how?
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May 24, 2011 12:05pm
Puzzled in Ekatahuna

Cha, thank you for the reference re Fowler

Meanwhile – Now African Americans are trying to trace THEIR Irish roots after being inspired by Barack Obama
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May 24, 2011 12:13pm
Elaycee

Bugger. Post at 8.25am. The reprieve is over… the blog blight is back with more electioneering.
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May 24, 2011 12:20pm
thedavincimode

“Just about had a crash yesterday cos some muppet was not indicating at a busy local roundabout.”

Hmmmm … meaning … you pulled out when you shouldn’t have????

Sorry, bored, bored, bored …

Manolo, you’re very quiet today. FFS, its only one silly (rogue?) poll and its still early.

Or are you off stuffing the Don’s pamphlets in letter boxes? Did you ever go to that National party meeting and give them what for?
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May 24, 2011 12:22pm
Manolo

Good on you davincimode for being a staunch Labour lite supporter. 🙂
Smile and wave Key needs your vote in November. He will implement a radical reform of the welfare state after winning a solid mandate. No kidding, he has promised and he will do it.
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May 24, 2011 12:32pm
Manolo

The leader that never tells a lie: http://fairfactsmedia.com/?p=7783&cpage=1#comment-16918
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May 24, 2011 12:39pm
Pete George

Gareth Morgan thinks National have made the Pharmac case a bit harder to defend:

National shot itself in the food on the whole Herceptin issue. At the time it was a cynical political vote grab, but now it faces the consequences.

In overruling Pharmac it implicitly agreed with the arguments of the drug companies and gave their arguments weight. Now the question is whether the Nats will realise their mistake and stand up for Pharmac.

But Key hopefully won’t be convinced that Pharmac should be thrown to the drug companies.

Prime Minister John Key says the New Zealand Government would take “a fair bit of convincing” that Pharmac wasn’t the best model to keep under the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement under negotiation.

Mr Key refused to say that keeping Pharmac was non-negotiable. But he took the view that it was not helpful to conduct negotiations through the media.

Ok, so we’d better not discuss it here any more either. Just take the result on the chin – or in the mouth and out of the wallet.
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May 24, 2011 12:52pm
Pita

Who would have guessed…Obama is Irish!
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May 24, 2011 1:05pm
reid

I agree with Key. Just because he’s not publicly ruled it out, doesn’t mean Grosser and he already haven’t in private. This must have been discussed in Cabinet already, Pharmac has always been on the table since TPP started, everyone knows that.

It’s a formidable move though, having 40% of congressmen sign up. Wonder how much the campaign contributions are going to cost big pharma? Wouldn’t it be a shame if it turned out it were all for nought and we just didn’t budge.
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May 24, 2011 1:09pm
Rufus

I’d like to say a very big “thank you” to the 2 Fletcher’s chimney/fireplace inspection guys that came around recently.

They were friendly, professional, very thorough, and worked to very high standards.

We were happy enough to have heating again, but they found all sorts of faults with the installation/repair process which they said they’d take up with the installation company.

We weren’t aware of any problems, so good on them for checking, and not letting it go. Go Fletchers!
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May 24, 2011 1:33pm
wreck1080

@davinci:Hmmmm … meaning … you pulled out when you shouldn’t have????

Not sure how you would assume this. Maybe you were the other driver?

The law is that you must indicate at roundabouts.
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May 24, 2011 1:44pm
publicwatchdog

# Nookin (842) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 8:40 am

I think that if ACC adds a further 3% to the rates it might come close to having the resources to comply with the forms-in-triplicate mentality that seems to pervade bureaucracy throughout New Zealand. Keep it up, Penny. Once you get strict compliance you might well have added 10% to the local householder bill. Won’t they be pleased with you then? And how proud will you be?”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I prefer the bureaucracy to the ‘contractocracy’ ‘Nookin’.

Over the last 20 years, after so much contracting out of core Council services to the supposedly more ‘efficient’ private sector – have YOUR rates gone up or down?

Duh?

I also support our lawful right to ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government, and have taken a step that no one else has, to help enforce the maintenance of ‘full and accurate’ records of all contract entered into with ‘independent contractors’.

How can rates reductions be achieved by ‘line-by-line’ accounting – if the ‘accounts’ are not being kept in a proper way?

How can Councillors from ANY political persuasion agree to ANY rates increases – if they don’t know where rates monies are being spent?

Or ‘Nookin’ is your position on this matter that you don’t care that prudent stewardship is not being exercised over public monies, and you don’t care if rates go up?

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 2:20pm
gravedodger

So good ole Harold didn’t go camping, he and his missus sought refuge from embarasment in a “motel”, that wouldn’t have been the traditional one night stand eh.
“Rapture” has been rescheduled for October, I hope they have booked the venue.
Heard on the wireless this morning he was devastated that his “prediction” failed to arrive.
Why do the media give a crank such as this any oxygen, just hold a pillow over his face and stop him conning any more millions from the vulnerable.
One thing he certainly aint, is, “christian”.
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May 24, 2011 2:24pm
Elaycee

@ Nookin: Please DNFTT!

Friday will soon come around and the blog blight will be spanked again – this time courtesy of the voters within the Howick Ward.

EEEK!
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May 24, 2011 2:25pm
Manolo

Al Gore and his warmist followers will be blaming AGW for this:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304520804576341353063936710.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_3
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May 24, 2011 2:38pm
nasska

Elaycee

Do you know what time Friday the results will be available to the public? I’d hate to miss a moment of the celebrations.
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May 24, 2011 2:42pm
thedavincimode

wreck

I did say sorry and I was bored.

I might have been the other driver if the closing speed was about 180 kph, in which case thanks for not getting in the way.

In the mean time, the assault of the question marks continues. zzzz
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May 24, 2011 3:02pm
reid

Well I don’t know about you guys but I’m extremely concerned that ACC is clearly deliberately concealing the true and actual arrangements it has with its contractors and I think this should be investigated, were anyone actually ready and able to do it.

This is a serious problem people, requiring some sort of public watchdog activity of the very highest and most urgent order. Alacrity is king, should be the watchword for today.

If only someone, somewhere, could take on this utterly vital and necessary role.

But none exist.

Oh the humanity.
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May 24, 2011 3:39pm
Elaycee

Nasska – Rest assured I’ll keep you in the loop. But don’t plan to attend any ‘blog blight celebration party’ any time soon…
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May 24, 2011 3:40pm
Sofia

Good mourning ‘Kiwibloggers’! 🙂

Seen this –

– http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10727081
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Robyn Malcolm is not dead.
The beloved New Zealand actress is the latest celebrity to fall victim to the Kauri Hills internet death hoax – and she’s correcting the rumour herself.
Last night a link to a fake news article was posted to Malcolm’s Facebook profile.
The hoax article said Malcolm “fell more than 60 feet to her death on the Kauri Cliffs while on-set”.
The Outrageous Fortune star was quick to reassure her fans, and express anger at the person who created the fake article.
“I’m about to get my head chopped off but only in a stage play,” she posted to her profile.
“Perhaps this sick f–k can’t differentiate between reality and fiction”.
“I had a friend who fell to his death. This not funny in any way”.
The foot of the Kauri Hills is one of the internet’s most popular hoax celebrity death sites.
United States actor Jeff Goldblum was said to have died there in 2009 (he didn’t) and Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise in the same month – November 2006 (they didn’t either).

