Turning the tables

Mickey just loves his referenda. Careful manipulation of the facts and an electorate where around half the people are too disinterested or disillusioned to bother casting a vote make it easy to derive the outcome you want. And if that fails, you can always throw away the votes and cook up the result yourself (c.f. The Demon Profession, re the NZ First list).

Of course he doesn't describe it that way. The diVision "democracy policy" says, grandly:

Vision Wanganui will, literally, give power to the people. A real and direct influence upon all issues of local significance and a more effective input into Council decision-making. We will also pioneer the concept of ‘direct democracy’ and ensure that Wanganui leads the rest of the country in its decision-making processes. We will create a genuine partnership between the Council and its ratepayers and residents.

Etc etc... but buried beneath the rhetoric is this:

1.2 Citizens themselves may institute a district-wide referendum if 10% or over of those enrolled on the Wanganui District Council electoral roll gather the requisite signatures. Any subsequent referendum held would be binding upon the council (provided that the outcome did not breach any government legislation or legal guidelines).

Hold that thought, Watchers, and turn your attention to the latest piece of Mickery... sorry, trickery, from the Mayor who promised "nil rates increases": a rates increase. Of 1.8 percent, no less, on top of a 3 percent increase in 2006/07, for a grand total of 4.8 percent over three years.

And that's if you accept that 2005/06 actually brought forth a nil rates rise, which slobbering lapdog "senior reporter" John Maslin inevitably does. That of course was Michael Laws-speak for "some people will get screwed while some will benefit, for a median rise of nil". But who's counting, right? Certainly not Mas, who was editor at the time.

We could pause at this point to recite (somewhat predictably, we admit) our usual mantra: that this additional impost on ratepayers wouldn't be necessary (and Michael Laws would be our "Person of the Year" rather than Midweak's) if it weren't for the construction of monuments to Mickey's reign (e.g. the Splash Centre) and his personality (an enormous, and growing, legal bill).

But we're often asked whether we have alternative solutions to Wanganui's problems. In this case, we do.

A quick trawl through Wikipedia reminds us of California Proposition 13 (1978):

Proposition 13, officially titled the "People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation," was a ballot initiative to amend the constitution of the state of California. The initiative was enacted by the voters of California on June 6, 1978. It would eventually be upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1 (1992). Proposition 13 is embodied in Article 13A of the California Constitution.

The most significant portion of the act is the first paragraph, which capped real estate taxes:

SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed One percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties.

Its passage resulted in a cap on property tax rates in the state, reducing them by an average of 57%. In addition to lowering property taxes, the initiative also contained language requiring a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. Proposition 13 received an enormous amount of publicity, not only in California, but throughout the United States. Passage of the initiative presaged a "taxpayer revolt" throughout the country that is thought to have contributed to the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980.

In fact Massachusetts, Oregon, Colorado and Florida all went on to copy key provisions of the Proposition 13, while voters in 18 other states passed nearly 40 statewide tax-limiting measures. And bear in mind, Watchers, that in the US local councils not only fund the more prosaic stuff like sewage and water but also pay for police, fire brigades etc. So when Proposition 13 was advanced the naysayers predicted anarchy. Of course it never happened, and in fact the state grew faster than ever.

The measure is not perfectly drafted. For one thing, it had the unexpected result of capping rates from commercial properties and thus shifting the overall burden toward homeowners. The share of state revenue from residential property taxes has steadily increased, while the proportion from commercial properties has steadily declined. But having been enacted in the US for over quarter of a century, it's easy to see where Proposition 13 succeeds (stopping Councils raising rates to pay for their own follies) and where it fails, and to draft something better.

So here's our solution. Getting ten percent of voters - stung by an average 4.8% increase to cover Mickey's profligacy over the past three years - to sign a citizens-initiated referendum imposing a rates cap similar to Proposition 13 ought not to be hard.

Once the thing is signed, march on Guyton Street and deliver it to Michael Laws (cameras in tow, of course, so he and Antoinette Back can't lose a few reams of it between the front steps and his office). Then sit back and watch the fun, and start thinking of what you'll spend your extra money on once Mad Mickey's Expenditure Tango trips over its own shoelaces.

