5 June 2009
 
Hide’s attempt to hoodwink older people is disrespectful says Mayor Andrew Williams

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide’s attempts to hoodwink older people at a recent North Shore Grey Power meeting are disrespectful says North Shore Mayor Andrew Williams.

“Rodney Hide had the audacity to try to tell this audience that “the true cost of political promises need to be shown to ratepayers”, when he himself has made no attempt what-so-ever to provide even a basic estimate of the costs our ratepayers are going to be forced to pay for his new Auckland super city monolith,” Mayor Williams said.

“In fact, Rodney Hide recently responded to a parliamentary question asking whether Auckland ratepayers have a right to know how much the implementation of the Government’s decisions on Auckland governance will cost them by saying “no, they do not have a right to that.”

“Does Rodney Hide think older people do not listen to or watch parliament, or browse the internet?”

“Perhaps the worst of it is that Rodney Hide trotted out his usual false promise on rates, cynically using the example of elderly folks being “rated out of the family home” when his own super city plan being forced on North Shore residents and ratepayers will add $750 to their rates bill, according to independent estimates.”

“It is also ironic to hear the Minister spreading the myth that the Mayors of the Auckland region spend their time “bitching and fighting each other” causing an infrastructure deficit for Auckland. This is a lie, and the Minister knows it, when the truth of the matter is that central government has starved Auckland of its rightful share of petrol and road user taxes for years, and central government bureaucrats and Ministers are constantly changing the rules and priorities. Six out of seven Mayors get on like a house on fire. The one exception is Rodney’s mate, and you can guess who that is.” says Mayor Williams.

“Other blatant lies were trundled out by the Minister at the North Shore Grey Power meeting, such as councils being “warring city states across the region” and that Mayors in the region spend most of our time writing to each other.”

“This is utter and total nonsense and I will be taking the Minister to task on these false statements at a regional mayoral meeting taking place at the ARC on Tuesday 9 June. It is high time that this Minister is put well and truly in his place. These lies cannot be allowed to continue.” says Mayor Williams.

“As one elderly chap from the meeting joked, it always pays to check which side of his mouth the Minister is talking from because honest Dr. Jekyll doesn’t fare very well when Hide is in full swing,” Mayor Williams said.

“It is very clear that Rodney Hide continues to peddle lies and incorrect exaggerations in an attempt to support his ultra right wing ACT Party aspirations to get rid of local government in New Zealand and privatise our water, wastewater, transport, ports, airports, and anything else he can palm off to his Epsom and Remuera business mates. This is the biggest single case of grand larceny ever experienced in New Zealand’s history with $28 billion of public assets being swallowed into this Super Council, only to then be subject to a carve up and privatisation by the Rodney Hide brigade. Aucklanders and New Zealanders need to wake up to this “white collar theft” being enacted by the Minister of Local Government and put a halt to it now.”

“A survey out today shows that 70 percent of New Zealanders say that any ‘super city’ plans should be put to a referendum or vote before being implemented and not rammed down their throats as is happening in greater Auckland.”

“I call on the Government to do just that, call a referendum of the 1.4 million people affected by this draconian legislation, and let the people speak. And if the Government won’t do this, why not?  What have they got to “Hide” or cover up?” says Mayor Williams. “Only Rodney’s shortcomings!!”

ENDS

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