The Government will use special powers under Rugby World Cup legislation to take control of the Auckland waterfront set aside for the celebrations during the tournament.Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully will this afternoon outline his intention to tomorrow call up reserve powers available to him under the Rugby World Cup Empowerment Bill.
It has been revealed, ahead of the announcement, that McCully has ordered Government officials to write a new plan to manage the waterfront beyond its own Fan Zone at Queen's Wharf.
The plan, which turns responsibility from the Auckland City Council over to the Government, will expand management measures and create more space for partying.
"Some of my critics have been suggesting I should take responsibility, well I am. I am stepping in to a space that the Government has not previously occupied," McCully told Stuff.
"We're getting on the front foot here and showing a determination to provide a larger footprint and a wider range of measures to assist with the management of crowds and the delivery of amenities."
This is a bold move by McCully, but it also can't be taken as anything other than a vote of no confidence in the ability of the Auckland council. But it's also a pragmatic move; the government's Party Central on Queen's Wharf went without a hitch on Friday night; it was the areas controlled by the Auckland City Council where problems arose.
By putting all his eggs in one regulatory basket, McCully is adopting a risk/reward strategy. If everything goes well, he will rightly get kudos. But if it all turns to custard, he is the one who will cop the blame.
And we can't end without a comment on the Left; they have moaned about the government doing nothing, but now that McCully has done something as they demanded, but they don't like the decision he's made. Oh dear; how sad; never mind. There's just no pleasin' some people!
16 comments:
Better thread for this comment:
Close friends of mine say they saw the person responsible for pushing people into the water - it was Len Brown. An old girlfriend of mine on the train said she saw the person who pushed the emergency button that stopped the train - yep, Len Brown. That 'crowd' of drunken idiots that harassed the waka paddling women - they were Len Brown. Len Brown is the evil face of Auckland. The sooner Murray McCully wrestles the levers of power off him, the safer our daughters will be...what were Auckland voters thinking???
Clearly democracy failed in Auckland. The sooner National stamps its authority on that city the better.
Nice to see that you've finally seen the light Robert...
I learned from you Inv2. You've been showing Len Brown in his true light, flickering flames of burning sulphur. He's a hateful figure, with his saveloy-skin-red trident and forked tail. We need a saintly figure like Murray McCully to expel Len Brown from the garden of Auckland then everything will be as it should be. Do you think John Banks would come back? If we begged him?
Oh why did this happen? What possessed the people of Auckland??
INV2 there's no pleasing some people is right. You seem to have an indelible streak of hate smeared upon you. The devil's mark? Maybe. But god judge ye in the end. He will judge Brown and Mcully and Henry and McCaw and Weatherston and Laws and Mutu and those victims of 9/11 and even though it is his will that all bad things happen he too will judge my grandmother who beat me in his name and Rev. Capill and his victims he allowed to be hurt and those who worship gods other than himself even though all passings are his will and because in the end it is his will and there is a purpose to his ways which we should never question. No pleasing some people is right. You must be torn by the massive gulf between what god wants of you and what you actually do. I forgive you.
Whoa... you're getting some seriously disturbed trolls now.
No prizes for guessing his identity.
Your guess would bring you no prize at all Moist.
Have a go though, go on.
McCully has really fucked up here. Politicised it, backtracked, confused the situation and is now acting to appear as if some leadership is occurring on his part. Absolute debacle by an incompetent representative of an incompetent government. The right wing are just so unpleasant! God knows this to be so.
On the earlier "Len's Undertaking" post was this:
Auckland Mayor Len Brown is confident that Auckland will deliver on public transport at
Saturday's clash between Australia and Ireland at Eden Park.
Mr Brown told a media conference today that everyone was doing their level best to address the issues on Friday when at least 2000 people missed the opening ceremony at Eden Park because of train delays.
First comment on this thread was Robert Guyton.
robertguyton said...
The buck stops with McCully.
He's dodging all responsibility in
time-honoured Tory fashion.
September 12, 2011 1:07 PM
Robert "pants-on-fire" Guyton at his best!
bOb as usual is full of shit. Even Phil Goff suggested the Govt should have taken over from Brown days ago.
Where is IVM2, bObs new best friend forever .. or is it happy hands in disguise?
McCully on 'Close Up'
"I'm not an expert in event management"
Consequently, he proposes to take over the management of the event.
Tragic!
The Minister in charge of The Rubber Wool Cup is...
MUZZA!
Mr McCully's Checkpoint interview is a portrait of a minister who has lost the plot - backtracking, fumbling, unclear on what and how and where. Meanwhile, we hear that Mr Brown and Mr Joyce have had positive "convivial" discussions, without any of the bluster displayed by Mr McCully. The contrast is striking.
Kudos to Brown for how he has handled and continues to handle the inept government efforts. This govt. is the least competent we've had for many decades. Popular, yes. Adept, no. Shows how far we've slid in 3 long years that this is our new accepted level of ability... Bring back intellectual rigor and serious analysis and gravitas to the offices of power. Instead we have sirs and dames... awesome work National.
Anon, Gravitas I grant you. But intellectual rigour and serious analysis? You are having a laugh.
More like vote buying populism with OPM.
To be really nitpicky sir. There is no such thing as the "Auckland City Council". The media fail by saying that. Auckland City Council died when the supercity made the Auckland Council....
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