Communities have no part in local democracy: Hide

Rodney Hide's new Local Government Amendment Bill further erodes democratic process, accountability and participation in local councils. It strikes out every reference to a Council Community partnership in a Long Term Plan. Councils are no longer required to plan the future alongside communities. And this disdain for local democracy is further emphasised in several hidden but important amending clauses. Under Rodney's new order, councils can decide community outcomes without consulting the community or even set out a process for identifying or reporting against any outcomes. In fact, councils will be able to do whatever they like (within government guidelines), without consulting the public.

Further, Hide's proposals eliminate the requirement for councils to consult on privatising assets, consult on replacing or abandoning strategic assets or on decisions that significantly affect the council. He even goes so far as to make it easier for councils to dispose of property endowed to them, by public spirited citizens, for particular purposes. These changes and the deeply flawed Auckland Council process plus the numerous clauses allowing virtual privatisation of water services for one and a half generations (Rodney will be 90 years old before we get back rusting and collapsing water pipes and other infrastructure), point to an agenda that is less secret but increasingly frightening to those concerned with democracy in our local government.