Council cash for car crashes not for kids

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For National and Act local government reform means council cash is  to be spent on car races not on education or climate change.
The National Coalition is deleting the role of local councils to look after the wider social, economic, environmental and cultural well-being of communities through the Local Government Act 2002 Amendment Bill.

The Bill, currently before Parliament, is about making councils focus on their core business - ‘good quality local infrastructure, public services and regulatory functions at the least possible cost to households and business’.

The problem, the Coalition tells us, is 'councils setting targets for NCEA pass rates, greenhouse gas emission reductions and reduced child abuse in their communities' and overspending.

John Key says in an age of austerity councils spending money attempting to support school children, environmental measures and abused children is wasteful.

At the same time the National Coalition is teaming up with Mayor Len Brown to spend $12.7 million on bringing a once a year car race to Pukekohe. $2.2 million comes from central government and the rest from local government.

It's an absolute disgrace that at the same time as the Auckland Council is being told to cut its social and community services they are teaming up with the National-Act Coalition to waste $12.7 million of public money on car crashes.

The ruling class are using the economic crisis to squeeze working people and children by attacking public services, but the are always willing to spend our money on funding corporate sports and their wasteful, expensive car and yacht races.

-Socialist Aotearoa

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