Which leaves just one important question – Where the hell is Kauri Hills?
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May 24, 2011 3:51pm
nasska

Reid

I feel for you in your despair. With such a blatant conspiracy going on who will you turn to?

I can only console you with the thought that cometh the hour, cometh the man (or madwoman).
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May 24, 2011 3:55pm
reid

Where the hell is Kauri Hills?

Hmmmm.

Methinks something is, or possibli should be, afoot.

nasska thanks for that. It is quite serious, isn’t it. The whole thing, really.
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May 24, 2011 3:57pm
Manolo

The Sperminator in the crap. It will cost him heaps.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has at least two more secret children, British actress Jane Seymour has claimed.

It emerged last week that the actor and former governor of California – who recently separated from wife Maria Shriver – has a 14-year-old son with his family’s now-retired housekeeper Mildred Patricia Baena and his famous neighbour has predicted further revelations will emerge about his personal life.

“From what I gather, I think there will be lots of information coming people’s way. I heard about two more children somebody else knows about. I even met someone who knows him well.”
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May 24, 2011 4:14pm
Sofia

Hollywood heavyweights are now seeking legal advice to try and stop the sign, which is going ahead after getting an un-notified consent from the Wellington City Council.
Leron Gubler, president and chief executive of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, said he was “disappointed” to hear the sign was going ahead.
He said he hoped the dispute could be resolved amicably but would now consider using legal means to stop it.
“We hope that this time our overture to [Wellington Airport] to that end will be responded to in like spirit,” said Mr Gubler.
“Otherwise, the lawyers can sort it out, but that seems a shame, particularly in regard to a project that appears to be controversial in Wellington already.”
Gubler said they had been in touch with Wellington Airport when the sign was first proposed in March 2010.
He said they sent a letter advising the airport of a possible trademark infringement and had heard back confirming it had been received.
Gubler said since the airport did not get in contact again he had assumed plans for the sign had been dropped

– http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5048415/Key-favours-Well-just-not-the-wood-on-capital-sign .

So why would Fitzgerald push ahead with the sign now and of course it must bring into question the quality of other decisions this man may be making?
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May 24, 2011 4:27pm
OctagonGrappler

Paul Spoonley from massey university again talking sense. Spoonley should be PM as he is on the money everytime.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10725977
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May 24, 2011 5:03pm
nasska

Reid

Over the past week or so I have noticed a disturbing phenomenon. Fortunately it has been confined to a very small number of commenters on Kiwiblog but I thought I should run it past you in case you consider that it should be brought to the notice of the authorities.

There have been a couple of comments made on this blog supporting the work Water Woman is doing in opening our eyes to the incredible conspiracies going on around us. While it would be easy to dismiss these commenters as aliens or methos having a bad day there is another possibility.

I refer of course to a version of the “Stockholm Syndrome”. Is it possible that these sad people have worn out their scroll wheels & are now actually forced to read the cut & paste ramblings of the resident madwoman? They may have become enslaved by the wafflings of their captor & their now addled brains see her as a benign source of information.

Your thoughts & any recommendations for appropriate therapy could help these poor souls.
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May 24, 2011 5:12pm
Sofia

nasska –
There have been a couple of comments made on this blog supporting the work Water Woman is doing in opening our eyes to the incredible conspiracies going on around us. While it would be easy to dismiss these commenters as aliens or methos having a bad day there is another possibility.

This conspiracy of yours, nasska, may be supported by the comments, to which I think you refer, are not ripped to shreds by the afore mentioned Water Person.

On the other hand –
Your thoughts & any recommendations for appropriate therapy could help these poor souls.

it might be that these ‘other’ comments ARE therapy.
Or even anti-thesis, to the GAMES PEOPLE PLAY [see a synopsis of this treatise by famed Dr Eric Berne] – the game player in this case being the Water Person, a textbook case for transactional analysis.
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May 24, 2011 5:30pm
Elaycee

@ Nasska says: “cometh the hour, cometh the man (or madwoman).”

Wash your mouth out.
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May 24, 2011 5:31pm
KH

If I had to chose between having the dodgy ‘free’ trade agreement and Pharmac
I would choose Pharmac
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May 24, 2011 5:37pm
nasska

Sofia

Alas, there are so many complications.
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May 24, 2011 5:46pm
publicwatchdog

# Elaycee (175) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 2:25 pm

@ Nookin: Please DNFTT!

Friday will soon come around and the blog blight will be spanked again – this time courtesy of the voters within the Howick Ward.

EEEK!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ah yes – another profound comment from the gormless , more dollars than sense ‘Elaycee’ who doesn’t care where her rate$ monies are spent and doesn’t support ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government.

Whatever dear ……………….. (yawn…………………..)

There are now THOUSANDS of people who live and/or travel through the Howick Ward who have seen the signs:

“NO RATE$ INCREASE!”

“CUT OUT THE CONTRACTOR$!”

“SUPERCITY = SUPER RIP OFF!”

90,000 voters have read my 150 word ‘Candidate’s Statement’ – where I have outlined my opposition to any rates increase.

So – whatever the outcome of the election (you SILLY woman) – the message is out there (which is the main reason why I stood in the first place.)

(Opposing rate$ increases is a message that you ‘Elaycee’ – would quite possibly support – if it were not coming from me?)

One day, dear – when you learn the political sophistication of ‘issue by issue’ politics – you will perhaps realise how ineffective you are being?

However – such a realisation would require a modicum of intelligence/ common sense – so unfortunately – I’m not expecting you to catch on any time soon.

Same comment applies to ‘Nasska’ , ‘Sofia’ ‘Reid’ and ‘Nookin’?

(Unless of course you have your own private contracting snouts in the public trough, or are connected in any way with those who have?

PERISH THE THOUGHT!

But, of course with your GUTLESS anonymity – there is no way of checking – is there?

How convenient !

(Meant of course in my customary caring way 😉

Kind regards,

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 5:57pm
publicwatchdog

# KH (149) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 5:37 pm

If I had to chose between having the dodgy ‘free’ trade agreement and Pharmac
I would choose Pharmac ”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

I agree KH.

Have you seen this?

“POSTCARDS OPPOSING TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT AVAILABLE TO SEND TO POLITICIANS

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) is the means to effect a Free Trade Agreement with the US.

For full details on why this would have a very negative impact on NZ, check http://www.nznotforsale.org

There is no bigger issue this election.

