Goff is a spendthrift of ratepayer money paying a surfeit of council employees over >$100k and ignoring excessive spending by council-controlled organisations. It was only when the whistle was blown that he showed any interest in curtailing them.
Auckland Transport gaily blew $780,000 on three Papakura pedestrian crossings, and Panuku spent $451,000 on staff bonuses.
“The payments were on top of base salaries in an organisation where the chief executive Roger MacDonald is paid more than $640,000, and the other nine top executives earn between $230,000 and $520,000, figures which include bonuses.
Panuku’s chair since November 2018, Adrienne Young-Cooper, told Stuff the agency would not itemise the amounts paid, due to privacy grounds.The agency’s annual reports show its CEO’s total salary rose by around $80,000, including a bonus, in 2017/2018.
PANUKU HAD A NUMBER OF GATEWAYS THAT NEEDED TO BE ACHIEVED FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE TO RECEIVE A PERFORMANCE RECOGNITION PAYMENT,” SAID YOUNG-COOPER IN A STATEMENT TO STUFF.
THE “GATEWAYS” OR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR MACDONALD WERE NOT PUBLISHED, BUT YOUNG-COOPER SAID THEY HAD INCLUDED DELIVERING A BUDGET SURPLUS, AND SECURING FUNDING FOR PANUKU’S PROJECTS IN THE COUNCIL’S TEN YEAR BUDGET.”
Stuff
It seems the left has a problem with transparency wherever it goes.
Goff is also a despot who refused council venue hire to visiting Canadians Southern and Molyneux simply because he didn’t agree with their politics.
“Views that divide rather than unite are repugnant and I have made my view on this very clear. Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux will not be speaking at any Council Venues.”
Stuff
So who made Goff the arbiter of what is repugnant? Given the controlling nature of the incumbent mayor and his careless attitude to spending, why didn’t Aucklanders give Goff the bum’s rush he so rightly deserves?
In one word – disinterest. Preliminary results on LGNZ show Auckland voter turnout was pathetic and trending downhill.
| Voter turnout % – Metro | 2010 | 2013 | 2016 | 2019 | % Change |
| Auckland | 51.0 | 34.9 | 38.5 | 34.8 | -3.7 |
“LOCAL AUTHORITY ELECTION TURNOUT HAS BEEN DECLINING IN MANY AREAS OF NEW ZEALAND SINCE THE 1980S.”
LGNZ
And then there was the daunting number of candidates. Stephen Berry entertained us wading through some in a field that included impractical idealists, losers and loons. One candidate at the bottom end of the councillor spectrum was a highlight.
“So far this election, I’ve never rated any candidate higher than 4 clowns. Congratulations Tricia Cheel on becoming the first to get a 5 clown rating!
For every loony, unscientific, paranoid conspiracy you can think of Tricia has so many more that you could never imagine.”
The BFD
It doesn’t say much that Cheel scored 4,013 votes, but perhaps they were members of “STOP Trashing our Planet.” Most of us agree we should stop trashing our planet and we are fortunate indeed that we didn’t all vote Cheel.
Why bother voting when the field is so big and the overall calibre of candidates so low? It was a daunting job wading through them all, so big ups and a thank you to Stephen.
Preliminary results were out this week. Goff won on just 14% support of eligible voters or 176,599 votes.
His closest rival was John Tamihere with 79,551 votes followed by Craig Lord with 29,032.
A latecomer to the party, refreshingly sensible and upbeat, Lord confirmed he is already working on his second tilt at the big job. Nice work Craig, Auckland really, really, really needs you and we look forward to hearing more from you.
Tamihere was much better known, which reflected in his votes, but he was an unconvincing rival backed by Christine Fletcher and Michelle Boag. They may have lured Tamihere over to the dark side but were strange political bedfellows drawn together by their common desperation to be rid of Goff.
“Fletcher in the last council term, voted in favour of a Ten Year Budget including 3.5 per cent general rates rises from next year, but now backs Tamihere’s plans to freeze rates, foregoing by his count $267 million in revenue, and restricting the ability to borrow.
[…]The former Auckland City mayor and past National MP Also supported Tamihere’s plan to scrap the 11.5 cent regional fuel tax introduced in 2018 to fund a list of transport projects.
Fletcher had voted in favour of the tax, but said she had been misled by Goff.
“I did advocate a petrol tax, I did support Goff, because Goff told me that was going to happen right across New Zealand, and then he allowed for Auckland to be the only place where it was implemented,” she said.”
Stuff
Changing your stance to align with your latest political buddy is exactly the sort of fickle, hypocritical behaviour we expect from jaded politicians and is most likely the reason so few bothered voting.
The frustrations Aucklanders feel about their wasteful council spending, increased beggars and homeless, clogged roads, hospitals on code red (no available beds), packed schools and a lack of good quality suburban rental housing is reflected in the disinterest shown at the polls by a burgeoning city with little or no confidence in its council.
It’s time to move over and let fresh blood grab the wheel of this failed super city.