Richard Steele with governor general Dame Cindy Kiro.
I saw in recent news, that most of Auckland’s beaches were deemed unswimmable because of faecal contamination, sewage in the water, and that surprise, surprise, Wellington, is dumping sewage in the water as well – into their pristine harbour.
Richard Steele
And yet I continually read of jackasses commenting about how local government amalgamation is the answer to their woes, that making local governments bigger will help. With what, I ask myself. With what? How many times do I need to say this, bigger is not necessarily better.
So time and time again there are calls to amalgamate local government, yet look at the outcomes so far. Turds in the surf. So many leaks in the water pipes that 25 per cent of the water is wasted on route to the ratepayers tap.
It’s the same with the money for health and education. I’m genuinely sure what the government is allocating and spending is ample to satisfy every demand.
The trouble just seems to be that the money is not getting to the coal face. It is, I’m sure, being siphoned off along the way by countless, faceless bureaucrats, who , invisible to the public eye, take most of the allocated money long before it meets the sewer pipe, the classroom, the hospital ward, or the operating theatre.
Am I wrong I ask you, dear reader? Am I the only one who sees continuous cost increases without seeing any improvement in the services that we pay for to be provided for us? I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but in my daily business with private enterprise, and public bureaucracy, private wins hands down every time.
What this says is obvious to me, so when I hear these calls to make councils bigger, my very bones actually shudder, and my soft heart sags with despair.
But the sun is shining, we have just had a dollop of welcome summer rain, and there are tiny quail chicks running around the lawn, a sure sign that our pest control is working, at least somewhat.
How do I extrapolate predictor pest control, to bureaucracy?