Two versions of a postcard opposing the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement are now available, one to be sent to PM Key, the other to an MP of the sender’s choice. Postage is free (because they’re going to Parliament).

Here is the text (which is the same on each one).

“Dear Prime Minister Key

I urge the Government to withdraw from negotiations for the TPPA and instead put New Zealand’s national interest at the heart of all trade and investment negotiations, rather than the interests of transnational corporations and the US government.

The TPPA will, among other things: undermine what little NZ has left in the way of any controls of foreign investment; institutionalise the very same horrendous financial practices which led to the global financial crisis; allow American corporations to sue the New Zealand government in private international tribunals; attack Pharmac and drive up the cost of prescription medicines; make access to digital recordings more expensive and copying more restricted; attack our GE and tobacco controls and food labeling and food and appliance safety standards; and weaken our controls of food imports where they might carry disease. The whole process is both secret and fundamentally undemocratic in the way in which it is being negotiated and then ratified by Executive decree.

I will be voting for a party which puts our national interest first, not those of foreign corporations under a TPPA”.

The cards are also online at http://www.box.net/shared/ju1gxifyio and people are welcome to download and print their own. Bear in mind that they are meant to be on light card, not paper’

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Cheers!

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 6:04pm
Elaycee

Blog Blight: Roll on Friday. It doesn’t matter what you think – the voters are the ones that matter.

The only good thing about the election for you is that, after its all over and you are licking your wounds, you can still use your signs for firewood.
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May 24, 2011 6:07pm
publicwatchdog

# Elaycee (180) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 6:07 pm

Blog Blight: Roll on Friday. It doesn’t matter what you think – the voters are the ones that matter.

The only good thing about the election for you is that, after its all over and you are licking your wounds, you can still use your signs for firewood.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

errrr….. ‘Elaycee’ – have you overdosed on your ‘THICK’ pills?

HANDY HINT 101: If you are going to make a comment about someone else’s post – it does actually pay to READ it – so you don’t make a complete IDIOT of yourself?

You seem to have missed this bit – so I’ll repeat it so you hopefully will engage your ENORMOUS brain before typing your next response?

“There are now THOUSANDS of people who live and/or travel through the Howick Ward who have seen the signs:

“NO RATE$ INCREASE!”

“CUT OUT THE CONTRACTOR$!”

“SUPERCITY = SUPER RIP OFF!”

90,000 voters have read my 150 word ‘Candidate’s Statement’ – where I have outlined my opposition to any rates increase.

So – whatever the outcome of the election (you SILLY woman) – the message is out there (which is the main reason why I stood in the first place.) ”

Ok ‘Elaycee’?

GOT IT dear?

(I’ll be celebrating whatever the outcome of the election, and will have more signs I can use IF I decide to stand in the Epsom electorate?

😉

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 6:25pm
Steve

Penny,
The Space Station is above NZ right now, the people onboard need someone intelligent to talk to coz they are bored shitless. NZ shitstirers is on the menu of things to do today.

It is ‘Space Station’ ok not ‘playstation’
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May 24, 2011 6:47pm
Yvette

Harold Camping has recalculated his prophesy to now allow Johnboy another day of condolence – cigars, plonk and sheep – now on October 21. Put it in your diary.

I would hate to spoil any possibilities this prediction raises, but I do wonder why Camping does not appreciate Ockham’s razor and, instead of ferreting out a hidden Bible code, just read what is there for everyone to see, referring to ‘the End Times’ –
Matthew 24:36
“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

If Jesus himself doesn’t know when, why for Christ’s sake would Harold Camping?
And, in the next verses, it is promised the End is to creep up on us stealthily as happened with those who ignored Noah
37-39
“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”

By ignoring this, I assume Camping doesn’t believe the simple face-value of the Bible but rather the truth is hidden in a code, of course revealed only to Him – through Camping you will know the Time. And that assumption probably sets Camping up for pride to preceedith his fall and various other self-centered sins [like still eating of the Tree of Knowledge] which will see him go to straight Hell, when the 1780’s invented Rapture does arrive.
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May 24, 2011 6:48pm
Pauleastbay

The world will end for Harold soon, the guys 89 FFS
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May 24, 2011 6:53pm
Steve

I’m with Johnboy on this. Looks like party time until October 21st. Now is that NZ time (first in the World) or some other time like USA? Matthew knew about USA time right?
So now we have to wait until October for the nutbars to get taken up. I will now adjust my finances and take advantage. Anyone willing to leave their wordly goods to me? Just fwd to DPF and he will get it to me, he has my email
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May 24, 2011 7:04pm
Hurf Durf

Anyone see Ebola manage to make his crap speech about US-Irish relations all about himself? “Is feideh linn!!!” Really? Really? Piss off. Still, I got to see his car get broken by his wife’s fat arse so swings and roundabouts.

Speaking of losers, they’ve found traces of DSK’s DNA (stop giggling in the back there) on the dress of that chambermaid. Looks like an open and shut case, Danno etc.

Only four more days until polls close, Penny! Are you confident? I think you’ll make a great (snort) and useful (guffaw) contribution to Auckland Council. Nah, couldn’t keep a straight face. Sorry.

Apparently even Camping might be way off. Iran has pencilled in the return of the Mahdi for the 5th June so I get to keep off doing any housework for another week and get a few more beers in. Bonzer.
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May 24, 2011 7:06pm
reid

nasska your 5:12 raises an interesting, serious and critical point.

I wonder if I shouldn’t call: The Bureau?
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May 24, 2011 7:37pm
Viking2

National’s Tau Henare has “overstepped the line” by calling Hone Harawira “so racist, he has chocolate milk in his cup of tea,” a fellow MP says. 😆

Henare – who has been dubbed the Minister of Twitter for his prolific use of the social networking site – posted the comment on his Twitter account earlier this afternoon.

Labour MP Trevor Mallard, also an enthusiastic social media user, said “it’s beyond the limits.” 😥 😥

“The line is drawn in a different place on Twitter, but in this case Tau has gone beyond it. It’s unlikely to upset many people, mainly because of the way that Hone is perceived by a lot of people. 😡

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/5048491/Twittering-Tau-Henare-in-chocolate-milk-racism-storm
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May 24, 2011 7:45pm
Viking2

White kiwi chick hatched
A rarity these days a bit like virgins.

A rare white kiwi chick has been born – the first to be hatched in captivity.

The chick, named Manukura, is not an albino but the rare offspring of some North Island brown kiwi from Little Barrier Island.

But wouldn’t you know it the racists manage to even claim the white one as their’s. Rangitane chief executive Jason Kerehi said tribal elders saw the white chick as a “tohu” or “sign” of new beginnings.

Well they would given the dosh the Nats. have handed them lately.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/cutestuff/5047359/White-kiwi-chick-hatched
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May 24, 2011 7:50pm
Pauleastbay

V2

I would have thought asssaulting a fellow MP was pretty much “beyond the limits”, call me old fashioned
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May 24, 2011 7:50pm
Elaycee

Ground Control to the blog blight:

I’ve certainly received the candidate statements. My vote has already been cast. Roll on Friday.

