Posts Tagged ‘Auckland Council’

1. The tatty remnants of Occupy

   Published on Thursday, January 26th, 2012
   When the messages become so blurred, disparate and even meaningless, surely it’s time to retire the brand. Such is the case with the “Occupy” movement in this country.

   There was a time and place for “Occupy” in our civic precincts, but it has now totally lost its legitimacy. The individuals involved in the tatty remnants of  “Occupy” are entitled to their views and free to express them, but their encampment is no longer acceptable.

   In Auckland, the Council’s limp and long drawn-out treatment of this issue has become a disgrace.  John Minto has maintained that the illegal camp in Aotea Square was no more messy than other New Zealand campsites. I don’t know where he’s been, but I’d suggest it’s not to any Council or DOC parks around the Auckland region this summer.

   The proper functioning of the city depends on the observance of a whole raft of bylaws, of which the “no camping” in Aotea Square is one.  How do you respect a council which is penalising parking breaches on a daily basis, yet vacillating over the illegal presence of a few flimsy tents?

   Perhaps Occupy is not the only blurred brand here.

2. Concern and outrage – time to chill

   Published on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
   Excuse me if I’ve said this before, but it’s sad when price is the only message of certain communication initiatives, and value is left unconsidered.

   I for one welcomed the “glossy flyer” that came through the mail box from Auckland Council, inclusive of a “letter from Len”.  While this may have contained nothing new for the bureaucratic who expressed “concern” and the councillor who found it “outrageous”, I found its content of interest.

   We have reached the stage in our little country when concern and outrage are trotted out every time information is gained under the Official Information Act.  Last week we had one of RNZ’s senior reporters wanting to know whether the Treasury got a better interest rate from the banks because they had lunch or dinner with their senior executives.  It appears she sees no value whatsoever in business relationships.

   It is time to cool it, in merely reporting the cost of everything without any effort to measure value.

   As regard the glossy flyer, some say there were “cheaper and more effective ways to communicate”.  OK, let’s hear them.