Why you must not
vote for Len Brown in the upcoming Auckland City mayoralty election.
Why Len Brown Should Resign Forthwith.
And another update on 15 June 2010.
I'm by no means a Whale Oil fan, but this interesting piece has been brought to my attention today: http://whaleoil.gotcha.co.nz/2010/06/15/when-is-a-fundraiser-not-a-fundraiser/
Brown, you have been nailed, and nailed again. Labour MPs have been demoted for the same behaviour that you are arrogantly dismissing.
You may think you are answerable to nobody, but you are, in fact, answerable to the residents of Manukau City.
As one of those residents, I am calling for you to finally do the decent thing and admit your errors by resigning as Mayor of Manukau.
We, the voters and ratepayers can no longer trust you.
You claim to be a man of honour. The only way you can display that now is by resigning forthwith.
Alan Charman
Update again, 11 June 2010. A $59 ham. Brown cannot manage his own finances, yet a majority of Aucklanders want to hand him the keys to our city. Genius.
First and foremost, Brown has been instrumental in ensuring Manukau residents are taxed by way of rates at an amount which is increasing 1.4% faster than inflation.
Here is Manukau City's own brief on the matter.
This is diametrically in opposition to Auckland City, where rates are increasing at a rate significantly less than the inflation rate.
Len Brown has shown his true colours from the very first, taking Socialism to a new level. Here are some of his own comments:
"Maintaining our interests in the airport, port and water are crucial to developing those assets for the benefit of all of Auckland."
"I will promote the idea of a rail spine linking the north of our region to the airport in the south. We need to get on with the inner-city underground rail loop and rail link to the airport."
"We need a world-class convention centre to help attract big events and more visitors to our city."
Taken verbatim from Len's own campaign site, here.
Brown is clearly a wannabe nanny-stater of the worst kind. He talks blithely about projects which will cost Auckland billions - yes, billions - of dollars as though million-dollar notes grew outside his window.
Alas, in a city with a huge percentage of its population on the dole, the DPB or other benefit and a further huge number on low or minimum wages, there are only two places for Brown to get the money to fund his self-stated Grand Auckland Strategy - business/industrial property owners and those with above-median-priced homes*.
Another of Brown's revealing efforts was his support for the [thankfully] ill-fated white-water kayak course.
You can read for yourselves, where Brown was intimately involved in the proposals to build this $50 million white elephant in the middle of a slum built on a drained swamp by reading the MCC minutes, available here. Be warned, reading council minutes is a lot like wading through the mudbanks of Manukau Harbour: time-consuming, bloody hard work, dirty and tedious.
Note that the only comparable facility in the entire Southern Hemisphere is in Sydney, a facility which was built for an Olympic Games, not just some half-baked idea by a couple of half-wits. Sydney had the luxury of having their facility built and paid for by, the world's largest sporting event, so the cost to the ratepayer was minimal. In the case of Manukau, the cost would have been astronomical. Aside from the initial investment - which history shows would have been significantly more than $50M - ratepayers would have been up for millions a year in maintenance.
That would require the absurd assumption that a city the size of Manukau could make a viable proposition of a facility which a city of 4.5 million cannot. (this was long before amalgamation was planned) I'm pretty comfortable not making that assumption that.
Please do be aware that Brown supported this kayak course bullshit at the very time he was leading a vote against construction of a badly-needed swimming pool - the lack of which is causing thousands of Manukau kids to miss having swimming at school, part of the New Zealand curriculum!
But wait!
The kids missing out aren't Polynesian or Maori, so in Brown's world, they don't matter.
Whoever becomes mayor of the new Auckland, it is imperative that that person has Auckland's industrial heart in his or her heart. Industry is what has always driven Auckland - aside from some fairly average beaches, we have no natural resources. Nobody is going to cruise and fish the Hauraki Gulf when they have Bay of Islands, Fiordland and Coromandel in the same country. Nobody comes to Auckland to ski, sun or surf; nor do they come for the arts, the zoo or the War Memorial Museum. We are lucky in that the country's largest airport brings tourists here, but if that were not the case, none would bother.
Auckland's heart is its ability to build business from the ground up. That can only be done with investment and entrepreneurship. It is notable that all of the great New Zealand international manufacturing successes have come from Auckland: Navman, Rakon, Zephyr and F&P all grew in the industrial heartland of Auckland, and like it or not, the owners of those businesses live in Remuera, St Heliers and Herne Bay. They don't live in Manurewa and they don't live in Howick. (Well, the odd really eccentric one might live in Howick, I guess.)
These are the people Brown will tax most heavily - those who own more than is "fair" in Brown's Socialist Utopia. In many ways, he is worse than the raving loonies at Residents Action Movement, because they at least admit that they're Communists.
Brown is a snake in sheep's clothing. He plays on his religion as though it's some kind of positive to have an imaginary friend a la George W Bush, Kevin Rudd and Tony Blair. Haven't we seen enough examples of supernatural thinkers playing to a script written 4000 years ago?
Admittedly Banksie is a christian as well, but there's no doubt that he keeps his religion separate, because WWJBD is not always WWJD.
Len Brown is currently a heavy favourite, and well ahead in opinion polls.
I am hopeful that opinion polls provide a poor comparison to actual votes, as the apathy which enabled Brown to snatch Manukau is not one which necessarily affects Auckland City. As the votes in recent elections have shown, Auckland City residents are capable of voting in large numbers to defeat self-serving twats in the mayoralty. In fact, that's exactly how Banksie became mayor! I'm sure Brown's Manukau supporters in a phone poll include many of the pathetically apathetic who never vote in council elections, so reality may prove different.
It is, however, very important, that Brown not become the mayor of Auckland, so make sure that you study the man and his rationale. Don't take my word for it, and you can vote for whoever else you like, but if you are able to think critically and care where Auckland goes for the next century, I'm positive you'll see that Brown would be a disaster. Auckland under Brown's "leadership" will be a rudderless ship of the far left, discouraging investment by rating those who dare to have more than a shack in Clendon for a home.
I do recommend voting for Banks on two simple premises:
He isn't Len Brown, and as the next most-popular candidate, has the best chance of defeating Comrade Brown.
He has already displayed the ability to foster growth by increasing rates more slowly than inflation. Banks will seek savings before rate increases. We have proof that Banks & Brown move in opposite directions with the money of their residents.
A vote for Brown is a retrograde step for Auckland.
A vote for Banks is a vote for growth and prosperity.
A vote for Brown is a populist vote for the kind of Labour rule we kicked out of office two years ago.
It is as simple as that.
Update 7 June 2010 - The Mayoral Credit Card. Now, we learn that Brown is quite willing to put buy groceries and stereos on the City Council Visa he is supplied with. Do we really want this bloke in charge of a budget of billions when he can't even keep a simple credit card in order?
*Note: this does not include me; I am not talking through my pocket.
Appendix: Brown appealing to his voter base:
The Chosen One:
No comment or analysis required.
Alan Charman
Copyright © Alan Charman