Hard to see how you could possibly consider a right spanking and rejection courtesy of the voters as a success. But you never know – you may even reach the dizzy heights and get 1.0% of the vote this time. Er, but then again, maybe not…

BTW – I’ll have to take your word re the number of words in your candidate statement – I got a headache halfway through the fir$t paragraph!

I’ve also done my bit for the community and helped track down the cats and dogs that fled the scene after they saw your picture and your hoarding in Cook St last Saturday. One of the poor dogs (a rare, Tibetan Yak Hound) nearly reached the outskirts of Hamilton before it slowed and a ranger could get a leash clipped to it’s collar. Its still shaking but the vet says its not unusual in cases of severe shock.

Luckily, its expected to make a full recovery.
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May 24, 2011 7:53pm
nasska

Reid

A man such as Quiller who wouldn’t crack under torture, especially hydro-torture, might be able to infiltrate Water Woman’s extensive network of conspiracy experts. Only then could we know for certain whether any of our fellow Kiwiblog commenters have been taken captive & had their minds reprogrammed.

We owe it to the poor bastards.
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May 24, 2011 7:58pm
nasska

V2

…”National’s Tau Henare has “overstepped the line” by calling Hone Harawira “so racist, he has chocolate milk in his cup of tea,” a fellow MP says.”….

Love it! I never thought of Tau Henare as having a sense of humour before.
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May 24, 2011 8:03pm
Viking2

National election document has long term plan for sustainable 5% growth, says NZers must live within their means, wages & productivity fell under Labour

Trouble is that this plan was aired by the Great Helmsman in 1993.

You might have read a bold document titled ‘Path to 2010’ issued near the end of the National Party’s third year of its first term back in office. It was a grand vision for a New Zealand over the next 20 years with ‘strong and sustainable growth’ and one that ‘lived within its means’.

The words above, and the concerns accompanying them, were in a 1993 election campaign document released by Jim Bolger’s Fourth National Government, titled: Path to 2010.

Reading through it, I (Alex Tarrant), could not help but think: same s**t, different decade.

What happened in between?

http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/53606/opinion-national-election-document-has-long-term-plan-sustainable-5-growth-says-nzers-
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May 24, 2011 8:04pm
reid

Roger nasska, will set wheels in motion.
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May 24, 2011 8:07pm
publicwatchdog

# Elaycee (184) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 7:53 pm

Ground Control to the blog blight:

I’ve certainly received the candidate statements. My vote has already been cast. Roll on Friday.

Hard to see how you could possibly consider a right spanking and rejection courtesy of the voters as a success. But you never know – you may even reach the dizzy heights and get 1.0% of the vote this time. Er, but then again, maybe not…

BTW – I’ll have to take your word re the number of words in your candidate statement – I got a headache halfway through the fir$t paragraph!

I’ve also done my bit for the community and helped track down the cats and dogs that fled the scene after they saw your picture and your hoarding in Cook St last Saturday. One of the poor dogs (a rare, Tibetan Yak Hound) nearly reached the outskirts of Hamilton before it slowed and a ranger could get a leash clipped to it’s collar. Its still shaking but the vet says its not unusual in cases of severe shock.

Luckily, its expected to make a full recovery.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

So ‘Elaycee’ – I see your intellectual prowess is closely matched by your wit and repartee.

(yawn ……………)

At least you can put a face to my name – unlike GUTLESS/anonymous ‘Kiwibloggers’ such as yourself?

(Meant of course in a caring way, dear 🙂

Kind regards

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 9:19pm
publicwatchdog

# nasska (586) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 7:58 pm

Reid

A man such as Quiller who wouldn’t crack under torture, especially hydro-torture, might be able to infiltrate Water Woman’s extensive network of conspiracy experts. Only then could we know for certain whether any of our fellow Kiwiblog commenters have been taken captive & had their minds reprogrammed.

We owe it to the poor bastards.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Then again ‘ nasska’ – have you considered that the ‘fellow Kiwiblog commenters’ to whom you are referring, may just have a greater intellectual capacity than yourself and ‘reid’, and/or might actually (unlike yourselves) also have a better understanding of the principles and practice of ‘freedom of expression’?

You could also start more ad hominem attacks on them, for daring to hold a point of view that is different to your own?

(ESPECIALLY if they have the temerity to agree with me on some issues! 🙂

Or is consistency also not one of your strong points?

Kind regards,

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 24, 2011 9:30pm
reid

Quiller was dispatched from London 10 mins ago, Penny. I’d be quite worried, were I you.
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May 24, 2011 9:39pm
publicwatchdog

# reid (7,381) Says:
May 24th, 2011 at 9:39 pm

Quiller was dispatched from London 10 mins ago, Penny. I’d be quite worried, were I you.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Think I’ve got more important things to worry about ‘reid’.

Like the total lack of transparency regarding hundreds of million$ of apparently unaccountable Auckland regional citizens and ratepayers monies which are being spent on private sector consultants and contractors.

Happening here i(n New Zealand – ‘perceived’ to be the least corrupt country in the world (along with Singapore and Denmark according to Transparency International’s 2010 ‘Corruption Perception Index’. Pity about the REALITY!)

No central registers of contracts?
No ‘devilish detail’ giving the names of the contractors; scope, term and value of contracts?

How can elected the Auckland Council elected representatives, make prudent decisions about rates, when there appears to be no basis for ‘line-by-line’ accounting?

Why are ‘core’ Council services, such as fixing the footpaths, water pipes, roads; trimming the grass and trees, looking after parks and reserves; planning ……….. not being carried out ‘in-house’ by Council staff?

Why have we got two lots of private ‘piggies-in-the-middle’ – private contractors who are carrying out core council work – then private consultants employed as ‘project managers’ to administer the ‘works contractors’?

If replacing the bureaucracy with the ‘contractocracy’is SO efficient – why have Council rates continued to go up – not down?

Unlike the whining ‘Kiwibloggers’ – who constantly attack me – at least I have a proven track record of doing something to help stop this rort.

That’s the thing about ‘activists’.

We may get bad press – but we do have a habit of making things happen and getting things done.

Perhaps those who do not have their heads firmly embedded in their bottoms have a wider perspective, and are in a better position to take a more appreciative overview?

Kind regards,

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 9:51am
reid

at least I have a proven track record of doing something to help stop this rort

No, you don’t. You have a proven track record of raising issues that don’t matter, or if they do matter, don’t actually exist.

Every single issue you’ve raised since you’ve chosen to inflict yourself on we here, is trivial. Just like this one is. See, just for this example, it may well be that the i’s aren’t dotted and the t’s aren’t crossed, on the ACC contractor’s records. But even if that’s the case, THIS DOES NOT MEAN SOMETHING SINISTER IS GOING ON.

