MAYOR ANDY FOSTER’S surprise attack on local democracy in Wellington left half his Council feeling dazed and confused – as intended. The authoritarian flourish of getting all those around the council table to indicate their support for his “review”, by rising to their feet, was creepy in the extreme. Nothing could have demonstrated more clearly the cult-like quality of neoliberalism’s faith in “governance”.
This latest example of the quite conscious delegitimization, and sinister re-framing, of spirited political opposition and debate as irresponsible, immature and “dysfunctional” shows how very far from the processes of freedom and democracy New Zealand’s neoliberal political class, and their bureaucratic enablers, are determined to take us.
The governance virus is not confined to Wellington. While Foster was springing his surprise in the capital, the Invercargill City Council was being enjoined to endorse a code of conduct vis-à-vis the news media which would have reduced the representatives of Invercargill’s 56,000 residents to a bunch of happy-clappy good-news-dispensers, with nary a harsh word for anyone or anything associated with the running of New Zealand’s southern-most city.
Councillors were warned off saying anything that might damage Invercargill’s “brand” in the eyes of its customers (otherwise known as citizens). Those wishing to say anything in public were encouraged to first run it past the Council’s (unelected) communications team. It was very clear, however, that the Council bureaucracy viewed councillors as naughty little children who should be seen as infrequently as possible – and heard from not at all.
We can all take solace from the fact that once the elected representatives of the people had recovered from these gratuitous assaults on their rights and duties, and recovered the power of speech, a goodly number of them told the governance cultists to stand back and stand down.
Invercargill’s Mayor, the redoubtable Tim Shadbolt, made it clear that the proposed code-of-conduct was both ultra vires (i.e. beyond the legal authority of its proponents to either impose or enforce) and an unconscionable attempt to prevent councillors from fulfilling their democratic duties to the electors. Many of his fellow councillors indicated their strong agreement. They would not be bound by this thoroughly undemocratic attempt to limit their freedom of speech.
In Wellington, the left-wing Labour and Green councillors who had been kept “out of the loop” by the Mayor and his cronies, soon bounced back into action. They pointed to the fact that the Mayor had informed some councillors of his intention to launch a review of the city’s governance – but not others – as symptomatic of his decision-making-by-surprise political style.
Rather than leading his fellow councillors towards consensus by means of genuine consultation and open debate, Foster appears to see his role as doing everything within his power to give effect to policies favoured by Council staff. Even if introducing proposals, unseen by councillors deemed uncooperative, at the very last moment of the decision-making process, is hardly conducive to the maintenance of political civility around the Council Table!
It is, however, emblematic of the whole governance ethos. Perhaps the best way to understand the difference between ‘governance’ and ‘government’ is to recognise governance as a noun and government as a verb.
Governance is the name given to the entire suite of neoliberal decision-making processes: the whole professional, credentialed, expert hierarchy of policy-advisers; people who consider themselves “best qualified” to “know” what must be done.
Government is what those whose duty it is to make decisions actually do. And that is determined not only by their personal judgement, but also by their understanding of what the people who made them decision-makers need and want.
Bringing those needs and wants into some sort of rough harmony is what democratic politics is all about. It cannot happen without spirited and open debate, and spirited and open debate cannot happen unless the people’s elected representatives are free to speak their minds.
But this is precisely what neoliberalism fears the most: the intrusion of popular needs and wants into a capitalist system which depends for its proper functioning on human needs and wants manifesting themselves exclusively in the purchases of consumers. When politicians allow the decisions of an elected body to over-ride market signals, then the proper functioning of the free-market capitalism must inevitably be deranged. One collection of interests will find itself in a position to dominate another – to the ultimate disadvantage of all interests. As far as the neoliberals are concerned, democracy and capitalism are incompatible.
This explains why words like “dysfunctional” and “irresponsible” get thrown about the moment the political noise rises above the low murmur of dignified agreement. When a councillor stands up and defies the comfortable owners of Victorian villas on behalf of rack-rented citizens in need of large-scale social housing developments. Or, when a veteran of the sixties youth rebellion openly manoeuvres for his city’s largest employer to be kept going – regardless of all the market signals flashing red.
In the ears of the neoliberals, passionate policy debates register as little more than the whooping and chest-beating of Chimpanzees: mindless status displays; idiotic battles for recognition and dominance. Uncontrolled democracy drowns out the signals of the marketplace, making it impossible for the advice of those with the expertise needed to decode its messages to be heard.
That is why, for the past 35 years, neoliberals have been moving as much of the machinery of government as far out of the reach of all these posturing political apes as possible. It’s why the Local Government Act is no longer about making sure that the interests of residents and ratepayers are faithfully represented, but about reducing the opportunities for those same residents and ratepayers to defend themselves from the decisions of “The Council”. It’s why councillors are paid so much money. Why departments called “Democracy Services” are there to tell them what they can and cannot do. Why Codes-of-Conduct are drawn up to make sure that they behave with all the strict decorum of timorous maiden aunts.
