Here is the letter, reproduced with Cr Wood's permission:
We share Cr Wood's concern that an apparently illegal occupation of council land is being countenanced by the Mayor of Auckland and his CEO. It's even worse now, given that Aotea Square has been designated as a Fanzone for Sunday night's RWC final. The potential for public disorder has just got a whole lot greater. Is Len Brown prepared to take responsibility for that if things turn ugly?
So the question needs to be asked; why is an occupation that both the Mayor and his CEO concede is illegal not being shut down by the council, and by the Auckland police? We're wondering if the reason is political; after all, Len Brown received a lot of support from the unions in last year's election campaign, and from the Unite union in particular; and the Unite union is instrumental in organising the Occupy Auckland protest.
It would seem that Len Brown's loyalties are greater to those who campaigned for his election
than to the citizens of Auckland. Is that good enough?
25 comments:
They answer is simple. They are Len's mates and they voted for him.
He wants them to vote for him next time round.
Because:
1. You cannot be arrested for a breach of a bylaw.
2. Auckland City bylaws (and those of every other council) are prohibited from being in breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act (Stephen Franks got an amendment to Labour's Local Government Act in 2002(?), with support from National and the Greens)
I would have thought that The Freedom Camping Bill could be used to "flush" them out.
I'm not advocating arrests Graeme; merely that the illegal occupiers be required to move on. More to the point though; why is len Brown condoning lawbreaking?
Does their "occupation" keep you up at nights guys?...Are you being hindered in your day-to-day activities? Are rugby tourists prematurely fleeing our shores in horror? Where's that Christian tolerance when you need it?
It'll be interesting to see what happens when hundreds of drunk fans descend on Aotea Square. I mean, which group of stumbling idiots should the police shoot first?
Reinserted with typing adjusted:
I think, to be honest, that it is a disgracefully long bow to go from Mayor Brown, to the occupation to UNITE and to the implication that you make that Mayor Brown was elected because of union support.
It is a low blow.
Y'know Robert; I have vivid memories of last year when left-leaning blogs, and especially the Standard and Tumeke were lauding the work of unions in campaigning for Len Brown in South Auckland especially. So it's not such a long bow after all.
In a turnaround from a low voter turnout at the 2007 local body elections, Mr Brown's campaign team mobilised South Aucklanders through churches and unions to vote in equal numbers to residents in the other major cities.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10681965
Union members yesterday turned in hope to Auckland mayor-elect Len Brown as they vowed to defeat the Government's new industrial laws at next year's election.
About 6000 workers, bused into the Manukau's TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre from all over Auckland, roared twice - once when a message of support from Mr Brown was read out, and again when National Distribution Union secretary Robert Reid said Mr Brown's victory showed National Prime Minister John Key was vulnerable.
He said Mr Key might have the numbers in Parliament to pass his controversial industrial law changes next month, but unions would not give up. "We will defeat this bill, nothing is surer!"
"If not today, we will defeat it tomorrow; if not tomorrow, we will defeat it on the streets, we will defeat it in the workplaces, we will defeat it next year when we throw this anti-union Government out.
"We defeated John Banks and got Len Brown in. In Wellington and Dunedin they also got rid of Tory mayors and got good pro-worker people in. We can win, we will win, we will throw this bill and this Government into the dustbin of history!"
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10682008
Civil societies mobilise. Churches mobilise. Business organisations mobilise. Communities mobilise. For all I know societies of railway enthusiasts organise. It's called democracy and has been around a long time. I'm not particularly happy when business organisations like Business New Zealand attack Labour, but it's democracy. But attacking Len Brown for something that is entirely legal(union support) and done by many agencies in many contexts, and suggesting that he supports the occupatioon (or rather, fails to act on it) because of union support, is cheap in this context.
You're quite right about mobilising Robert, and I have no issue with it. I'm merely asking whether Brown's refusal to do anything about disbanding an illegal occupation of Auckland council property has anything to do with collegial relationships with some of the occupiers. It seems to me that there is at least a potential conflict of interest.
Heh. Those in Melbourne ... The reddest city in the reddest state in australia ... Were evicted by police today.
http://www.news.com.au/top-stories/occupy-melbourne-riot-police-drag-protesters-from-city-square/story-e6frfkp9-1226172791776
The idea of Mr Brown being in any way reliant, or dependent on, or in debt to, or in cahoots with, UNITE, is, frankly, risible. Any knowledge of the Left's configuration in NZ would make this clear (if indeed UNITE had much surplus to use as "Moscow Gold").
By all means muddy water when there is a reason, but this is not such a case.
All this talk... pffft...
Len Brown is a communist. The occupiers are communists.
They share the same objectives, and are able to continue their deception only because you are intimidated by political correctness into not naming them for what they really are.
When are you Inventory and your National Party mates going to grow some balls and bring the word 'communist' back into common usage, where it belongs and where it should never have been banished from???
Heh, I wonder if that post from RB will get Robert's full on support
"Communism": A theory which advocates a state of society in which there should be no private ownership, all property being vested in the community and labour organized for the common benefit of all members; the professed principle being that each should work according to his capacity, and receive according to his wants. (OED). Sounds good to me.
"When are you Inventory and your National Party mates going to grow some balls and bring the word 'communist' back into common usage"
Yeah, Inventory, when?
(To both of those questions.)
Goodness me; Robert Guyton's channelling Redbaiter!!
In Southland, we take the intelligent approach.
http://robertguyton.blogspot.com/2011/10/shadbolt-occupies.html
Makes those who squeal 'move them on' seem bitter and twisted, doesn't it.
Most un-Christian too. No room in your inn, eh, Inv2?
You just can't help yourself can you Robert?
And in more good news, Len(in) Brown has one fewer reason to let the Auckland smellies remain.
The Sydney Smellies got a rude wake-up this morning* when police moved to break up their illegal trespass.
C'mon Len(in), do the right thing. Get the boys in blue to rid Aotea Square of its rodent infestation before the rugby fans do it for you tonight!
*One was quoted as saying "Dude, it's 5am. I didn't even know there *was* on of those!"
On second thoughts, wouldn't it be a wonderful time (in light of the general rugby theme going around at the moment) for the police to blow the dust off the Minto Bars?
What a wonderful, nostalgic tribute that would be.
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