Like the mad Don Quixote however, you just can’t see that and instead, when no-one else agrees with you, you take it to mean you’re onto something quite serious indeed and you must press on regardless of the resistance.

Now Penny, sorry, but this is mental. You’ve got some quite serious delusion going on in your head, I suggest you see a specialist in counselling people with paranoia, because you are.

As I’ve told you before, you don’t add value because no-one here thinks you raise any serious issues whatsoever. Now it could be that we’re wrong, or it could be that you’re wrong. Have you seriously considered the latter possibility, or not really? I’ve also told you how to start adding value, but you won’t, instead you perpetuate your mad Don behaviour, daily inflicting it upon us, and then you’re surprised you get resistance.

As I said Penny, this is mental and you need to see someone about it.
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May 25, 2011 10:04am
Elaycee

Oh oh – the blog blight returns…

Memo to BB: Why don’t we just let the good folk of Howick Ward decide whether they accept your views or consign them to the garbage. Your blatant electioneering is repetitive and tiresome.

Roll on Friday.

EEEK!
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May 25, 2011 10:06am
publicwatchdog

So – obviously not going to hear a loud ‘popping’ sound anytime soon from ‘reid’ or ‘Elaycee’?

The loud ‘popping’ sound of heads being suddenly extracted from bottoms?

Pity.

However – just seems to prove the point (again) that there are none so blind as those who WILL not see?

Continue your blissful ignorance – and both of you have a LOVELY day! 🙂

Kind regards,

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 10:14am
Elaycee

Blog Blight: The only popping sound will come from the champagne corks. Winners are grinners.

EEEK!
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May 25, 2011 10:31am
reid

OK Penny prove me wrong. Explain precisely what is sinister about what you’ve discovered over the ACC contractor records. Tell us exactly what the shortcomings are, and exactly why, in your opinion, this is a problem. You haven’t done this yet, BTW, if you think you have, for every single one of your posts above consists merely of your bald allegation there’s a problem with the register, but you haven’t explained the nature of the problem. Nor have you explained precisely why, in factual terms, this is a sinister issue. You’ve said that in your opinion it is, but you haven’t given any facts to back that up.

Be really really specific and factual and don’t waste my time with your opinion, lay the facts out, as clearly as you can. Facts only, not your opinion.

Can you do that?

If not, why not.
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May 25, 2011 10:37am
Nookin

Reid
Is Jonathon Quinn coming as well?
http://www.brettbattles.com/
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May 25, 2011 10:55am
alex Masterley

As an aside the last time some-one complained about ACC contractors (the blokes who did the curbing and footpaths if i recall correctly), rudman in the herald i think, an audit was done on the contractors works and who owed what to whom. Banksie got all hot under the collar about it too.
Rudman suggested the contractor owed the council money.
However when the dust settled the audit showed the council actually owed the contractor more money than was thought.
Red faces all round.
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May 25, 2011 11:02am
publicwatchdog

Ok ‘reid’ – here is the FACTUAL EVIDENCE which you have requested:

(Apologies folks for the length of this post – but it contains the FULL OIA reply – and ‘reid’ has ‘asked for it’ (as it were 🙂
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

I made a formal written complaint to the Chief Archivist, (Monday 23 May 2011) about an alleged breach, by Auckland Council, of s 61 (c) of the Public Records Act 2005, because the Auckland Council

‘(c) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under it.

(This alleged failure to comply attaches to s 17 (1) of the Public Records Act 2005:

‘Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its offices in accordance with normal prudent business practice, including the records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor.’ ) ”

The evidence to support this complaint, included the following items of correspondence:

1) 10 March 2011: ‘Open Letter/ Local Government and Official Information Act (LGOIMA) request to the CEO of Auckland Council.

2) 26 April 2011: Reply from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council, including copies of transfers for information to the 7 Auckland Council CCO’s (and Council Organisation).

3) 16 May 2011: LGOIMA reply from the Regional Facilities Auckland CCO.

4) 11 March 2011″ Acknowledgment by Ministerial Secretary Jess Van Harlem (Office of Minister of Local Government Rodney Hide) of my originating ‘Open Letter/LGOIMA request of 10 March 2011.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

THIS IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF EVIDENCE:

It comprises of my questions and the replies from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council, as follows:

2) 26 April 2011: Reply from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council

(Official Information Request No. 9000108231)

26 April 2011

Dear Ms Bright

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
Re: requests for evidence of record

I refer to your email dated 10 March 2011, which we received on 11 March 2011, requesting information about records relating to independent contractors.

As a general comment, we note that section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so. Nonetheless, the Council is currently in the process of developing such a register. Even once it is established, the information contained in the register is unlikely to be disclosed on the grounds that to do so would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. Of course, any requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that Council Controlled Organisations are independent entities separate from the Auckland Council.
They have their own obligations to respond to requests under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

Regarding your request, we have responded to your questions in the order in which they were raised.

1) The information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, each of the following local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

2) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, how many Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) operated under each of the following local authorities:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

Your request is refused under section 17(f) of the Act on the basis that the information requested, to the extent it may exist or be held by the Auckland Council, cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

17. Refusal of requests

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(f) That the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

3) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, that each ‘Council Controlled Organisation’ (CCO) operating under each of the above-mentioned local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

4) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time that the Auckland Transition Agency (A.T.A.) was operating, that they had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

Your request is refused under section 17(g)(i) of the Act on the basis that the information requested is not held by the local authority and we have no grounds for believing that the information is held by another organisation. Alternatively, your request is refused under section 17(f) on the basis cannot be made available without substantial research.

17. Refusal of requests.

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(g) That the information requested is not held by the local authority and the person dealing with the request has no grounds for believing that the information is either-

(i) Held by another local authority or a Department or Minister of the Crown or organisation;

5) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the Auckland Council has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor.

7) Please provide the information which confirms that in each of the above-mentioned categories, auditors responsible to the Office of the Auditor-General, have double-checked that a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ has been created and maintained.

8) Please provide the information which confirms that in accordance with normal prudent business practice, Auckland Council has now ‘amalgamated’, created and maintains full and accurate records of any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor, including the above-mentioned Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’.

As mentioned at the beginning of this letter, this information does not yet exist and your request is therefore refused under section 17 (e) of the Act.

17. Refusal of requests

A refusal made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(e) That the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or cannot be found.

6) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the each of the following Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’ has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

a) Auckland Council Investments (ACIC)
b) Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (TEED)
c) Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA)
d) Auckland Council Property Ltd (ACPL)
e) Auckland Waterfront Development Agency (AWDA)
f) Watercare Services Ltd
g) Auckland Transport

The information, to the extent it may exist, is not held by the Auckland Council and your request has been transferred to the organisations listed above. A copy of our letter of transfer is attached for your information.

9) Please provide the name and position of the Auckland Council employee who is ultimately responsible for the creation and maintenance of records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor, as defined in s17 of the Public Records Act 2001, and would bear ultimate responsibility for any of the following offences:

61 Offences
Every person commits an offence who wilfully or negligently—
(a) damages a public record; or
(b) disposes of or destroys a public record otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or
(c) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under it.