More on Proposition 13 (and well worth a read) from the Cato Institute, Cal-Tax Research, PBS, and the full text of the law is here.

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Prophet at the margins

Update 2.30pm Friday 23 February: Seems we were wrong... it's not merely the WDC's contribution Mickey wants to get his hands on (which he's placing at $48,000 not $35,000) but "one-third of the $2 million ($666,000)" spent on the MRI so that he can use it on Wanganui's "own tourism branding and promotion".

We can well imagine such a campaign: $660,000 spent covering cost over-runs on Mayoral "tourist attractions" such as the Splash Centre and $6,000 on a road sign pointing the way there.

No thanks, Mickey. Let's leave it to the professionals, shall we? Bail out your own failures and then explain the debt burden you leave behind as your legacy.

Which isn't to say that some of the criticisms of the MRI campaign aren't valid - though market research suggests the public likes the brand. And it's the wider public - not Mickey, not the MRI Board, not LawsWatch, not even local iwi - who will decide whether it works and whether they want to visit the region.

And while Michael Laws has never been known for his sense of subtle irony, accusing all and sundry of unprofessional behaviour whilst publishing the link to a website he's obviously been given in confidence proves he doesn't have much of a sense of hit-over-the-head-with-a-brick irony either. As a result the website has had to be taken down.

But, courtesy of Velocity, Watchers can still get a look at and example of the tourism branding. We couldn't do the photograph justice by reproducing it here, so just click on the thumbnail at left and you'll be transported to the full view. This isn't the entire campaign, remember, just a sample of it.

On a slightly different note, and with a hat tip to Kiwiblog, we can't resist reproducing this illustration to aid those Watchers, from both sides of the fence, who come here to engage and debate and wonder why others in turn can't bring rationality to their arguments:

Flimflam man

Just before we change the topic, we'd draw attention to this comment on the previous post:

Anonymous said...
Folks, we're getting sidetracked with frivolous issues. We need to get the word out to the public to pressure the WDC in[to] getting a S&P rating.
2:26 PM, January 15, 2007

As with most LawsWatch posts a whole raft of extraneous (but nonetheless interesting) issues were debated. And we welcome and encourage that. But where there's a chance to actually do something rather than simply vent, let's seize that opportunity. Talk to neighbours, write to the newspapers (yeah, we know, but the editors might just let through one letter critical of the Mayor, to "balance" the dozen or so he writes in praise of himself (using both his own name and those of his imaginary friends)).

If someone thinks Council is doing a great job, then a Standard and Poors assessment will surely provide that opinion with a sound factual backing. So no reasonable person could object, surely?

And now onto the next gulp of Michael Laws' Patented Fiscal Flimflammery (available in Snake Oil flavour from all good magic stores).

Apparently, it's okay to leave some rural settlements without a passable road (effectively rendering them unlivable and wiping out the value of private properties) because "the economic return on some of the roads servicing our region doesn't provide a return to the ratepayers" according to Mickey. (We await the spirited defence of rural dwellers from their Rural Community Board members - people like Nickie Higgie, Alan Taylor and Don McGregor. And wait. And wait...)

So projects are evidently now going to be assessed on the basis of cold, hard, financial criteria measuring economic return to ratepayers. Doesn't allow much room for human concerns, but at least it's not a flexible measuring stick. Economic returns from a project are relatively easy to measure, and once everyone agrees on the measuring tools it takes all the emotion; all of the purely personal, egotistical considerations, out of the equation.

So on that basis, we await Mickey's explanation (and objective measurement) of the economic returns to ratepayers of:

• Any of the "Heart of Wanganui" options
• The Splash Centre extension
• The $1.8 million waterfront project (originally costed at $260,000 in the 2005 Referendum, a cost blowout of seven times the original estimate before work has even begun).

And that's just for starters.

The prompt for his remarks was apparently Muriel Newman's suggestion that that all petrol taxes and road-user charges be invested back into roading. This has long been NZ First policy, which alert readers will recall Mickey often lays claim to having invented almost single-handedly. Yet offered the opportunity to resoundingly endorse Ms Newman's idea, he uses it as a platform to launch an attack on isolated rural settlements who actually have the audacity to believe that - as they pay rates too - they have a right to roading maintenance.

