The corruption within such institutions is difficult to expose, especially because there's no inclination by central government to clean things up. This lack of integrity and publicity means insider dealings and palm greasing is a prevailing occurrence, which anybody who has scratched the surface is likely all too aware of.
That appears to be the case concerning the Auckland Council and their continued failure to properly administer ratepayer’s investment in the Ports of Auckland.
Today, the NZ Herald reported:
Port presses on with extensions
Mayor takes a ‘relaxed approach’ to work, but opponents say the company is arrogant and insubordinate.
Last night Mayor Len Brown was taking a relaxed approach to the work at the port, saying a council request to halt work was still under consideration.
"Until a decision is made, we understand that some work will continue in line with contracts that the port company has in place with construction companies," said Mr Brown.
Mr Hawkins said work was proceeding while the company sought clarification on a couple of issues in a letter from Auckland Council Investments Ltd (ACIL).
The council has written to ACIL, who in turn has passed on the message to the ports to halt works on the wharf extensions until a wide-ranging study of the port is done.
"Our obligations under the Companies Act are a different set of obligations they [ACIL] have got and there is quite a debate in terms of how those obligations fall on us," Mr Hawkins said.
Firstly, it seems a bit far-fetched that the Auckland Council is claiming that they weren’t aware of the plan to expand the port. The contract between the Council, ACIL and POAL specifically states that the Council must be notified about any such developments.
Either POAL failed to properly adhere to the terms and conditions of their employment or the Council is telling lies! On one hand we have grandstanding Councillor’s saying that POAL should be fired, in essence trying to distance themselves from the mess, and on the other we have a feckless Mayor saying he now doesn’t really give a shit!
What I would like to know is why doesn’t Len Brown just grow a pair? Fire the POAL and start again with a new plan that utilizes a transparent and publicly notified process. Otherwise Auckland's harbour will just end up a big mess, which will cost far more in the long run to fix.
