Only minutes after his victory over his predecessor John Banks and Conservative party leader Colin Craig, Brown addressed a crowd telling them he wants to “build Auckland into the great, great, great city it can be.” http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10679260 This great city was assured they’d benefit from him finding ways to “fix local transport,” “keep rates low” and flourish from “strong economic growth.” http://www.elections2010.co.nz/2010/candidates/len-brown. Indeed these are some very big claims and promises. Fifteen months have elapsed since Auckland went to the polling booths and if they followed their cities progression with more affinity they’d be totally appalled. Just as well for Mr Brown they aren’t.
Not even two months into his new role, Mr Brown recommended there be a rise in the rates for Auckland home owners, to 4.9%. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/auckland-mayor-recommends-rates-rise-3968054. Whilst many dismissed this as a one off lapse in judgement, 2011 produced worse news for many home owners, with rates again increasing at 3.5%. Councillor Cameron Brewer rightly summed up the situation. “The mayor’s latest rating policy is nothing more than an envy tax.” http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/5870619/Row-over-Auckland-rates-changes. No justified reason behind these climbs has been made for these pathetic rises and it’s about time Mr Brown address these rises, rather than slipping away out of sight.
Whilst there is a conscious effort to improve roads in Auckland, rather than making it more convenient for motorists, the contrary is occurring.. Congestion is running right back as far as Oteha Valley for city bound travellers most mornings, buses spasmodically appear and disappear at stations, Ferries are undersupplied and the bus system only runs through the city. Very few changes have arisen to give Len Brown and Steven Joyce the chance to point their finger prodigiously and say “I did that.” It seems young school children are trying harder than both these men combined to find small ways to remove the clutter. Zach Amir last week proposed there be a transit lane put in nearby his school, allowing parents to peacefully negotiate around the shambolic clutter and drop their children off, rather than just allowing traffic to swell up. http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6572272/Pupil-fights-traffic-chaos.
If you thought Mr Brown couldn’t think of another way to ruin Auckland city, quickly reconsider. What’s this you may ask? How about a 201% increase to obtain a dog license. No valid reason has been given for such a monstrous leap in the price, apart from Spokesman Kevin Ramsay’s asinine comment that it “reflects the cost of providing animal management services.” Granted a 10% rise in licensing may be fair game if those services are increasing, but a 201% is pure opportunism at its best and if Mr Brown is going to support this massive rise, he ought to address each and every dog owner publicly, without any notes. Old time politicians, (Including Margaret Thatcher) used to cringe before these events and Mr Brown ought to have the audacity to front up.http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/papakura-courier/6497627/Barking-up-a-storm
It is clear that Len Brown enjoys taking a circuitous route to avoid the accidents he has
caused. Sooner or later though he will have to take his head out the sand and speak up.
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