No prizes for guessing the ethnicity of most of those people.

Oh, and by the way, Rangi Wills? Yes you, asleep up the back there. These are your constituents that are going to suffer most under this bold new roading policy. Any thoughts? A single thought will do...

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You wouldn't credit it

Occasionally a commenter will make a point which not only has us nodding our heads in agreement at their wisdom, but which results in a round of forehead slapping and "Why didn't we think of that?!"

But a comment on our last post actually had Watchers slapping one another's foreheads. It's an obvious question, and one we'd overlooked. But it deserves to be asked, and answered:

It might be interesting for the council to join other local bodies in getting a Standard and Poor's credit rating about now ... to see what effect Mad Mickey's Big Spendup is having on Whanganui's credit worthiness. No doubt the news would not be good.

- Anonymous @ 11.25am, January 11

Christchurch City Council, for instance, not only has Standard and Poors assess its own credit rating - and thus financial performance - but also that of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd. It was recently reconfirmed as AA+.

Wanganui "does not have a recognised credit rating" as it admits in the LTCCP (pdf file, see p 76).

A credit rating isn't just about measuring performance (though that's obviously why we'd like to see the WDC's rating published) but assists in raising capital at lower rates of interest. A sturdy credit gives investors confidence, which means that they're more likely to lend to you at a lower rate since they have an independent assessment of risk and likely performance.

The Local Government Association of South Australia lists the benefits (pdf file,see p 12) of a credit rating as:

• Improved borrowing terms (Treasury estimates that councils pay .3% over the bb (base bond)rate because they use the local banks that they know and they are then captive markets and cannot shop around)
• Ability to tap a wider source of finance
• Financial discipline

They quote the cost of obtaining a corporate credit rating at AU$33,000 +GST - so around NZ$37,000 but that cost would probably be recouped in interest savings in the first few months.

So by not allowing Standard and Poors (or another respected agency) to rate them, the WDC are not only denying the Wanganui public a benchmark of their financial performance, but quite possibly subjecting ratepayers to higher interest on borrowings for, as Anonymous puts it so well, "Mad Mickey's Big Spendup" on swimming pools, carparks, libraries etc.

Ratepayers are perfectly entitled to demand that the Council subject itself to external scrutiny from Standard and Poors or a similar ratings agency. If you'd like to see just how Mickey is performing, contact the Council and tell them so. We'd love a copy of any response you may receive.

Meanwhile, to assist the finance gurus at Council to keep up with Mickey's ever-increasing expenditure demands whilst obfuscating the public about the city's level of indebtedness, we'd recommend the Official Calculator of the Zlotnian Space Program (pictured at right).

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Leaving so soon, Mickey?

It might be our Calvinist leanings, or it might just be years of mistrusting everything Mickey says, but the corks aren't popping just yet here at the LawsWatch Cave following the announcement that Mickey is to be a one term wonder*.

When we first heard talk around town that Dotty had cleaved a sod with a spade we feared worst, but she'd only been digging the dirt at the Splash Centre (which is more than the Chronicle has ever done). No, Mickey was safe, but had decided to throw in the towel because (as every politician who's had to step aside due to anything from unpopularity to mass murder has said) he wanted to spend more time with the family.

But no corks are popping here. For one thing, if a week is a long time in politics then months are, well... even longer. A lot can happen between now and then, including (as one commenter to the previous post has already prophecyed) distraught citizens begging Mickey to return and he - reluctantly, you understand - acquiescing.

Not that we think it likely. Having used Wanganui to rebuild his previously non-existent profile, Mickey has bigger fish to fry.

"Used"? you ask, incredulously. But of course. A predictably redneck talkback host on a station no one listens to making outrageous, insulting, racist and just plain dumb comments to desperately try to win a few more listeners isn't news. A Mayor making those same comments, is. And for all the disingenuous "I wasn't Mayor when I said those things" nonsense, Mickey knows precisely what he's doing.

But more importantly, the bubbly is remaining in the fridge because there's still a long way to go even if Mickey actually keeps one promise and doesn't foist himself on the town again. There are important expenditure decisions to be made, for one thing.

