Curbing the Debt Addiction - Act 4 Scene 1 – Infirm of Purpose

Posted by WorkBoot on 8 September 2011 | 27 Comments

Another workshop at Dargaville. Yes, THE super-secret workshop on the Proposed District Plan.

Readers of this blog will know that much expense and great effort was gone to create the LARSEN Gag v2 – the Confidentiality Deed (for background click here) especially for this event.

As Act 4 Scene 1 opened, the Proposed District Plan Workshop, the issue of the LARSEN Gag v2 – the Confidentiality Deed was duly raised. Those that had not signed were dragooned into signing this writ. The blood of their souls dripped from the paper.

And so it came to the turn of your WorkBoot. The charade of outraged group think from the old guard was applied but Workboot was still not given REASONS why this vile and debasing act, that struck so deep at being an elected representative, should be dignified with his blood on 'X' marks the spot.

Adopting my usual (albeit apparently annoying stance) of, if I don't understand I will keep asking questions, having no satisfactory answers, I refused to sign.

At this point the Mayor asked our courtiers from Brookfields whether if I refused I could remain at the workshop. Unfortunately, despite their high-priced, writ-drafting, the answer, as was always clear from the LAW (here), was that excluded I could not be.

Shakespeare, of course, said it all. The famous line from Macbeth, when Lady Macbeth accuses Lord Macbeth (having done the terrible murder) of being “Infirm of purpose!” (for a context see here) is so appropriate. After the Brookfields' answer, the great trumpeting ceased and Workboot was able to stay in the secret proceedings to hear all about our unaffordable folly, the Proposed District Plan. I listened, said little and will say nothing here as the proper place, if permitted, is in open proceedings of Council.

In case the black comedic aspects engulf you with Much Ado About Nothing jokes and another joke contest erupting on this blog, regrettably Workboot must spoil the mirth by pointing out there are more serious issues that must be discussed.

1. This exercise was of course a humiliation to all the Councillors that signed this dreadful attack on being an elected representative. For those who only signed under the extreme and completely inappropriate pressure applied to them, I do want it understood that those Councillors signed on the assurances that this dreadful deed, this vile and debasing act, was necessary. It was of course not necessary. More important was a direct attack on our ability to function with independence of thought and action. The fact that Councillors who were reluctant to sign, were dragooned into signing under false pretences that this was necessary, speaks loud and volumes as to the way our Council is being lead and the culture of 'group think' (see blog comment here) that has pervaded Council for too long.

2. In case the spin machine claims that my actions were not known, of course that is not the case. The Mayor had advice from me that I would not sign the dreadful deed nor bow on this vile and debasing act that was designed solely to restrict your rights to true representation. There was no confusion and my blog before on this is clear testament to my intentions. The whole embarrassing charade should have stopped before it started.

3. The cost of this exercise was a complete waste of ratepayers money. In the great scheme of things in wasting ratepayers money, it will not be a lot of money. But a deliberate and vile waste it was. I will be asking for the costs to be tabled. If I do get an answer, the answer better not be zero, as that will only raise the issue of the time being buried elsewhere. Of course if Brookfield's chooses to recognise that this advice was given in error and should never have been given then I will look forward to their apology, not to me but to the Councillors that were so wrongly humiliated by signing this dreadful and vile Deed. Absent of their apology, I will be asking why our lawyers were even engaged in this clearly unenforceable attempt to intimidate and gag. Sense says they should have advised our CE, despite his instructions, that this was wrong and madness. This raises the issue as to whether they see any limits to their willingness to advise the Mayor and his CE?

As for more important matters, I am working on a further blog on the issue of the missing millions on Ecocare.

I do not have the PwC models – despite my requests.

I do not have the Beca financial analysis – despite my requests.

As for the 'rust'(here), I am working on befriending the 'rust'. Although the Confidentiality Deed, that dreadful deed and its accompanying vile and debasing acts, were more rust, I drew strength from thinking about Shakepeare's words again as I faced down the old guard on this issue.

"I were better to be eaten to death with a rust than to be scoured to nothing with perpetual motion." seemed even more understandable and more powerful.

So give me a few days. I will be back with a further blog on the missing millions.

In the meantime I should acknowledge that all this craziness has had an unexpected benefit – a new understanding of Shakespeare!