The Auckland Council has a corporate responsibility to comply with the Public Records Act 2005.

You have the right in accordance with section 27(3) of the LGOIMA to make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding council’s refusal to release any information under this letter and for the delay in getting this response to you.

If you have any further queries please contact me on
(09) 301 0101, quoting Official Information Request No. 90000108231

Yours sincerely

pp (? not legible)

Bruce Thomas
Public Information Manager
Democracy Services

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hope this helps ‘reid’.

Kind regards

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 11:02am
Manolo

Nutter alert, nutter alert.
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May 25, 2011 11:03am
publicwatchdog

# alex Masterley (700) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 11:02 am

As an aside the last time some-one complained about ACC contractors (the blokes who did the curbing and footpaths if i recall correctly), rudman in the herald i think, an audit was done on the contractors works and who owed what to whom. Banksie got all hot under the collar about it too.
Rudman suggested the contractor owed the council money.
However when the dust settled the audit showed the council actually owed the contractor more money than was thought.
Red faces all round.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why are core Council services, such as footpaths construction, repairs and maintenance being contracted out to the private sector in the first place?

Where is the ‘cost-benefit’ analysis which PROVES that this is a more ‘cost-effective’ use of residents and ratepayers monies than when such services were provided ‘in-house’?

How much private profit have those with Council footpath contracts made since the contracting-out of this core Council services began?

How is the use by Councils of this ‘business’ model serving the interests of anyone other than those who get this Council ‘business’?

Who is checking for conflicts of interest between those who give out the contracts and those who receive the contracts?

There is NO publicly-available ‘Register of Interests’ for either elected representatives, or council staff/ consultants who sign off these contracts.

How can ‘conflicts of interest’ be prevented, if interests are not ‘declared’ in the first place?

(This principle equally applies to NZ Judges).

To rely on the integrity of elected representatives or staff to just ‘put their hand up’, and declare an interest at the time of a potential conflict does NOT work for me.

Not good enough.

How can you double-check ‘interests’ – which are only known to the person concerned (ie: inside their head)?

Honestly – how ON EARTH can NZ be perceived to be the ‘least corrupt country in the world’ when we have so little genuine transparency?

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 11:16am
publicwatchdog

# Manolo (4,214) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 11:03 am

Nutter alert, nutter alert.”
________________________________________________________________________________________________

It’s ok ‘Manolo’.

We’re used to you and accept you for what you are.

Kind regards,

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 11:18am
reid

Yes Manolo I thought I’d wait till this was yesterday’s GD out of deference to those who couldn’t be arsed with what this is going to become.

Penny what precisely does this establish, in anyway? What sinister secret is lurking beneath this “evidence?” You haven’t explained that. All you’ve said is some of them do have a register and some of them don’t, and the reply says we note that section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so.

What about that, don’t you understand.

In other words, so fucking what, if there is, or isn’t, any register? S-o f-u-c-k-i-n-g w-h-a-t?

What your “evidence” establishes Penny is precisely what I said above, about your tilting at windmills. You pick on some trivial issue like the lack of a contractor’s register, then somehow, somewhere, over the rainbow, make a leap of logic that this means something sinister is going on. Newsflash Penny, it doesn’t look like it, to us, it never did and this “evidence” does nothing to establish that one way or the other. In other words, it doesn’t mean there is, and it doesn’t mean there isn’t. Now you clearly think there is something going on, and that might be because you have got some paranoid delusion about how the world works, that the rest of us don’t have. Now on the basis of probabilities, do you think there is any chance that if most of the world thinks one thing about something, and one or two people think another thing, who do you think might be correct, on the basis of probability, given there is no evidence, one way or the other.

If this is all you’ve got, it just proves what I said Penny. You think otherwise, then spell it out. Tell me exactly what is wrong in that reply, from specific excerpts. I’ve highlighted a few myself, which I think are reasonable responses to an unreasonable question.

THIS IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF EVIDENCE:

It comprises of my questions and the replies from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council, as follows:

2) 26 April 2011: Reply from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council

(Official Information Request No. 9000108231)

26 April 2011

Dear Ms Bright

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
Re: requests for evidence of record

I refer to your email dated 10 March 2011, which we received on 11 March 2011, requesting information about records relating to independent contractors.

As a general comment, we note that section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so. Nonetheless, the Council is currently in the process of developing such a register. Even once it is established, the information contained in the register is unlikely to be disclosed on the grounds that to do so would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. Of course, any requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that Council Controlled Organisations are independent entities separate from the Auckland Council.
They have their own obligations to respond to requests under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

Regarding your request, we have responded to your questions in the order in which they were raised.

1) The information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, each of the following local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

2) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, how many Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) operated under each of the following local authorities:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

Your request is refused under section 17(f) of the Act on the basis that the information requested, to the extent it may exist or be held by the Auckland Council, cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

17. Refusal of requests

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(f) That the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

3) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, that each ‘Council Controlled Organisation’ (CCO) operating under each of the above-mentioned local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

4) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time that the Auckland Transition Agency (A.T.A.) was operating, that they had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

Your request is refused under section 17(g)(i) of the Act on the basis that the information requested is not held by the local authority and we have no grounds for believing that the information is held by another organisation. Alternatively, your request is refused under section 17(f) on the basis cannot be made available without substantial research.

17. Refusal of requests.

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(g) That the information requested is not held by the local authority and the person dealing with the request has no grounds for believing that the information is either-

(i) Held by another local authority or a Department or Minister of the Crown or organisation;

5) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the Auckland Council has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor.

7) Please provide the information which confirms that in each of the above-mentioned categories, auditors responsible to the Office of the Auditor-General, have double-checked that a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ has been created and maintained.

Please provide the information which confirms that in accordance with normal prudent business practice, Auckland Council has now ‘amalgamated’, created and maintains full and accurate records of any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor, including the above-mentioned Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’.

As mentioned at the beginning of this letter, this information does not yet exist and your request is therefore refused under section 17 (e) of the Act.

17. Refusal of requests

A refusal made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(e) That the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or cannot be found.

6) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the each of the following Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’ has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

a) Auckland Council Investments (ACIC)
b) Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (TEED)
c) Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA)
d) Auckland Council Property Ltd (ACPL)
e) Auckland Waterfront Development Agency (AWDA)
f) Watercare Services Ltd
g) Auckland Transport

The information, to the extent it may exist, is not held by the Auckland Council and your request has been transferred to the organisations listed above. A copy of our letter of transfer is attached for your information.

9) Please provide the name and position of the Auckland Council employee who is ultimately responsible for the creation and maintenance of records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor, as defined in s17 of the Public Records Act 2001, and would bear ultimate responsibility for any of the following offences:

61 Offences
Every person commits an offence who wilfully or negligently—
(a) damages a public record; or
(b) disposes of or destroys a public record otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or
(c) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under it.