Without the full-on both-barrels spin emanating from Guyton Street in the lead-up to the next election (unless Mickey carries his support for Phillipa Baker-Hogan as his successor over into becoming her campaign manager) the opportunity will be there to have a proper "opening of the books" to get a true picture of Wanganui's burgeoning debt. It might even be a chance to demand that those who'd seek to have your trust vested in them again give a true and accurate accounting of the cost of the various monuments to Mickey that are planned or under way.

Then, and only then, can ratepayers be expected to make rational decisions as to whether they, and their offspring and migrants for generations to come, ought to be committing themselves to even greater debt.

Update (14 November): "Where has the poll gone?" asks a commenter. The blog is programmed to have only the six most recent posts appear on the main page so as to minimise download time. Older posts can be accessed using the menu to the right - dating back to our very first offering, in fact. The poll can still be found here and we'll analyse the results shortly.

* As in, we wonder what the hell you were thinking when you voted, Wanganui.

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Where are the crackpots when you need them?

Almost a year ago to the day LawsWatch reported that Mickey had grabbed $50,000 to inaugurate a private Vigilante Corps who were going to patrol Wanganui's streets, "liasing directly with the police watch house" (and we've since asked several times just where they are).

Sadly, as the floods in New Orleans late last year demonstrated beyond a doubt, there are some people for whom flooding - indeed, any large scale tragedy - is merely an opportunity to wreak more havoc on an already stressed community: anything from looting and carjacking to shooting at rescue helicopters.

So following the deluge of the past few days much closer to home, it seems in hindsight inevitable that Wanganui would spawn some lowlife who'd take advantage of the situation for their own unsavoury ends. In this case, burning down the homes of sleeping residents and narrowly avoiding (by sheer good luck) the murder of young children and elderly people.

With emergency services staff stretched to the limit, if ever there was a time when The Michael Laws Dismounted Vigilantes might have had a useful role to play, this was it. So we ask yet again - where are they, a year down the track? And who's got their hands on the $50,000 - coincidentally the exact amount that the desperate residents of Mangamahu reckon would be enough to fix their road.

Incidentally, if anyone reading has any information on the arsons they should call Wanganui police on 349 0600.

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Keeping the horror in scope

Yes Watchers, never mind Wanganui Anniversary Day, get out the bunting, light the blue touchpaper and stand well back, it's Mickey's birthday. We think it only fair he gets one day a year off from the unwavering scrutiny of LawsWatch so we'll instead hand over to our assembled team of experts to mark this great day with suitable gravitas.

First, we are of course anxious that Mickey have an enjoyable day. Alas, not according to the anonymous portents from Horoscope.com:

With the negative aspect against the moon, which is still in your sign, you are likely to feel bouts of dissatisfaction today. You’ll be more inclined to give rather than take!

We were a little confused by this too, Watchers. "Give rather than take?". But horoscopes have to be read in full to be properly comprehended, so when read in conjunction with the preceding sentence we can see it'll be a typical day at Guyton Street - Mickey won't get things all his own way, will be dissatisified, and thus "give, rather than take" a stream of invective aimed at those he considers responsible. Then the mystics offer the Diva a Chinese Proverb:

"After the game, the king and the pawn go in the same box."

That may just be inscrutable oriental wisdom trying to remind the Diva that when he's finished playing politics, both he and the rest of us have to live in what's left of Wanganui. More wisdom of the inscrutable kind later. But what of those who, like Mickey, are actually born on this auspicious day?

The months ahead are likely to start with various and temporary challenges in terms of finances... These minor problems will distract you a little too much, and could cause a dent in your confidence, but some kind of positive achievement at work or school will put you back on track again, and by November the ideas will be flowing thick and fast.

To which we can only respond: Uh oh! Mickey + Ideas = Trouble. Especially when the're inevitably both thick and fast. After that the predictions start rambling about romance, so we'll spare you that mental picture and move on... to the Motivational Quote for the day.

