“..Act leader Rodney Hide’s dinner table brag to munching party faithful – and an unnoticed journalist –
- that he could get anything through Cabinet because “they are too busy with their own stuff” took me back to my schooldays.
To the time when the latest caning victim would emerge from the staffroom, bottom stinging and eyes red, full of bravado about it not hurting at all.
In recent weeks, Mr Hide’s “half asleep” Cabinet mates have watered down or rejected proposal after proposal from their lowly outsider fellow minister.
A plan to introduce regular referendums and polls to control local government spending was rejected.
His desire for rate-capping was shelved.
Also dumped was a proposal to amend the Local Government Act to permit “divestment of council [water and wastewater] supplies to the private sector”.
The Cabinet decided instead on a minor change, extending the time limit on any contract a council made with a private water supplier or operator, from the present maximum of 15 years to 35 years.
Mr Hide received another bloodied nose over his proposals on the expansion of Watercare Services into the sole provider of all drinking and wastewater services to the new Auckland Super City.
He wanted to scrap legislative requirements that Watercare pay no dividend and that it “manage its business efficiently with a view to maintaining prices for water and wastewater services at the minimum levels.”
He argued to the Cabinet that “the Auckland Council, as the sole shareholder, will be best placed to direct Watercare, through its constitution and statement of intent, in how water and wastewater services are to be priced to achieve its broader objectives.”
His “sleepy” Cabinet colleagues managed to stay awake long enough to vote both of these proposals down.
For Aucklanders worried about the transparency of their water costs, this is something of breakthrough..”
go to source/story>>Brian Rudman: Hide’s Watercare defeat is our gain – Opinion – NZ Herald News
