And they think that is going to save them? [UPDATED]
Some Auckland councillors think that abstaining from a vote means they didn’t make one and can’t be blamed for the consequences.
That’s so dumb its incomprehensible.
It’s like saying the dog ate one’s homework.
Not voting – abstaining – is still supporting the Mayor. It just comes with a bit of posturing. The result will still be a win for the Mayor’s budget.
And being scared by Stephen Town into believing that there will be dire financial consequences?
That’s even dumber.
Several Auckland councillors are expected to abstain from a budget vote this week to avoid plunging the Super City into a financial crisis.
Mayor Len Brown looks set to pass his new 10-year, $60 billion budget with less than half the votes of his council at Thursday’s governing body meeting.
He will get there after councillors were told the consequences of not passing the budget by chief executive Stephen Town and chief finance officer Sue Tindall over lunch last Thursday.
Councillors attending the lunch said the consequences were dire. Read more »

As much at home writing editorials as being the subject of them, Cam has won awards, including the Canon Media Award for his work on the Len Brown/Bevan Chuang story. When he’s not creating the news, he tends to be in it, with protagonists using the courts, media and social media to deliver financial as well as death threats.
They say that news is something that someone, somewhere, wants kept quiet. Cam Slater doesn’t do quiet and, as a result, he is a polarising, controversial but highly effective journalist who takes no prisoners.
He is fearless in his pursuit of a story.
Love him or loathe him, you can’t ignore him.
To read Cam’s previous articles click on his name in blue.