Now we have to admit, Watchers, that months of rigorous analysis of factual data here in the Cave has, if anything, hardened our scepticism. But the mystical electrons have certainly brought forth the most appropriate quotation for our birthday boy. It is, in fact, nothing less then the creed by which he lives:

Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is... impossible.
- Richard Bach, from Illusions

Spooky, isn't it Watchers?! So for a second opinion we turned to well-known star gazer Susan Miller, of Astrology Zone:

As June begins, you appear to be worried about rising expenses. As of June 3, Mars will begin to strongly energize your second house, ruling your income, spending, and focus on possessions, and will join Saturn, a planet already there. The combination of these two strange bedfellows - the Red Planet urging you to act, and Saturn urging you to stop and think - suggests that you may be hit with a number of bills that absolutely have to be paid but you might not know precisely how to do that. Saturn is notorious about not letting us off the hook, so there appears to be no way around paying the piper.

This is getting too weird, Watchers! But bravely we read on:

June 5 could be the day this all seems to reach critical mass. Uranus, the ruler of your eighth house of credit cards, loans, alimony, and child support, along with other financial obligations, will send an angry glance to the Sun, and as a result, someone in authority will be quite clear about presenting you with the option of paying, or else. For some reason, this seems to come on unexpectedly.

June 5 was around the time the size of the stormwater debt became apparent! Shivers are now running down our spines (Note to Vision councillors: That's a bony thing most other people have running between their skull and their pelvis).

You may feel a bit overwhelmed at the time, but keep reminding yourself that there's an answer to every question - you simply have to find it. Sometimes it's hiding in plain sight, so take a deep breath and think about ways to find the money. Jupiter's position suggests that something you make, write, or otherwise create could help solve this money crunch. That might be a clue that will help you most, although it's not the only one.

Hmmm... the money he needs to fund pork barrelling is in plain sight? Of course! It's the ratepayers.

I am trying to help you brainstorm, for clearly, it appears you are in a tight spot. Your family might be helpful too, as Venus will be in a friendly angle to Uranus, and Venus rules your natural solar fourth house of home and family.

Well with Venus being at a friendly angle to Uranus... yes, alright, we know that's a cheap shot, even for us.

Money - or more accurately, a shortfall of it - will be the main bugaboo of the month. You seem frustrated at your inability to stay one step ahead of rising expenses. Present and prospective employers seem to have been, and will continue to be, tightfisted - the main problem.

Employers? That would be the people who elected you, Mickey, just in case you were wondering. But let's return, as promised, to the predictions of a mystic cabal of ancient oriental sages. Well, the predictions of ChineseAstrology.com actually, but we're sure that they must at least employ a few Asian computer programmers.

It will come as no surprise to regular readers of LawsWatch to learn that Mickey is a rooster. That is to say, he was born in the Year of the Rooster and thus, according to Chinese Astrology at least, exhibits many of the characteristics of that beast:

The Rooster is the strutting peacock of the Chinese Zodiac! These quick thinkers are practical and resourceful, preferring to stick to what is tried and true rather than taking messy, unnecessary risks...

Well they got off to a good start, but the crystal ball (ancient oriental sages don't use crystal balls - Ed) seems to be going cloudy...

Roosters aren't shifty or cagey and have no interest in hiding behind a facade. They are the proverbial open book, telling the truth and keeping their word. If you show your hand, the Rooster will respect you for it. This kind of trusting behavior can tempt tricksters to pull a fast one on the Rooster, but that would be a bad move! Remember, this Sign doesn't indulge in flights of fancy and keeps those eyes wide open at all times...

Yep, the sages must have tuned the crystal ball into the wrong frequency (they don't use crystal balls!! - Ed).

Roosters tend to be perfectionists and expect to be in control, especially over their appearance. Primping and posing for the Rooster can go on forever! Being noticed and admired is an aphrodisiac for Roosters... Roosters also adore being out on the town, especially if they're in the company of adoring friends...

Being admired by adoring friends is an aphrodisiac? That explains the secret diVision caucus meetings, then.

Roosters also expect to be in control of their surroundings, including whoever happens to be in those surroundings...

And so does that! These sages are rapidly regaining our confidence.

This Sign would also do well to learn to adopt the philosophy of "live and let live"; perhaps an appeal to the Rooster's logic - that it's inefficient to waste time nagging others - will help this Sign learn to let others be whomever and however they are.

