Forum –
It’s good that IPART has put our Administrator Mark 3 back in his box (IPART tells Council what is appropriate, Pelican Post September 2).
It is outrageous that Hart is able to call a meeting with IPART to push his rate-change agenda and encouraging that IPART’s response was to point out how “inappropriate it was for Council to try to influence IPART when the full Tribunal was not present”.
As I have said many times, it is not Hart’s responsibility to try to set rates three years ahead when he won’t even be here then and when we shall have an elected Council again, as the proper body to be making this kind of decision.
IPART has made its decision and Hart’s job now is to carry that decision forward over the next year or so that he will be in charge.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Jude Roxburgh without whose efforts this behind-the-scenes meeting would have undoubtedly remained secret.
One wonders how many other such meetings have taken place without ratepayers ever being aware of them.
It is bad enough that loans are taken out in our name and we are not allowed to know the details and that our public land is sold and we aren’t even entitled to know the selling price but, at least, we know this is being done.
How far can we head into the Deep State where we find out nothing but the superficial floss that the Administrator deigns to inform us about in his weekly column.
Email, Sep 5
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy
At the present state of Council affairs we will not be informed of any decisions by IPART until it is a done deal. Secrets abound with no oversight. You can only speculate that the real reason the Administrator does not want Councillors back is so he and the mysterious CEO can shepherd through a raft of unpleasant (to the ratepayers) policies with no scrutiny. Local politicians take out full page advertisements beating their chests to hoodwink the public touting the party line ‘nothing to see here’ but changes are slipping through. The mantra seems to be raise the cost of living on the Coast via Rate rises water and sewer charges and flog off as much Council assets as possible before anyone notices.
The Ratepayers have a lot of questions David Farmer as l’m sure the ex-Councellors do instead of the inquisition they are being told to front! What is the master plan or does that require another Bank loan?