The Auckland Council has a corporate responsibility to comply with the Public Records Act 2005.

You have the right in accordance with section 27(3) of the LGOIMA to make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding council’s refusal to release any information under this letter and for the delay in getting this response to you.

If you have any further queries please contact me on
(09) 301 0101 , quoting Official Information Request No. 90000108231

Yours sincerely

pp (? not legible)

Bruce Thomas
Public Information Manager
Democracy Services
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May 25, 2011 11:22am
Elaycee

Blog Blight says: “it’s ok ‘Manolo’. We’re used to you and accept you for what you are. Kind regards, Penny Bright”:

Well, Penny, must admit that its not so easy as far as you’re concerned – you’re on a mission to a planet no-one knows and this mission seems hell bent on exposing conspiracy theories that only a very few within your lunatic fringe can decipher.

The good news for us on planet Earth is that the election is only 2 sleeps away.

EEEK!
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May 25, 2011 11:28am
publicwatchdog

# Elaycee (195) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 11:28 am

Blog Blight says: “it’s ok ‘Manolo’. We’re used to you and accept you for what you are. Kind regards, Penny Bright”:

Well, Penny, must admit that its not so easy as far as you’re concerned – you’re on a mission to a planet no-one knows and this mission seems hell bent on exposing conspiracy theories that only a very few within your lunatic fringe can decipher.

The good news for us on planet Earth is that the election is only 2 sleeps away.

EEEK!”
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

errr….. what is ‘conspiratorial’ about an Official Information REPLY from Auckland Council, consistently GORMLESS
‘Elaycee’?

hmmm…. I think you are going to end up in a form of ‘Kiwiblog solitary confinement’ yourself dear, as others, (albeit belatedly) eventually realise that my concerns have a sound evidential basis?

Hopefully we’ll all hear soon a LOUD ‘popping’ noise from your ‘end’ (as it were? 😉

Kind regards dear.

You have a LOVELY day 🙂

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 11:56am
reid

Penny what precisely does this establish, in anyway? What sinister secret is lurking beneath this “evidence?”
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May 25, 2011 12:11pm
publicwatchdog

reid (7,386) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 12:11 pm

Penny what precisely does this establish, in anyway? What sinister secret is lurking beneath this “evidence?”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

errr….’reid’ – have you been using some of ‘Elaycee’s THICK pills?

If ‘full and accurate’ records of contracts are NOT being kept – then how can either Council staff or elected representatives, thoroughly, on a ‘line-by-line’ accounting basis – check EXACTLY where resident’s and ratepayers’ monies are been spent, in order to look at where costs can be cut back, in order to prevent rate increases?

I you can’t get THAT – then I don’t know that there is much more I can do to help explain the situation?

I’ve done what I can.

You stated:

“..you haven’t explained the nature of the problem. Nor have you explained precisely why, in factual terms, this is a sinister issue. You’ve said that in your opinion it is, but you haven’t given any facts to back that up.”

Ok – well now I have.

And I’m also EXTREMELY busy.

So – can I respectfully suggest that you take your time and SLOWLY and CAREFULLY read (again?) the information which I have provided, as you requested.

Hopefully then – you will ‘get it’?

Kind regards

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 12:21pm
Elaycee

Blog Blight: Best you carefully check the full stops and commas contained in the OIA response from the Auckland Council, because they may really be secret devices put there by the Auckland Council that allows them to eavesdrop into the conspiracy chat emanating from your place.

EEEK!
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May 25, 2011 12:25pm
reid

Penny you fool, you have NOT identified what is missing. You have NOT for example, identified that the council doesn’t have records for payments, and I bet they have. You have NOT for example, identified that the council doesn’t have records of any complaints about work carried out by the contractors. You’ve ASSUMED that a contractor’s register would contain those details, but you’re probably quite wrong, the payment records for example would be in the financial system and not in the register.

So you’ve ASSUMED that because x isn’t there, that therefore y must be wrong, but you’ve completely missed the point that y may not even be part of the recordset you’ve asked for. Duh.

I mean fuck. It’s obvious Penny. Unless of course you’re such an idiot you don’t understand that complaints would be handled by one division, payments by another, etc, etc. And as the reply indicates, actually, the law says, a central register does NOT have to kept anyway. I guess that’s a somewhat minor point to you, isn’t it.

So what it appears Penny, is that if you want a complete set of records and fuck knows why because you haven’t said anything about what to expect to find, then DUH, you need to frame your request quite differently.

So you’ve got all excited about what you see as a deficient reply indicating a deficient practice that doesn’t break any law at all, when the whole fucking reason they didn’t give you what you thought you might be getting, is because YOU didn’t ask for it.

I mean, fucking, fucking fucking d’oh. This is why I never reply and take you up on ANY of the idiotic things you raise, cause I KNOW this will always be the outcome and how many posts has it taken to establish that your ‘scandal’ is in fact nothing at all. THIS is why you get hammered all the time, you idiot, NOT because you are raising important points which need sunlight.

They are vapour Penny, they are all vapour.
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May 25, 2011 12:55pm
publicwatchdog

reid (7,386) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 11:22 am

Yes Manolo I thought I’d wait till this was yesterday’s GD out of deference to those who couldn’t be arsed with what this is going to become.

Penny what precisely does this establish, in anyway? What sinister secret is lurking beneath this “evidence?” You haven’t explained that. All you’ve said is some of them do have a register and some of them don’t, and the reply says we note that section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so.

What about that, don’t you understand.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________

ooops! Sorry ‘reid’ – I missed this earlier.

errr….. what you DON’T GET ‘reid’ is that often Council staff just MAKE IT UP?

Just because Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager Democracy Services , (Auckland Council) has stated that
‘section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so.’

DOES NOT NECESSARILY MAKE IT SO.

What does the underpinning LEGISLATION state ‘reid’?

17 (1) of the Public Records Act 2005 states:

‘Every public office and local authority must create and maintain full and accurate records of its offices in accordance with normal prudent business practice, including the records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor.’

Now – I suggest you read again the full OIA request and answers AND THINK FOR YOURSELF ‘reid’.

(HANDY HINT 101: Try using a bit of BASIC ‘commonsense’? 🙂

Any of the Kiwiblog ‘lawyers’ got a considered opinion on this point?

Is it ‘normal prudent business practice’ NOT to have files of contracts, kept in some centralised way, in order to maintain ‘full and accurate records’?

Never mind the ‘books’ being ‘open – are there, in fact, any ‘books’?

Kind regards

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 1:03pm
reid

Penny, what, precisely, do you think is missing. What. Specifically.
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May 25, 2011 1:24pm
publicwatchdog

# reid (7,388) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Penny, what, precisely, do you think is missing. What. Specifically.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

For GOODNESS SAKE ‘reid’!

What I KNOW is ‘missing’ is the information that was REQUESTED in the following OIA and NOT PROVIDED.