This isn't, alas for Mickey, the Year of the Rooster. It is, in fact, the Year of the Dog. Aside from bits of rooster occasionally appearing in the canned diet of the dog, these two creatures aren't exactly natural allies. So how will a rooster like Mickey fare for the remainder of this year? We consulted Master Rao (Who?? I hope we're not paying for this nonsense. - Ed).

Second quarter

Your professional situation will be good. You'll be quite satisfied despite some clouds here and there: You'll have original ideas, and you'll be supported and helped by your entourage. Your intuition, which will be remarkable these days, will help you to avoid the banana peels that might be placed on your way. Don't neglect the advice that people will give you during this period, as it'll prove very profitable to you.

Well Mickey is certainly being "supported and helped by his entourage". But he doesn't seem to have quite mastered the whole "not neglecting advice" thing yet. So keep sending LawsWatch those banana peels, Watchers.

Third quarter

Your affairs will look like a real battlefield. You must at the very start put all your pawns in the game with the utmost care if you want to achieve the targeted successes; and then go straight forward, trying to demolish all obstacles on your way. However, remain realistic and don't indulge in unethical acts with a view to taking advantage over your adversaries. If you follow this bit of advice, the star Liem Trinh will not disappoint you. Do not embark on such gigantic and excessive undertakings, as it will be impossible for you to bring them to fruition.

Let's see - treating pawns with the utmost care. That'll mean putting on a few more secret soirees for the diVisionites, so they'll continue to feel they're making a significant contribution by nodding in agreement with everything Mickey says. That whole "unethical acts" prohibition could prove tricky for someone who's demonstrated in the past they're not entirely sure what is unethical.

We've already applied for jobs moonlighting as fortune tellers, since Watchers have been telling Mickey for months not to "embark on excessive undertakings, because they'll be impossible to bring to fruition".

Fourth quarter

So many celestial impacts in the career domain! What should you do? Adapt yourself. The current evolution, even though it presents itself unexpectedly, will prove to be positive in the long run. For most of you, the changes that will take place will rapidly become interesting. For some rare natives born in Metal years, things may seem rather delicate at first; however, even what may seem to be a failure to them will quickly turn out to be positive by being a springboard for them to make a new start.

We're not sure whether Mickey was born in a "metal" year - by this time our eyes were swimming with astrological signs. But we'd certainly join with the sages in hoping the year ends with him making a new start somewhere - anywhere but here, in fact.

Birthday wishes to Mickey are now closed.

Squawk boxing

An interesting point - though not one made directly in the Radio NZ report on Councils' spending - is that they've published a figure of 4.1%, apparently quoting none other than Mayor Michael Laws as touting this as the lowest in the country, without even questioning the fact that the propaganda meant for Wanganui's citizens has been steadfastly quoting three percent. Is Mr Maslin moonlighting at RNZ, we wonder?

The Diva is also quoted as saying the WDC has "moved to justify every element of its spending". Someone should tell him that squawking "it won the referendum!" doesn't justify anything on any basis other than populism - certainly not an economic basis, or planning or even a social one.

He also boasts of sacking six senior managers but makes no mention of his intention to restock the Council's legal and engineering departments, no doubt with people hand-picked to give him the answers he wants on the afforability and legality of the contents of his pork barrel. Meanwhile the low-level haemmorhage of staff is continuing, with two walkers from the engineering-planning area in recent weeks.

Talking of squawking, Mickey's rant on 13 June has had the chattering classes occupied for most of last week. Apparently, democracy is well and truly dead in Wanganui. According to the Mayor, who was reportedly standing on it's throat while dictating that day's press release, committees exist only to rubber stamp his proposals. If they don't, they'll be ignored. Specially if, like the Heritage Committe, they actually have real people on them, as opposed to tame councillors.

Heritage, as we're sure you're all aware, chucked out his idea for a Wanganui Anniversary Day. That drew an immediate outburst from Mickey (complete with headline exclamation mark!) reminding us that committees can only recommend. And when they recommend something that isn't a pet project of his, that doesn't count - they're just a bunch of incompetents, and anyway not everyone turned up for the meeting. And anything a committee does has to go to full Council (where of course he can tug the strings and set heads a-nodding like those dog toys people used to put in the rear windows of their cars before we had actual suspension).

