BabySITting while debate rages
February 2nd, 2008, 4:16 am Hobbies News
Naturally Im honoured to be your mayor, and working for the city will always be my highest priority. However, I also believe it is important to maintain links with my family.
I am the only surviving grandfather for my grandsons who, are now six and eight years old, and we have a lot of adventures together.
I admit that Auckland is a long way from Invercargill, but in this age of computers and cellphones you can set up a %26quot;virtual%26quot; office wherever you are. Thats why it is possible for 1800 part-time students at the Southern Institute of Technology to live and work in Auckland.
Even though I missed the recent debate over my campaign to fight funding cuts, the entire meeting has been taped so I will be able to listen to exactly what every councillor had to say.
Judging from media reports, it seems that the majority of coun-cillors think I have gone too far with my threats to bring down the Government over funding cuts to the Southern Institute of Technology.
Whenever a major controversy erupts on council I like to go directly to the public. I know my polls are not scientific because they dont record the views of the %26quot;passive%26quot; voter. They only record the opinions of the proactive, the members of the public who are prepared to make the effort to phone me or fill out a form.
Nonetheless, I still believe, the viewpoint of the activist is important because along with newspaper editors they play a major role in forming public opinion.
Through the Friends of SIT organisation, I will be placing a large voting form in the public notices section of this newspaper and Ill be keeping a Friends of SIT phone line open from 7am to 10pm on Friday, February 8.
Basically, I would like to know whether you feel my campaign to change the Government unless it increases funding to the Southern Institute of Technology, is %26quot;over the top%26quot; or %26quot;too extreme%26quot; .
I would also like to hear from those who believe Im not tough enough on this Government and that I should be getting stuck into it over issues such as the anti-smacking bill; the legalisation of prostitution; or its inability to control crime and escalating violence in this country.
I would also like to hear from the %26quot;middle of the roaders%26quot; , those who are not sure whether attacking the Government over funding cuts is a brilliant political strategy, or stupid, high risk adventurism.
However, they still believe that a mayor should have the ability to make tactical decisions in the field of battle and that if they are unhappy with the outcome they reserve the right to vote against you at the next election.
Later in the year I would like to run another poll on the Electoral Finance Act.
At present Im not convinced that the majority of the public fully understand what the act actually means.
In fact I have had meetings with several of the best constitutional lawyers in this country and even they cant agree on how this act should be interpreted.
As with most legislation, we wont have a clear definition of what we can do, or cant do, during an election year, until the legislation is tested in the Supreme Court.
The only agreement I have found from lawyers is that the act will give huge power to a handful of political parties who can decide which advertisements they will endorse and a small handful of newspaper editors who are legally entitled to campaign on whatever issue they choose, as often as they choose, with absolutely no legal constraints whatsoever.
The average independent Kiwi who doesnt want to register as a third party will only be entitled to spend $1000 on advertising during the entire election year, within their own electorate, under very severe restrictions.
Let me assure you if you do manage to jump through all the hoops, $1000-worth of advertising over an election year does not make much of an impact.
Despite the controversy, Invercargill is still doing well in terms of housing affordability, dairy farming and oil exploration.
As I have always said, I believe the real issue we face in the future will be water.
Related posts