If the information requested cannot be provided without ‘substantial collation or research’ – then OBVIOUSLY ‘full and accurate records are NOT being maintained’.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

THIS IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PIECE OF EVIDENCE:

It comprises of my questions and the replies from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council, as follows:

2) 26 April 2011: Reply from Bruce Thomas ‘Public Information Manager’ Auckland Council

(Official Information Request No. 9000108231)

26 April 2011

Dear Ms Bright

Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act 1987
Re: requests for evidence of record

I refer to your email dated 10 March 2011, which we received on 11 March 2011, requesting information about records relating to independent contractors.

As a general comment, we note that section 17(1) of the Public Records Act 2005 to which you refer does not establish an obligation to create and maintain a register of contracts and nor is there any other statutory obligation to do so. Nonetheless, the Council is currently in the process of developing such a register. Even once it is established, the information contained in the register is unlikely to be disclosed on the grounds that to do so would be likely unreasonably to prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information. Of course, any requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Please note that Council Controlled Organisations are independent entities separate from the Auckland Council.
They have their own obligations to respond to requests under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act.

Regarding your request, we have responded to your questions in the order in which they were raised.

1) The information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, each of the following local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

2) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, how many Council Controlled Organisations (CCOs) operated under each of the following local authorities:

a) Auckland Regional Council (ARC)
b) Auckland City Council
c) Manukau City Council
d) Waitakere City Council
e) North Shore City Council
f) Rodney District Council
g) Papakura District Council
h) Franklin District Council

Your request is refused under section 17(f) of the Act on the basis that the information requested, to the extent it may exist or be held by the Auckland Council, cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

17. Refusal of requests

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(f) That the information requested cannot be made available without substantial collation or research.

3) Please provide the information which confirms that prior to amalgamation under the Auckland Council, that each ‘Council Controlled Organisation’ (CCO) operating under each of the above-mentioned local authorities had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

4) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time that the Auckland Transition Agency (A.T.A.) was operating, that they had created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

Your request is refused under section 17(g)(i) of the Act on the basis that the information requested is not held by the local authority and we have no grounds for believing that the information is held by another organisation. Alternatively, your request is refused under section 17(f) on the basis cannot be made available without substantial research.

17. Refusal of requests.

A request made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(g) That the information requested is not held by the local authority and the person dealing with the request has no grounds for believing that the information is either-

(i) Held by another local authority or a Department or Minister of the Crown or organisation;

5) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the Auckland Council has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor.

7) Please provide the information which confirms that in each of the above-mentioned categories, auditors responsible to the Office of the Auditor-General, have double-checked that a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ has been created and maintained.

8) Please provide the information which confirms that in accordance with normal prudent business practice, Auckland Council has now ‘amalgamated’, created and maintains full and accurate records of any matter which has been contracted out to an independent contractor, including the above-mentioned Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’.

As mentioned at the beginning of this letter, this information does not yet exist and your request is therefore refused under section 17 (e) of the Act.

17. Refusal of requests

A refusal made in accordance with section 10 of this Act may be refused only for one or more of the following reasons, namely:

(e) That the document alleged to contain the information requested does not exist or cannot be found.

6) Please provide the information which confirms that for the time the each of the following Auckland Council ‘Council Controlled Organistions’ (CCOs); Council organisations and ‘statutory entities’ has been operating, there has been created and maintained a (central) ‘Register of Contracts’ established for for any matter which was contracted out to an independent contractor.

a) Auckland Council Investments (ACIC)
b) Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (TEED)
c) Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA)
d) Auckland Council Property Ltd (ACPL)
e) Auckland Waterfront Development Agency (AWDA)
f) Watercare Services Ltd
g) Auckland Transport

The information, to the extent it may exist, is not held by the Auckland Council and your request has been transferred to the organisations listed above. A copy of our letter of transfer is attached for your information.

9) Please provide the name and position of the Auckland Council employee who is ultimately responsible for the creation and maintenance of records of any matter which is contracted out to an independent contractor, as defined in s17 of the Public Records Act 2001, and would bear ultimate responsibility for any of the following offences:

61 Offences
Every person commits an offence who wilfully or negligently—
(a) damages a public record; or
(b) disposes of or destroys a public record otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act; or
(c) contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of this Act or any regulations made under it.

The Auckland Council has a corporate responsibility to comply with the Public Records Act 2005.

You have the right in accordance with section 27(3) of the LGOIMA to make a complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman regarding council’s refusal to release any information under this letter and for the delay in getting this response to you.

If you have any further queries please contact me on
(09) 301 0101, quoting Official Information Request No. 90000108231

Yours sincerely

pp (? not legible)

Bruce Thomas
Public Information Manager
Democracy Services
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 1:54pm
RightNow

Anybody seen Kiwiblog? It was here last time I looked.
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May 25, 2011 1:57pm
thedavincimode

waterwoman

All he did was tell you to fuck off. That isn’t “evidence”.

“If the information requested cannot be provided without ‘substantial collation or research’ – then OBVIOUSLY ‘full and accurate records are NOT being maintained’.”

I think it was Nookin who referred to this bullshit non sequitur & ex silentio reasoning you employ here. (Did I actually say reasoning!!)

Go complain to the ombudsman if you don’t like the answer.

Take your time and report back in a couple years.

BTW, how did the big appearance go at Council the other day? Dying to know if you wore the hat, the plastic mac and carried a silly sign.
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May 25, 2011 2:05pm
publicwatchdog

# RightNow (2,679) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

Anybody seen Kiwiblog? It was here last time I looked.’
____________________________________________________________________________________________

I know ‘RightNow’.

Attempts at informed debate on significant issues on ‘Kiwiblog’ – backed with FACTS and EVIDENCE – how unusual!

😉

Kind regards

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 2:13pm
publicwatchdog

# thedavincimode (1,743) Says:
May 25th, 2011 at 2:05 pm

waterwoman

All he did was tell you to fuck off. That isn’t “evidence”.

“If the information requested cannot be provided without ‘substantial collation or research’ – then OBVIOUSLY ‘full and accurate records are NOT being maintained’.”

I think it was Nookin who referred to this bullshit non sequitur & ex silentio reasoning you employ here. (Did I actually say reasoning!!)

Go complain to the ombudsman if you don’t like the answer.

Take your time and report back in a couple years.

BTW, how did the big appearance go at Council the other day? Dying to know if you wore the hat, the plastic mac and carried a silly sign.”

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you, ‘thedavincimode ‘ another ‘Kiwiblogger’ Auckland Council rate payer, who doesn’t care if his/her rates go up for no good reason, and are quite happy with the lack of ‘open, transparent and democratically accountable’ local government?

How SAD is THAT?

Seriously?

Another who has yet to develop the sophistication of ‘issue by issue’ politics.

(sigh………………)

Penny Bright
http://waterpressure.wordpress.com
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May 25, 2011 2:18pm

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