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  1. 100%
    This is what big government looks like.
    Everybody wants to be a commissar.

  2. Here’s a thought. What if we divided Aotearoa into three highly autonomous provinces along the lines of Australian states, one with Auckland for its capital, with full authority over things like spending on light rail or not as the Aucklanders see fit and the ability to turn up en masse at the town hall to make their feelings known to those with the actual power to make decisions, one with Wellington for the capital of a bailiwick extending as far as Taranaki and Hawkes Bay in the north and Kaikōura in the south but no further, and a rest-of-the South Island and Rakiura province with Christchurch as a capital that was reasonably accessible to people from Dunedin, Invercargill and the West Coast. Would we then get a more down-to-earth form of government? More than one person thinks that unaccountable and physically distant overcentralisation is the root of the Wellington malaise, the malaise of a town that would be no bigger than Nelson if it were not the capital and must therefore keep centralising everything unto itself. Wellington could still be the capital of the middle province and the nation’s capital, but with reduced powers and less scope for inside-the-beltway intrigue.

    1. Interesting concept. Great minds and ideas with little concern to understand outcomes in the short and long term, and alternatives, and if essential action or just something to impress the peeps, are how our combined country works or rather, doesn’t, at present.

      Closer attention by the local people with some autonomy into a larger ‘Council area; required proof of practical ‘civil engineering’ of everything in a civilised, intelligent way could work better. Smaller groupings into sort of fiefdoms* with limited budgets, not ‘general competence’ (which leads to an unfunny play on words). When citizens put forward problems – they would be circulated in brief and then a general meeting held to discuss how to tackle, or why.

      Also there would be short courses established nationwide giving basics on decision-making using criteria, and all the things that effective citizens should know about planning, budgets and politics. And groups be formed in each fiefdom to lead discussion on citizens opinion and these groups would largely take the place of the present elected councillors, with people in the groups who had achieved Citizens’ Certification becoming lead people in designated matters, as already happens in present Councils. They would be informed, up to date on local and national matters in their concern and report to the general citizenry usually monthly except at times of great change.

      Local government officers would be answerable to the city citizens group and everything done would be in conjunction with the leading group. Central government would have less say, but would still oversee budgets and providing finance for big projects; there would be some form of external audit by reputable people, not necessarily from Treasury or the worldwide FIRE merchants.

      This is just a ramshackle idea knocked up in a few minutes, (please don’t be rude about it considering it rudimentary!), but it brings up some of the points that would have to be considered if there was meaningful change.

      * Some info on fiefdoms.
      However, not only land but anything of value could be held in fee, including governmental office, rights of exploitation such as hunting, fishing or felling trees, monopolies in trade, money rents and tax farms. There never did exist one feudal system, nor did there exist one type of fief. Over the ages, depending on the region, there was a broad variety of customs using the same basic legal principles in many variations.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fief

  3. We have been brought up igorrant and gormless in thinking we had established a sound sort of society that just needed steering in the right direction. But we have ended up on the rocks, a bit too much booze, and not ready for wild conditions, financial and climate-wise.

    We lost the ability to live simply, saving up for things, or denying ourselves some, knowing when we had enough at the moment. Learning how to live well in a sharing, thriving democracy has been replaced; the stern dictates of living carefully and within limited budgets etc are for rustics. Axe that axiom with ‘the world’s my oyster’ if I concentrate on learning how to reach up, be ambitious, and promote myself and make money.

    The consultant meme has arisen from seduction by the money-mad financiers who grew on the excesses of war booty, carrying their experience into peacetime throughout the late 20th century.* The goal is to get where the advantages ans opportunities are, and if you try and take advantage of situations, even manipulate them your way, you too can become a billionaire like Graeme Hart.

    *President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address (1961)
    National Archives | (.gov)
    https://www.archives.gov › milestone-documents › pre…
    15/12/2022 — On January 17, 1961, in this farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned against the establishment of a “military-industrial

    Eisenhower’s farewell address – Wikipedia
    Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Eisenhower’s_farewel…
    As we peer into society’s future, we – you and I, and our government – must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering for our own ease

  4. The private sector can do everything cheaper, don’t ya know! Call it. The emperor is stark naked and most now accept this as the new norm. Bollicks. Got to be a better way.

  5. Not to mention the diversity and inclusion racket.

    Poor old Leah Panama and her co-host Miles Davis had to apologise for saying it was ridiculous the idea that men could get pregnant.

    And I heard their Radio Station had to spend $25,000 to get the Rainbow tick which included re education for Leah and Miles

  6. Well, given this form of capture, it begs the question, what else about Labour is captured? Corporate capture, in of itself, is a major issue after all. And what are we going to do about this, shouldn’t the Left be addressing these issues and if not, shouldn’t we be as critical of the policies or choices Labour makes, as the Right might be! After all, what’s the point of all this then?

  7. Moving Parliament to Hamilton or Palmy, would drain the Swamp. And no, not every thing is done online by these types. The egos of the consultantancy peeps are such that they love to be seen in nice cafe s or meet in rooms to justify the pay rate.

  8. They’ve convinced themselves they’re not neolibs. Maybe, maybe not but they’re certainly Blair type 3rd wayers. PMC marketing and comms spin meister grifters in suits flipping between gigs for whoever pays the most, and whatever gig will look the best on their CVs and LinkedIn.
    These people are media whores. Prostitution serves a purpose, as do sex workers who are far more honest. These guys don’t actually do anything of use and indeed they’re beginning to have a negative effect with the public.

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