This fine piece of penmanship appeared on the Council website, but then someone decided it might be wise to balance it with a somewhat more moderate rant in the name of Mickey's boy Marty. Clearly someone in the hierachy has decided it's better to put the bucket beneath the elephant as soon as it starts bellowing rather than follow it round afterwards with a broom. That must be one of those "efficiencies" we keep hearing so much about.

Having gone to so much trouble to educate the burghers of Wanganui that Council committees weren't actually there to be listened to - or accorded any respect by the Mayor - the Diva managed a pirouette of incredible skill the next day.

How anyone who can instantaneously reverse their position 180 degrees with such consummate skill could have failed to make the cut for "Dancing with the Stars" eludes us, truly it does.

The Administration and Finance Committee had, you see, approved his plans for the waterfront, choosing Option One (Mickey's favourite, and the most expensive of course), over the alternative. So not a word in his subsequent release about it having to go to full Council for approval, let alone about how weak and ineffective committees were. No, this decision was praiseworthy because it had come from senior councillors, he managed to tell us whilst keeping a straight face.

Turns out all the moving and seconding on the waterfront was by Vision (Dottie and Muzza) or Vision-in-drag's Rangi Wills. Since when did these fresh-from-the-bottle fizzers become senior councillors?

A few days later, the smoke started pouring from the windows of Guyton Street as the Spin Machine's gears attempted another 180 degree reversal. Seems another one of those pesky committees that isn't stacked with "senior" councillors gave the Diva the single digit salute. This time it's Haker-Bogan's lot telling Wanganui Inc to bugger off:

The Masters Games Organisation yesterday won the battle to have control of the Wanganui District Council's $40,000 two-yearly contribution towards the cost of the 2007 Masters Games. The council's sport and recreation committee voted strongly in favour of the Masters Games taking the money after receiving written and spoken submissions from Masters Games and Wanganui Inc, who were both vying for it...

A Games takes between $800,000 and $900,000 to run, and the District Council’s offering is $40,000. Committee members heard that the Dunedin City Council, in Wanganui’s "off-year", contributes around 90 percent of the cost of its turn at the Masters Games...

The subject of whether indebted sports – in financial trouble in other words – should be a subject of this committee was discussed briefly. It was suggested the sport and rec committee should stay with the positiveness of helping sports develop.

Positiveness?? Why use four syllables when there's the perfect four-letter single-syllable word for this: It's called spin, Phillipa.

The Masters Games folk were recently on the receiving end of a Mayoral spray for taking a "junket" to Australia - we imagine they're sheltering beneath their umbrellas for a deluge worse than the recent weather for snatching money from the hands of Mickey and the New Boys on the Wanganui Inc board.

With wastewater now estimated at $118.5 million, and the referendum pork-barreling needing to be funded, plus these miscellaneous expectations coming home to roost, are they going to be funded by more and more asset sales? At this rate Wanganui Gas will be on the block before we know it.

All these recommendations will hit the next full Council meeting on 3 July. We won't be taking bets on which pass and which are overturned. We're sure that councillors will follow the tradition of robust scrutiny and open debate exemplified by the patsy questioners showcased in the Mayor's Chron columns - this week none other than diVision stalwarts and members of the inner circle Gordon Keelty and Julie Morris (wife of Nigelwho).

Has anyone submitted a question to Mayor Michael Laws and so far not received an answer? Or had it rejected? If so, we'd be interested to hear. And if you're submitting one, c.c. LawsWatch - we'll publish it here so everyone knows whether it gets a reply and, if so, what that reply says.

Then again, we could be misjudging Mickey. Perhaps he needs the patsy questioners because, like his radio show, no one else is listening, or gives a damn.

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Dr WTF

Time and again we find ourselves penning a "Civics 101" lecture in order to counter the misleading spin put out by Michael Laws, and this post is no exception. So apologies in advance to those readers who have already cottoned on to the basic precepts of democracy. We're obliged to do this occasionally to help out those who have not (Mickey, Dotty and the dwarves, the entire editorial staff of the Chron and a smattering of LW commenters).

