Secrecy Over Auckland City Review Causes Alarm

'The secrecy surrounding the razor gang employed by Auckland Mayor John Banks to cut $25 m from Auckland City budgets is causing alarm amongst Auckland City staff' said Richard Wagstaff, PSA National Secretary.

'The refusal to disclose even what they are up to or engage with workers through the PSA about the changes just deepens suspicion' .

'Despite the PSA's urgent and written requests to the Mayor and Birch Consulting Group Ltd for information and a meeting about the scope of the cost cutting review, we have not even had the courtesy of a reply'.

'The best answer we have had is from Auckland City CEO Brian Taylor which was a flat 'no' to a meeting'.

'Our members are naturally very concerned that their worst fears could come true. They know the track record of Bill Birch and they can see very clearly that Banks has no regard for normal open democratic process'.

''Both Birch and Banks were part of the National Government that made an art form of bulldozing through secret agenda's that were never put in front of the electorate'.

'Unless Banks and his mates start fronting up honestly with their agenda, we can only guess what these people will be up to given their pedigree' said Richard Wagstaff.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On The Skewed Media Coverage Of Gaza

Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website which is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of how Kiwis alerted the rest of the world to the genocide in Rwanda. How times have changed ...

In 2023, the government is clutching its pearls because senior Labour MP Damien O’Connor has dared suggest that Gaza’s civilian population - already living under apartheid and subjected to sixteen years of an illegal embargo, and now being herded together and slaughtered indiscriminately amid the destruction of their homes, schools, mosques, and hospitals - are also victims of what amounts to genocide. More