Council's financial policy manager should retract comments or resign

This afternoon our Spokesperson, Jo Holmes, called for the resignation of Auckland Council’s Manager for Financial Policy Andrew Duncan for statements Mr Duncan made about a leaflet drop to 72,000 households by the Ratepayers’ Alliance relating to proposed reform of the Council’s rubbish collection services that will see the costs to some households double.“Council bureaucrats should be politically neutral and ensure the public receive accurate information.

Council bureaucrats should be politically neutral and ensure the public receive accurate information. Mr Duncan reacted to our campaign by suggesting it could be misleading but has refused to withdraw those comments despite being unable to point to a single claim by the Ratepayers’ Alliance which is not backed up by the Council’s own analysis.

Mr Duncan won't even confirm whether he bothered to read our 10-page briefing paper before he suggested our campaign was 'misleading'. Emails released to us under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act make no suggestion he did.

We are calling on Mr Duncan to either withdraw his allegation, or resign. Our figures and statements were based on the Council's own analysis — it's not our fault officials don't like a ratepayer group shining the light on what Council is up to."

Auckland ratepayers are not served by an officialdom which bends over backward to protect its empire building and its favoured elected officials.