Citizens assemblies. A crackpot idea the Romans once used. But Romans did lots of weird stuff we stopped doing, and this should be one of them.
They’ve got one on the boil in Whanganui.
In Napier, 40 unelected locals have just finished sitting around talking about where to put a new swimming pool and what that pool might look like.
Four weeks later. $800 per person, including refreshments and god knows what else - $100,000 total from the rates take. It's basically a catered chinwag between neighbours that they call an assembly.
And guess what? They couldn’t come up with a consensus on where to put the pool.
Despite all the expertise, the opinions for Africa, the specialists, the Lamingtons, no location was decided.
You can’t make this stuff up.
Why bother with a council, a Mayor, an MP?
Like DJ sets and recycled period cups, these citizens assemblies are very much in vogue with the radical left across Europe right now.
But they’re also a massive waste of time and money and the more I read about stuff like this, the more I think we’d be better off dispensing with democracy and bringing in a dictator.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise was quoted as saying the assembly’s recommendations "were an invaluable starting point in the journey towards a new pool…”
Give me strength.
An invaluable starting point for a new swimming pool is a hole in the ground.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
4 comments:
"the more I read about stuff like this, the more I think we’d be better off dispensing with democracy and bringing in a dictator"
With the complete lack of any real checks and balances (eg a second house or recall provisions) the New Zealand style of "democracy" does exactly that.
Notice how many party affilliated candidates were reluctant to specify their affilliations in this years candidate splurges. This is an obvious strategy which makes them even more devious and dishonest. Remember Tory and be aware.
i have attended the occasional meeting where local opinion sought. Some pushy person clearly already familiar wih the proposals and possibly set up by some interest group tends to dominate so the slow thinkers like me relatively new to the issue and in the practice of pondering are effectively swamped. Similarly i have attended viewpoint sessions conducted by agencies. i suspect there are plants in the supposed random invited attendants and their task is to move opinion along and preferably in the direction to appease the client..
We are well past the point where council bureaucracies should all be controlled by appointed Commissioners. Properly trained and qualified, of course.
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