What's sparked this latest lecture is Mickey's tired drum-banging about the previous Council's supposed "financial slackness", as Dave Laurence termed it in a Chron story recently.

Leaving aside for the moment that Mickey has quite a few "control weaknesses" of his own, the Mayoral hyperbole that the report was "one of the worst he had seen in his 20 years in the public sector" was allowed through without so much as a question.

Those readers who were waiting for the Chron to ask the obvious, like "how does that tally with the horrific scare stories you keep telling us about Auckland's pending 200 percent rates rise, then?" were sorely disappointed.

But more importantly, the fearless guardian of Wanganui's fourth estate allowed the Mayor to get away with saying he considered that "the audit was saying to elected representatives that they were responsible for the council's financial management".

Errr, no. Not unless the Audit Office has lost all touch with reality. Because as just about any Year 9 student who's been paying attention in social studies can tell you, the elected representatives on any body set policy and employ a chief executive who carries the can for financial management.

Now then Watchers. Sit up straight, pay attention, and open no less an authority than the Local Government Association's useful handbook for those who weren't paying attention at school:

Generally the council:

• sets major policy (including strategic, annual and district plans, long-term financial strategies and funding policies)
• appoints and monitors the performance of the chief executive
• approves major contracts
• determines the council’s committee structure, membership and delegations
• builds iwi relationships
• makes decisions on matters that aren’t delegated to committees or council staff.

Still not convinced? Then let's see what we can ascertain from the Council's own Governance Policy:

The Chief Executive is appointed by the Council in accordance with section 42 and clauses 33 and 34 of Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 2002. The Chief Executive implements and manages the Council’s policies and objectives within the budgetary constraints established by the Council. Under section 42 of the Local Government Act 2002, the responsibilities of the Chief Executive are:

• implementing the decisions of the Council
• providing advice to members of the Council and Community Boards
• ensuring that all responsibilities, duties and powers delegated to the Chief Executive or to any person employed by the Wanganui District Council, or imposed or conferred by any Act, regulation or bylaw are properly performed or exercised
• ensuring the effective and efficient management of the activities of Wanganui District Council
• maintaining systems to enable effective planning and accurate reporting of the financial and service performance of the Council
• providing leadership for the staff of the Council
• employing staff, including negotiation of the terms of employment for the staff, of the Wanganui District Council

Mr Whitlock, of course, got out while the going was good so is unlikely to be called to account for any perceived failing to perform any of those functions. And pillorying him wouldn't score Mickey any cheap political points anyway.

But let us return to the Chron's unasked questions. Right after they'd let Mickey bang on for column centimetre afer column centimetre lamenting "the system which the incoming council inherited" which was "manifestly inadequate and grossly deficient, exposing the organisation to risk", we get given a few examples, one of which is:

There was a hand slap for the district library’s "unders and overs" account, which arose from discrepancies between cash banked and cash sales entered into the accounting system.

Hold on... a financial stuff up at the library? On such a basic level as accurately recording cash receipts? (Note: the Audit Office said there was no indication of fraud. Which just leaves incompetence). But hasn't the person responsible for the library at the time, on whose desk the buck stopped (or, it seems, in this case didn't stop) just been... promoted by Mickey?

Was the Chron not aware of this? Was Mr Laurence asleep, leaving his tape recorder to faithfully record the Mayoral rant? Or did he just rehash a Guyton Street press release and allow Mr Maslin to run it under his byline? We'd concude by asking, rhetorically, "have they no shame?". But we suspect we know the answer to that, as do most of you.

Off topic admin note: Thanks to those Watchers who raised the issue of the difficulty they had locating LawsWatch in the ever-growing world wide web. We can be found by typing "Laws Watch" into most search engines, but otherwise it has been difficult. We've taken some technical steps to remedy this in the past few weeks, and the results should slowly become evident in search engines etc. We'd also encourage supporters to add the blog's address to their email-signatures, to tell their friends about it (just tell them to Google "Laws Watch") and - if you're really that keen - to take up the suggestion of posting flyers etc. But please - remain with the law and use common sense.

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