The scariest aspect of this whole shift from ‘government’ to ‘governance’ is that it’s working. “Politicians” – especially local government politicians – are derided and despised. Their “antics” are reported unfavourably in the news media. When questioned by reporters in the street, people dutifully urge their representatives to stop behaving like little children and get on with running the city properly. Newspaper editors write condescendingly about the need to get some adults in the room. In short, of the need to keep politics out of politics.
I will, therefore, be very surprised if Mayor Andy Foster’s “review” doesn’t uncover an urgent need to do all these things. I would, therefore, ask you to forgive me if, at some point in the future, when Wellingtonians are complaining loudly about their much beloved library being sold to Amazon, I give in to temptation – and tell them to stop behaving like little children.
Council bureaucrats have all sort of tricks up their sleeves to prevent public debate of crucial issues of the times, and to ensure that their ‘little empires’ get bigger. Collusion between mayors and senior council staff ensures that democratic processes are sabotaged or by-passed altogether. Indeed, the situation has become so bad the majority of councils do not even comply with the Local Government Act 2012.
The worst aspect of the whole caboodle is that bureaucrats can (and do) use OUR money to generate self-praising propaganda: “We are wonderful and everyone loves us”. “Satisfaction levels have never been higher” And other such bullshit.
‘Nobody’ knows. ‘Nobody’ cares. And there is no accountability. That’s why we will witness an ‘implosion’ over the coming years, as all the failure to plan for the REAL future manifest via collapse of fiat currencies, energy depletion and abrupt climate change and the collapse of much of the infrastructure.
The problem appears to be that every three years, we can shuffle the deck of Councillors and Mayors but no-one seems to be able to change the over-riding power of the neoliberalist administrations.
Who cares about having good water and sewage pipes when you can have rainbow crossings, endless road repairs and intersections, OTT signage, funky street art, playgrounds and cycleways.
There’s no point in replacing the crumbling shitter network until after the next big earthquake anyway, we’ll fix it all up then.
Great article!!!! Excellent insights!
‘The authoritarian flourish of getting all those around the council table to indicate their support for his “review”, by rising to their feet, was creepy in the extreme.’
In my view all our councils need a major shakeup they have no money, they have ageing infrastructure and peoples mostly white, they have bickering and budget blow outs. Many of our council have been dumping their waste into our waterways breaching our TOW. And they need to be held accountable for this particularly if someone can go to jail for a few months for taking too many Paua or diving in a marine reserve. So why are the council getting away with all of this? and yet others who do environmental damage get a slap on the hand. Our system allows for those in authority to do what they like and get away with it. Councils need to be reined in, they are literally giving our water away to foreign corporates while talking about metering us for our water use. This is the water that nobody owns.
The problems is those that have previously been in councils have not done their job (lack of future planning) and now the problem is so bad it has to be addressed and they don’t have the money.
Look at our councils makeup , who has had the power, not Maori so you cant blame us for the fucken mess councils are in and the damage they have done to their local environments is starting to raise its ugly head.
Who will fix the mess our government?
Privatisation of public assets is what is wrong. Socialism and state ownership of public assets is the solution.
Auckland is in the same position as regards water. All of us must save water but daily millions of litres are wasted from supply lines that have not been repaired for years.
The reason this water suppy is in such poor condition is when a private company, Watercare, bought it they had to make the cost of water higher so they could pay enormous salaries to their CEO and pay dividends to their shareholders.
When they use up profits doing this there is nothing left over for maintainence and repair work.
Watercare does not give a rat’s arse because it knows after it has completely fucked the supply network the government will throw money to it to make some sort of fix.
What Auckland City council ought to do is assemble Watercare’s executives and shareholders, give them tools, transport them to work sites and use them as forced labour to upgrade the cracked and corroded waterpipes. Wellington might like to do this too.
What Watercare needs to do is borrow money at close-to-zero interest to buy up all the privately-held shares, send the share price to the stratosphere, and then sell all the shares to mugs who think the price will go to the Moon. Shift all the money to secure bank accounts overseas, and then declare the company bankrupt, leaving the government to pick up the tab.
A little later, recover the money from the secure overseas bank accounts and set up a new company in a field the insiders have no experience in but think there is a niche for, and get saboteurs in councils and government to direct contract their way.
That’s how ‘capitalism’ works best for insiders in the loot-and-pollute club..
Agree 100% Stevie apart from the forced labour bit aka a bit Cultural Revolution… ha ha in addition it could take till 2050 and beyond using the executives and shareholders as labour as I’m sure they have never done a hard days labour in their lives.
Also neoliberal monetorising of assets like water disincentivises the council from putting in water saving building/resource consents and policies aka all new builds should be using their grey water for toilets, gardens etc and taking water off their roofs, just like a standard of insulation is required.
Auckland Council have been doing the opposite, allowing constant breaches of their own requirements for permeable surfaces aka too much concrete and building surface, beyond what they are allowed in the district plan, so all this additional water is going into the wastewater…. they stupidly think a detention system will stop it, nope it just minimises flooding, not the amount of additional water that is being produced that used to go on gardens and be absorbed naturally.
WCC used to do all infrastructure repair and replacement with its own engineers, staff and equipment.
The neoliberal rot set in with CCOs and contractors with charge out rates for idle equipment sitting nearby to work being done, and complete with drivers.
The WCC ran a tight ship but various neoliberal gangs got into elected office and partially privatised council services.
john key regulated so that councils now cannot dismantle CCOs and take the work back in house.
Wellington lost its cheap and efficient Council owned Electricity distribution and supply through a process of careful mis-management to deliberately put it in debt. TINA sell shares in it.
Even the Mayor Blumsky (shoe salesman) lobbied for its privatisation and missed with public scorn for his suggestion.
But the a situation that can only be described as covert corruption, completed the “reform” by running it into deeper debt and financial collapse, no effective management by Council who deliberately ignored solutions and effected the sell off along with some water rights. Sold for 200 million and a few years later onsold for a billion. Capital gains with no tax.
Prices for the consumers rose steadily after sell off by a treacherous Citizens group in the Council.
Councillor Nichols and his gang tried desperately to privatise building consents with no regard given to the institutional knowledge of loyal council employees and the massive archive of city records.
Andy Foster’s plug for privatising public space is alarming. Who is he in bed with behind the scenes.
The library is a liability and product of Ian Athfield chosen as the architect contrary to council staff recommendation.
Athfield, a darling of the rich set.
The bridge he designed between the library and the council civic offices was earlier declare dangerous and demolished, and now more of Athfield’s shoddy work is revealed with the relatively young Library building being dangerous and off limits.
Who ever gave these buildings consent and what pressure was put on the Council in house engineer to pass that consent.
Rex Nicholls, WCC councillor , was part of groups trying to run gondolas , luges etc up the Town Belt via Oriental Bay, and up the middle of a busy residential street, Majoribanks St, in Mt Victoria. Attempts were made in 1987, under Mayor Bellich, and in 1994, when Fran Wilde was Mayor. Back then, Wellingtonians were well served by journalist Simon Collins attending every public meeting and reporting assiduously in ‘City Voice’, and Wellington lost a very much needed voice when Simon Collins left. I think he specialised in WCC goings-on. His reporting probably played a crucial role in getting the facts out – much more than talkback radio, or the ‘Dominion.’
There were plans suggested for various things like a revolving restaurants on the Wellington green belt – like Battersea fun fair gone terribly terribly wrong – and everything presented as needed to capture the mighty tourist dollar . Lure them with a gondola, for heaven’s sake.
At a meeting in the band rotunda, Oriental Bay, a resident told Nicholls, “we elect you to
protect us from people like yourself.” A later WCC committee meeting I remember speaking at was ironically chaired by Kerry Prendegast, who subsequently became the next Mrs Rex Nicholls, and another Wellington Mayor. Fran Wilde was ok when approached en masse with residents armed with long long petitions gathered by door-knocking, night after night, after work ; I remember nothing about Belich.
The subsequent establishing of The Friends of The Wellington Town Belt in partnership with the WCC, was a seismic shift, when back in 1987, the WCC itself looked like the enemy to Wellington residents fighting to protect the green belt from the developers. And once again it looks as if city councillors have been involved in the ugly plans to desecrate Shelley Bay, and as usual, they toss out their sanctimonious platitudes perhaps thinking that they appear morally superior, when that is not necessarily so at all.
Mayor Foster has commissioned the current review of the council, and rightly so.
“Andy Foster’s plug for privatising public space is alarming. Who is he in bed with behind the scenes.”
Given his right wing ideals, he’s probably sleeping with multiple people.
Oh and BTW Chris,… geneticists cant tell wolves and dogs apart… so there ARE wolves in Ponsonby.
Anyway’s,…
…’The governance virus is not confined to Wellington. While Foster was springing his surprise in the capital, the Invercargill City Council was being enjoined to endorse a code of conduct vis-à-vis the news media which would have reduced the representatives of Invercargill’s 56,000 residents to a bunch of happy-clappy good-news-dispensers, with nary a harsh word for anyone or anything associated with the running of New Zealand’s southern-most city’…
And this :
…’Councillors were warned off saying anything that might damage Invercargill’s “brand” in the eyes of its customers (otherwise known as citizens). Those wishing to say anything in public were encouraged to first run it past the Council’s (unelected) communications team. It was very clear, however, that the Council bureaucracy viewed councillors as naughty little children who should be seen as infrequently as possible – and heard from not at all’…
Then this ;
…’ We can all take solace from the fact that once the elected representatives of the people had recovered from these gratuitous assaults on their rights and duties, and recovered the power of speech, a goodly number of them told the governance cultists to stand back and stand down’…
I would have told them to fuck off. But thats just me.
NEO LIBERALS’,…
THE SCUM AND MODERN DAY FASCISTS OF THE EARTH.
Why are we so surprised???!!?
Really?
NB : FUCK THEM.
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